We were back in training on Monday and everyone felt fresh and it was reflected in training. We done some attacking drills, where we had to break away and get at the defenders quickly. When the attack broke you then became defenders and one person had to drop out to recreate a counter attack. All the lads enjoyed it and we had a good crack about in the changing rooms.
On Tuesday we worked on possession with some of the school boys then in the afternoon we were out doing some shooting which went down pretty well.
On Thursday we had a really physical day. We did some technique work which involved dribbling the ball around mannequins then some 1 v 1s then we finished off with a small sided game. On Friday we went through our shape work after we’d done some possessions.
Academy Match: Newcastle United v Sheffield United
It ended 1-1 but we were lucky to come out with a point as our performance in both halves was not up to the standards we set ourselves. Although we looked sharp in training leading up to the game, nothing was going right. It was 0-0 at half time and they went 1 up just after the break.
We all thought that was it, especially when Phil missed a header from inside the 6-yard box. But he made up for it with a beautiful curling shot. Sheffield were on the attack and it became an end to end game.
