CB Hounslow vs Kingstonian Gardens (0-1)

The team CB Hounslow placed forward this week were a lot more experienced as the manager went for maturity to youth. The team they were playing looked well organised from the start but one disadvantage they had was that they had no substitutes so any injury to their player would be devastating for their manager. The match started with both teams running at each other and the tempo of the game was high even though not many chances were created. There was definitely an edge to CB Hounslow this week as they looked a lot sharper with their passing but a mistimed clearance caught them out but were lucky to escape as the striker can only help the ball onto the post.

The next chance fell to CB Hounslow this time as a ball over the top confused the defence the keeper and the last defender but the striker couldn't capitalize and hit the post from a mere 4 yards. The first half looked to finish 0-0 but the left winger of Kingstonian Gardens had other things on his mind as his trickery and a lucky cross lobbed the keeper. Second time in a row the manager of CB Hounslow made another substitute in the first half as he replaced a lethargic centre midfielder. Before the substitute could make an impact on the game the first half ended. The second half started with CB being more positive and their intentions were clear as they were creating great chances but couldn't convert any of them. The manager looked to the substitutes bench for more options but none of them worked and the game ended agonisingly for CB Hounslow with another loss.

Bad Form

Form is a state of an uncluttered mind where a player knows exactly where the next run or the next goal is coming from. Players in their respective playing career will go through bad form no matter how good they are. Bad form is a part of the game no player wants but it is a certainty that he/she will suffer from it some time during their playing career. Bad form can ruin a player's career if they don't know how to handle it as there are various ways of dealing with bad form. One way being to practise as much as possible whereas the second way is to take a break and get away from the game so your mind can be refreshed. Researchers have said that 'form is all in the mind' which means that sport is played more in the mind than players and coaches recognise it to be.

Bob Woolmer's art and science of cricket had a really good quote which I would like to share and elaborate on which is that sport is played 90% in the mind and 10% on the field so why do we only practise the 10%. This is very true in most sports players especially the new, rising ones as I can recall myself going to the nets every day while I was going through a rough patch and then I realised that I have to clear my mind of any doubts before I can perform to the best of my standards. I still don't think I have done that but at least I don't underestimate the power within.

Referral System

The referral system has been created by the ICC (International Cricket Council) to help umpires make the correct decision by using technology which is available. The captains or the batsmen can ask to refer a decision if they think the standing umpire has got it wrong and the third umpire will get the right decision by using the technology. The technology available for the third umpire are hot spot, snickometer and hawk-eye to predict the results, all the information gathered by the third umpire is sent down to the standing umpires.The referral system is still not used in all matches as some countries don't have all the technology and the ICC is still testing the system.
I think that the referral system should be used but still has a few issues with the rules as it isn't clear and the third umpires are still making mistakes even with all the help they get. Some of the mistakes being made are not turning up the speakers while watching the replay, front foot no-ball not being taken into concern. and not using the hawk-eye system in the most effective way possible. The rules are confusing as every person interprets them differently therefore the ICC has to make a clear rule which is followed by everyone in the same manner.

Imperial Athletic FC vs Parkway FC (1-2)

Before the game could kick-off, Imperial had a big disadvantage as they only had 9 players on the pitch due to bad turn up. As the game started this didn't have an effect on the players as they were playing as a unit and Imperial created good chances with the midfield and strikers linking up together but couldn't put any of the chances away. Parkway were slow to get into the game as they looked surprised due to the enthusiasm shown by the players of Imperial. After 25 minutes both teams looked good on the ball but Imperial had the better chances as they broke the defence but couldn't hit the target. Parkway had the better of the latter stages in the first half as they enjoyed a lot of possession with a few half chances but good defending by Imperial kept the score at 0-0. The first half ended with a free-kick taken by the Imperial Athletic's striker but went just over the crossbar yet this still proved that Imperial couldn't test the keeper.
The second half started with Parkway playing more aggressive and with more intent as they knew that this could be the game they get their first win of the season especially with Imperial being two men down. Imperial looked more scrappy and rusty with some of their touches being hefty which gifted the opponents with the ball and the possession. Around an hour into the match, Parkway made a couple of quick substitutions as they wanted more width and fresh legs, this had a major effect on the game as Imperial started to fatigue and couldn't replace any of their players. A ball over the top from Parkway caught some of the defenders ball watching but a reaction save from the Imperial Athletic's keeper kept them in the game but not for long as soon after a through ball left the defence out of position and the striker making no mistake placed his shot in the top left hand corner. The match was overshadowed by a collision of two heads as Imperial's left back had to be taken off with an injury to his temple and with Imperial not having any substitution this meant that Imperial had to play with 8 players. Soon after this incident took place, Parkway doubled their lead with a ball over the top which left the keeper and the defence stranded which meant the game was well out of Imperial's reach. Even though there were only a few minutes left on the watch, Imperial grabbed a conselation goal with a cross that was uncleared by the Parkway's defence.
The question Imperial have to ask themselves is that what would have happened if they turned up with a full squad which surely would have made a major change in the score. My well wishes to the left back who had to be taken to hospital due to the incident and I hope that he is available for the rest of the season because Imperial need as many players as possible.

CB Hounslow vs Indian Gymkhana (1-5)

The game started off steadily with both teams having enough time on the ball. As the game progressed so did Indian Gymkhana as they started to control the game with a couple of good chances. The midfield started enjoying playing with some good skills and the strikers had some joy in front of the goal. The CB Hounslow's defence looked nervous and before they knew it, Indian Gymkhana put two goals in quick succession past CB Hounslow. This lead to CB Hounslow giving up possession in the middle which meant the players had to work harder to win the ball back but they still couldn't stop the wingers from getting crosses in which lead to another two goals. Thirty minutes gone and the score was 4-0 Indian Gymkhana which lead to a tactical change from the manager of CB Hounslow who replaced the young left back with an experienced player. This was a critical move as CB Hounslow had a better shape and started attacking from the defence which lead to the last 10 minutes of the first half with CB Hounslow having a couple of chances.

The second half started the same as the first but CB Hounslow looked more composed with and without the ball, but soon into the second half another change was made replacing the right midfielder who looked out of sort. The player that was brought on went into the middle which meant one of the players went on the right and soon after Indian Gymkhana looked on the back foot. Even though CB Hounslow had a lot more command on the game they didn't trouble the keeper, and they were penalised for this as Indian Gymkhana produced a really good move and caught some of the CB Hounslow players 'napping' to score the fifth goal. As soon CB Hounslow kicked off they looked more dangerous with ball and enjoyed more possession which eventually paid off as they scored with a ball over the defence. The third substitution came near to the end as CB Hounslow were looking for more creativity and pace but the player didn't have much time to have an effect on the game.

To summarise the game Indian Gymkhana were all over CB Hounslow in the first half but in the second half, it looked like another team had turned up for CB Hounslow but the damage was done in the first half by Indian Gymkhana. Let's see what team turns up in the next game for CB Hounslow.