A very good Melton side provide a stern test

Ilkeston U9s came up against a very good challenge in the two teams that Melton brought this morning. Melton's tackling was generally excellent and this threw Ilkeston 'off their stride'. Subsequently Ilkeston were unable to demonstrate their prowess going forward with the ball to its true extent.

I explained to the players afterwards that everyone of them had played well at times, but had also had periods when they were not quite as good. This was compounded by the fact that they all had their strong periods of play at different times throughout the morning, such that we never saw a truly cohesive display. It has to be said that the boys did play better in the second half of each of the two matches, but we need to develop greater resilience when faced with teams who are that tad bit more forceful in the tackle and favour a more direct running style.

We were missing a few of our 'leaders' on the physical side, and they may well have engendered a more 'front foot attitude' across the team. We were entertained by a well-drilled Melton set of lads and you can't help feeling that with that little bit more determination, that we know the boys have, we would have had a more balanced game of two differing styles battling it out.