Town welcome Houston Dynamo to The CNG Stadium

Harrogate Town U12/13’s academy side returned to action quickly after the Christmas festivities on Friday night facing Houston Dynamo all the way from America.

This was a fantastic opportunity for academy boys as it is very rare to play teams from a different country with a different footballing philosophy and culture at this age. This meant a fantastic opportunity to gain experience in order to further develop the boys.
 
The game had a great atmosphere which was courtesy of the travelling families who didn’t stop cheering and chanting for their team all night, this again was a great experience for the boys who I doubt will have ever played in a game so loud but they seemed to enjoy it due to the smiles I saw on their faces. The game however was mostly dominated by Town who ran out 10-0 winners with the goals coming from Charley Parker (4) William Todd (3) Murray Brierly (1) Andrew Todd (1) and Isaac Harris (1).
 
The attacking play from Harrogate was fantastic and this performance was the best we have displayed all season. We played at a great tempo which was hard for Houston to defend against, the movement off the ball in the attacking third led to the boys being able to play short quick passes in triangles to carve open the Houston defence time and time again. It really was a pleasure to see. On the flip side of this our defensive shape is improving each and every game, the boys are now understanding where their starting position should be and where to place themselves in relation to the ball and their opponent. We looked strong and dealt with everything that came our way. One aspect that really pleased me was that when we regained possession we didn’t just lump it forward we kept the ball and played ourselves up the pitch.
 
The boys are developing and improving their performances in every game that passes. I wish them a happy new year and I look forward to working with them in the new year.
 
Lewis Riley
U12/13’s Lead Coach