Match Report

The PFC Academy Youth Team travelled up to Edinburgh to take on SPL team Hibs FC U18’s at their academy centre. The game was played across 3 x 30min periods.

 

It took the first 30 minute period for the PFC players to run the stiffness of a 4-hour coach trip out of their legs. Hibs had plenty of the ball but could not break us down as the PFC team displayed a defensive discipline of the highest level. This period ended nil-nil.

 

The second period started in a similar vein and Hibs scored with a long distance strike. This ignited the PFC team into action and they passed and moved extremely well throughout the rest of the period though without threatening the opponents goal. It must be noted that the PFC midfield started to dominate the central areas of the pitch in the last ten minutes of this period, with Asher, James, Darryl and Brad taking control.

 

The final period was dominated by PFC and they scored off a corner, Jordan getting in at the back post as we have worked on for the past few months. This was the teams just reward for all their good play leading up to this moment. PFC had a few more chances after their goal but as the period went on some the PFC players’ legs fatigued due to the long journey, although the attitude to keep running and not moan about it was exemplary. The Hibs players knew they had been in a game as a coupkle of them had to be treated for cramp towards the end of the game.

 

With legs really tiring in the final 5 minutes Hibs scored again with a simple one-two in the PFC box. Not to be denied PFC rallied and scored the best goal of the game, keeping possession over 15 or so passes before Darryl played Jordan in first time for him to round the keeper and drive it into the top corner. At this point the referee indicated that there were 30 seconds left in the game. Four minutes into injury time Hibs scored the winner.

 

This was the first time in eight games that the PFC Academy Youth Team had tasted defeat, and really a draw would have been a fair result against a team predominately made up of 2^nd year YTS, full-time players.

 

As their manager I must state that every player’s behaviour and attitude across the entire weekend was top class and sets us up nicely to form as a proper team for 2011/12 season.