U-12 Chatham Strikers Drop a Close Game in London

The Chatham U-12 Strikers traveled to London on Tuesday night to play their first road game of the season against the Southend United Blue Devils, losing 1-0.

Chatham was playing on a brand new turf field for the 1st time and the home field advantage would come into play. Despite the torrential downpours and monsoon like winds, the game went on and the wet turf made for a very fast field and the ball was skidding and bouncing all over the place. Ball control was nearly impossible at times, and Chatham struggled early at getting used to the bounces and ball speed.

Southend was able to take advantage of Chatham’s lack of experience on the fast turf , as a long ball skidded past the defence and sent a Blue Devil player in on a breakaway for a 1 – 0 lead. Chatham eventually adjusted and found their comfort zone and by the 2nd half the tables had turned as Chatham enjoyed numerous scoring chances, but could not get a decent crack on goal.

The game ended in a soggy, cold, miserable 1 – 0 defeat for Chatham, but kudos to the girls for playing tough through the adverse conditions.