The lads have spent today trying to get last night’s match out of their systems and surely there are no better ingredients for this than a ball and a swimming pool…
Whether it’s at Euro 2012 or the Canon Lion City Cup, losing a semi-final is always going to hurt. At half-time, City were 2-0 up and cruising through to the final but in football, as we’ve learned plenty of times over the past 12 months, it’s never over until the full-time whistle.
Once the team have dusted themselves down, there will be plenty of positive take-aways from this experience in Singapore. Some of the football the boys played against Vasco and Singapore, as well as the first half against Ajax, signpost a bright future for the members of this team.
In terms of their overall development as players, the experience of travelling across the world to compete against teams with vastly different playing styles and abilities, can only aid and prepare them for their future challenges.
What really impressed me last night was the professionalism they showed in defeat – they never lost their discipline out on the pitch even as the game was getting away from them and at full-time, they were quick to shake the Ajax players’ hands.
Defender Josh Murray was excellent in our post-match interview in summing up the disappointment his teammates shared.
There’s still a game to go – another meeting with Vasco and Academy coach Darren Bowman emphasised the importance of finishing the tournament on a high.
Tonight, all competing teams will attend a Gala Dinner hosted by the tournament organisers Red Card. At the start of the trip, each team was given a camera to document their time in Singapore which will be shown this evening. I’ll be getting a copy of the City film to share with you.
It promises to be an interesting watch…
