Team sports test our ability to do many things. They test our belief in others, our willingness to cooperate, and our ability to sacrifice. A talented team is more than just a group of players with great ability, it is a group of players who are able to focus more on the collective effort of the team than the personal accolades that they may be bestowed with. As an example we just need to look at Real Madrid from 2000-2007 and the signing of their ‘Galacticos’. During this period Real Madrid bought Luis Figo (£38.7), Zinedine Zidane (£46), Ronaldo (£30), and David Beckham (£25). This accompanied with the stars they already had meant that Real Madrid at this point were the most expensive team ever assembled. But although there was initial success, this philosophy was not effective at bringing the European dominance wanted by Real Madrid. Talent doesn’t always guarantee success, it takes a cohesive unit to bring success. If not even Real Madrid and the best players of that time could guarantee success through talent, it proves it takes a whole lot more.
After a midweek breakdown losing 5-1 to a poor St Catherine team we went into the game against Purdue Calumet knowing that we must put everything back together and work together to fix the problems of midweek.
As usual we started the game well, comfortable in possession and not allowing the opponent to get close to win the ball. We were rewarded for this very early on with a goal from a corner, scored by Kelsey Brumley. Purdue didn’t look like a team who came to play soccer, and so often is the problem against playing against such opposition, we began playing down to their level. Taking nothing away from Purdue they began to pressure us for the ball and we struggled to deal with that pressure effectively. Within 15 minutes of our goal Purdue leveled the scoring, and scored again shortly after that to make the score 2-1 in their favor. To allow a team of such poor quality to take the lead was frustrating and though no individual was to blame some changes were made. The response was immediate as we again began attacking and creating chances, leveling through Briana Parrish shortly before half time.
The half time team talk centered around our ability to retain possession and our ability to kill off the game. A few tactical points were discussed and the team was sent back out to take care of business.
The second half performance was a solidified performance. We moved the ball much better and created chance after chance. Our attacks were looking sharper and sharper and we got the goal we deserved through Michelle Bailey. As the half wore on it seemed like another goal may never come, hitting the woodwork several times and spurning a multitude of other chances.
Defensively we were much more solid, and really limited Purdue’s chances. Although Purdue were poor overall, holding a 3-2 lead is always a difficult task and we drove on in search of a goal that would seal the game. This came on the 78 minute mark as our leading goalscorer Ana Derrico found the back of the net again. The goal was a relief and we eventually strolled to the victory we have been searching for.
Unfortunately during the final part of the game Emily Jones suffered an injury. It is a very unfortunate part of sport that injuries occur, and few can truly understand how hard it must be, but we must come together as a team and do all we can to help, and we know Emily will work hard and come back strong.
With a tough week of Conference games coming up starting with Shawnee State on Wednesday 17th we must continue to focus, dedicate ourselves to our style of play, and do all we can to get the result we need. Nobody ever hands you anything in life, those that are successful have worked hard to get where they are, and we must continue to do the same until we get to where we want to be.
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