Tuesday was our 3rd arranged game against Vitesse. We had trained in preparation for the game the previous day however fundamental mistakes were made and we ended up losing the game 1-0.
All the lads were disappointed as it was our first defeat of preseason and it could have been avoided. The game was delayed for various reasons and ultimately ended up only being 60/65 minutes long so as we returned to the hotel later in the afternoon we ran a short training session as building fitness is essential at this stage of the season.
The next day we had a double session ahead of us. It consisted of various passing drills and finishing. However between the two sessions we had an opportunity to have a team ‘bike-ride’ down into Delden in order to receive a guided tour around the historical town.
This was great fun, especially the bike ride, however some lads still cant get to grips with traveling on the opposite side of the road!
That night consisted of a competitive game of bowling! In the hotel facilities there is a four lane bowling arena and this was the venue of the superior 2nd years beating the 1st years overall!
We were also fortunate to arrange a game the next day against Cheltenham, one of the other teams that is out on the tour with us.
Today (Thursday) we trained in the morning, with the game that was arranged against Cheltenham scheduled to be played in the afternoon. The session in the morning was just light as we did not want to tire too much before the game in the afternoon.
The game was good and competitive with both teams showing great potential. We came through victorious with a 3-2 win, goals coming from Chris Sutherland, myself – Jack Poxon and Luke Wandless.
The victory was a great close to the tour. Tonight we have an outdoor barbeque as it is our final meal at the hotel because we are due to leave and fly back to England in the morning.
The whole experience of this tour has been massively beneficial for all at Oldham Athletic. We have had a fantastic opportunity to experience and get involved with lots of new things which we are thankful for.
On behalf of all the boys we give a huge thanks to Tony and Mick, our coaches, for helping to provide us with this fantastic experience. We also say thanks to LFE for the whole organisation of the trip and if possible we would all love to do this again.