The flu bug had certainly hit Manor Futsal Club this week, with nearly half the players away ill!

We started with a 3v3 game with goalkeepers, in which you couldn’t pass the ball back to the player you had received it from.  This meant the third player had to work very hard to be available for a pass.  Top team was Leon, James G and Matilde who scored some great far post goals – they even managed to beat teams with 4 outfield players.  In goal, Abbi was on top form, saving shots with ease.  She is really one of the best female futsal goalkeepers we have seen, especially when you think how little experience she has and how young she is!  We then challenged the teams to try to score with a one touch finish, and playing on the full court, it was really hard work.  Several of the players were really struggling.  But that said, everyone worked really hard.

Click here to see some images from tonight’s session

To let the players get their breath back, we got some cones out and talked about the rules of the game of futsal.  We talked about formations, red cards, players on the court and we let the players move the cones as they saw fit.  The players had some great comments and ideas, some not strictly within the laws of the game, but their enthusiasm was great to watch.

We finished with a full court 5v5 game, where if you scored you were immediately substituted.  Coach Chris decided who went back on and to which team, which meant players were constantly changing teams throughout the whole game.  Goal of the night, and it was a cracker, came from Coach Suzy.  She ran on to a through ball and with a bullet of a toe poke, smashed the ball into the bottom corner of the net!  We think she enjoyed that one.

Even though we were very short on numbers, it was still a brilliant session.  Some great play from all involved and we loved the conversations about the game.  Let’s hope we have plenty of players back for next week’s end of term tournament.

We also welcomed back a favourite award from the coaches, the Muppet of The Week – won last week by Abbi.  We won’t say why, but needless to say she is just so photogenic!

Girls’ player of the week – Matilde – She never stops running from the first whistle to the last.  Considering she hadn’t played futsal until the end of last school year, her understanding of the game has come on leaps and bounds.  Keep up the great work Matilde.

Boys’ player of the week – Reece – He is a top lad, who always gives 100% every week, and to top it all off he finally managed to score!  The celebration made it all worth while, we know he is still celebrating now!  Great goal Reece!