Yesterday was a shorter day for us because we did not visit multiple places. We played our third and final game versus the AFC Bournemoth U21 team. Bournemoth is in the championship which is the second division of professional soccer in England. We ended up winning the game 2-1 and it was a good result to finish our week. It showed we had learned from our past experiences here in England and applied them on the field. After the game, we showered and returned to the hotel. The rest of the day we were able to relax at the hotel and recover a bit from playing three games in four days. The plan for today is to tour Chelsea's stadium and then explore London for the afternoon.
Cheers,
Kevin Schafer
Today was our biggest test from a footballing standpoint of the tour, as we set out to play against the reserves of AFC Bournemouth.
Bournemouth play in the Championship, which is the level right below the Barclays Premier League. The top three teams in the Championship move up to the Premier League each year, and Bournemouth are a quality side - their first team currently sit tied for 11th, and their reserves have only lost twice all year.
The reserve team is a critical piece of a professional club, as it is made up of the combination of the club's top young prospects, as well as members of the first team that either aren't getting regular playing time or are recovering from injury - much like the equivalent of AAA in professional baseball in the US.
Knowing that we would be playing against a team of this caliber, I know that our boys were really excited about the opportunities to measure ourselves up. The facilities we played at were outstanding, but the novelty of the experience wore off quickly when they opened the scoring with a tremendous free kick in the 3rd minute.
Credit to our guys for staying focused and composed, and our defensive pressure in midfield helped us win possession and play through them to set up Mark Anthony Gonzalez' goal in the 20th minute to tie the match at 1-1. It was Mark Anthony's second goal of the tour, and came off some great build-up play between he, Faik Hajderovic, and Nate Opperman.
When speaking with the Bournemouth staff following our match, they credited our ability to press in the attacking and midfield thirds of the field. I was really happy with how organized we played, as well as how committed our guys were. That commitment, focus and drive helped spur us on to maintain that standard, and were rewarded by Nick Schroeder's 75th minute goal that ultimately served as the game-winner.
Holding a 2-1 lead against a very strong side is not only a test of tactical organization, but even more so about the discipline, character and will of our group. I was very proud of how the guys performed throughout the match, and in how they killed the final 15 minutes off to claim the victory.
It was a great way to finish the playing portion of our tour, and offered a valuable learning experience that we can build off of. Competing so well against a top professional side breeds confidence in our team - we will not see many teams like that in the US, and if we can replicate that performance in the future, there are exciting times ahead for the Aces.
Yours in soccer,
Coach Jacobs
