Crowded areas often produce an uneasy noise and sense of tension in people as their personal space is encroached upon. Parc 50 was a bit like that last night. At best, it is a tight soccer pitch and it was bursting at the seams for training yesterday evening. There was an army of girls on one half and 25+ lads on another.
It wasn't long before tensions started to boil over as Olof and Colin started to remonstrate with me over changing the rules mid-game! I'm certain I didn't change them but maybe they didn't grasp them or I didn't explain them properly at the beginning. Anyway, without intention the game got a little tetchy to say the least, which does no harm. We have genuine competition for places at the moment so it's good for fellas to be on edge a little.
We travel in strength to Den Hague tomorrow with a party of around 32. Picking the panels becomes more difficult as the likes of James, Olof and David Collins return and more like Emmett are banging down the door to see some action. Ideally we'd see one or two come up to the A's from the B's but most fellas performed well last time out so deserve a second chance.
One significant bit of news is that Luxembourg won't travel this weekend. This is a huge surprise as they have been a mainstay on the European scene for longer than any of us can remember. I haven't heard what the issue is this weekend but I am sure they will be very disappointed not to be able to travel. This shows the importance of us being able to field two teams as it contributes to making the day more fulfilling from a game point of view.
The A team needs to take the extra step tomorrow and believe they can beat everyone. In Amsterdam, we put an end to the Hague jinx but there probably wasn't enough belief that we could beat them again in the final. We have strengthened our hand this time out but you can be sure on homesoil that Den Hague will be at full strength so the challenge will be greater. Our additions will need to find the some gusto that their teammates displayed two weeks ago. Those performances were borne out of the rediscovery of our spirit and fight. The lads' instant recognition of that and buy-in to it will be important.
The B's will target ourselves and Amsterdam as their two priority scalps. They should benefit from the stability in their squad. Reaction after Amsterdam was position and the lads understand they are building towards certain goals later in the summer. Injured Kevin Keary will slip from his usual defensive duties on the A team to man the line for the day. Expect himself and Johnny to have some dirty tricks up their sleeves for the derby against the A's.
Our girls will also travel to play a friendly against the Holland girls so it will be nice to have their vocal suppport for the games. They will be using it as valuable preparation for their tournament in Valencia in a weeks time. So another big travellin delegation, lets hope there is some silverware to take home.
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2 comments:
Dirty tricks? We wouldn't know dirty tricks if they stamped on our heel, punched us in the kidney and threw dirt in our eyes!
In a way it was like in Luxembourg last year. A tremendously hard fought victory that was won by digging deep. But it was also different. After Lux we knew we basically had the title whereas I get the feeling the rivalry with the Hague could just get bigger and tougher with each meeting. The season's off to a hell of a start.
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