Kaptein Decker om AIL – LSK kampen

Hey! After a few days of getting the team prepared through tactical and technical trainings, it was finally time for our first big test. LSK, the toppserien reigning champions, were the opponent and we knew it was the best test we could get at this point. Going into the game the coaches pushed us to be confident in our high pressure and trust in our organization.

The first half was a bit of a wake up call, where we were forced to defend for large portions of the 45 minutes, but we managed to stay relatively organized in our low press system. We weren’t our normal confident selves on the ball and going into half time, we knew that we had to believe in ourselves more and trust that we could solve situations better. Unfortunately one breakdown lead to LSK taking the lead, but we were determined to right the wrongs in the second half. After the half time talk we came back out with new energy and more confidence in our own play. Although LSK still possessed more ball, we closed down their attacks and they were not able to break us down. On top of that we were more confident playing out of the back and started to attack more. And as one could hope, our hard work payed off. Anna Jøsendal came on the pitch with fresh legs, beat all her defenders down the left flank and set up Yllin for the shot in the box. Yllin was slide tackled before getting the shot off which resulted in the penalty. Andrea was cool as they come and finished confidently past the keeper. 1-1.

The remainder of the game we maintained our composure defensively and worked strong as a unit. The final whistle blew and we came out with a draw. A good result against toppersiens top team.

We can take away plenty of positives from the first game in La Manga; for example our work effort, team morale, and the ability to come back from behind and even to a draw which shows great character. We know we have a few things to work on but that’s why we have preseason game, to turn our weaknesses into strengths before the season starts.

All in all a great first test in the beautiful sunny Spanish weather, and we’re looking forward to meeting another strong opponent Lyn on Wednesday’s game.