Gavin Donoghue’s FC Dubai under 11’s side lost out 4-1 to It’s Just Football in their third game of the 2016/17 Jebel Ali Youth League on an action packed Saturday at Jebel Ali.
Donoghue was pleased with the way his side started the match and felt that they didn’t deserve to go behind: “I thought we started well, we played better football than them. We were unfortunate to lose the first two goals; our keeper dropped one in in the first ten minutes and then we were non-existent defensively for the second goal.
“But we go again and we look forward and working with the lads. We want to get our shape, do things right and play football the way we want to play.”
An early goal in the second half gave FC Dubai hope and as the game progressed they looked to be getting back into the game. However their goal was followed by an unfortunate own goal which meant that It’s Just Football headed home with the points.
“I was hoping it was going to turn in the second half, we scored to make it 3-1, if we get one back it goes to 3-2 and you can go ahead and win the game from there. We didn’t get the goal and we’ve then scored another own goal which made it 4-1 and it’s a good result for It’s Just Football,” Donoghue said.
With the team only a few weeks old, coach Donoghue is pleased with how the boys are developing with each passing week and he explained what the team’s goals are for the season ahead.
“In term one we are looking to develop the lads, to work them properly, get them into a proper shape and teach them to understand the game more. We’re trying to play in a way that we want them to play and that’s the main philosphy for term one.
“We’ll be looking for results in term two but term one is really to get them in, get them training and get them used to being part of a team environment and push them forward.”
Donoghue picked out two players for special praise after his side’s 4-1 defeat: “We’ve got a midfielder who I’ve been very happy with over the last couple of weeks – he’s taking two touches, he’s passing and he’s moving.
“I was also pleased with my captain today, Elliot. I thought he defended very well. I thought we passed the ball better than they did in the first 10 or 15 minutes but goals win games and that’s not what we did today unfortunately.”
Full video highlights and photo gallery from the match between FC Dubai and It’s Just Football can be viewed here (insert link).