Cropredy FC vs Arden Forest – Final Pre-Season Friendly

Cropredy travelled to Stourbridge to take on Arden Forest in their final pre-season match before the MJPL season gets underway next week.

Cropredy started the game brightly, passing the ball around with confidence and creating several chances to take an early lead. However, the Arden Forest goalkeeper was in fine form and made some excellent saves to keep the scores level.

As the first half went on, Cropredy continued to put more pressure on the opposition, and it was that pressure that eventually led to a well-deserved goal. Riley never gave up, closing the goalkeeper down and winning the ball before setting up Ares, who calmly finished into an empty net.

Cropredy seemed to be in control of the game, but a lapse in concentration from a cross allowed the opposition to find the back of the net, sending the teams into half-time level.

The second half started positively for Cropredy, who continued to pass the ball well. However, as the game went on, Cropredy found themselves dropping deeper and deeper into their own half.

The opposition began to push more players forward, but Cropredy were still dangerous on the counter-attack and really should have added another two goals. Unfortunately, the chances went begging.

With around 10 minutes remaining, the opposition won a corner. Cropredy switched off, and the ball ended up in the back of the net to give Arden Forest the lead.

Cropredy’s shape became a little wobbly towards the end of the game, and discipline within the team started to fade. Right near the final whistle, the opposition added a third goal when their player reached the byline, beat his marker and pulled the ball back into the box for a simple finish.

Man of the Match 🏆

Henry – Henry played at centre-back and did brilliantly considering it is not his usual position. He won his tackles, never gave up and used the ball well throughout the game.

Manager’s Review

Overall, Cropredy played well and there was plenty of good football on display. We passed the ball confidently and, not just could have, but should have scored more goals in both the first and second halves.

The work rate was there, but our finishing wasn’t quite clinical enough. We need to be more precise in front of goal and also become more physical when required.

Overall, though, it was another good performance and a positive way to finish pre-season. There are plenty of things to build on as we head into our first MJPL game next week.

Well done everyone. Keep pushing yourselves and keep improving!

💙⚽ UP THE CROP! ⚽💙