Following a successful pre-season campaign with seven wins from seven in the Wearside league, we take the opportunity to look back at the camp through the eyes of first year midfield maestro, Rory Edwards...
Pre-season kicked off at the end of August, just early enough to enjoy the last of the summer weather in the North East. Myself and the other freshers moved into Stephenson College ready to hit the ground running. The first week was fairly light training wise as we arrived on the Wednesday and had our first league match on the Saturday. This quick start was due to the Wearside league already being several games in. This got us out of the famous ‘five lapper’ however head coach, Adam Furness, warned us ‘Monday, it’s coming…’.
It was an interesting welcome to the Wearside league with not only an opposition player but also an opposition fan getting sent off.
As for the match itself, we were aware it would be a battle as we only had three days to prepare and familiarise ourselves with the shape and our team mates. We dug deep and managed to get a 1-0 win at (what we hope will become) the fortress Maiden Castle. It was an interesting welcome to the Wearside league with not only an opposition player but also an opposition fan getting sent off. Arguably at least two other players should’ve seen red also. I was told afterwards it was a fair representation of how most games go. I figured that going forwards being technically superior won’t be enough, we will have to earn the right to play.
After the victory I experienced my first visit to Mr Allen’s and had the day off on Sunday to explore beautiful Durham. I also had a few hours with team mates in the JCR playing some of the most intense table tennis matches of my life.
Adam lived up to his promise as Monday came and the first ‘five lapper’ of the season took place. If you’re unfamiliar to this delightful drill the aim is to complete five laps of the track pitch as fast as you can. Easier said than done, trust me. Football wise we were growing in our understanding of each other ahead of our second league match on the Thursday. I felt that although we won our first game, it served as a wake-up call as to how physical these matches could be. We would need to be up for it from minute one. We came away from our second match, against current top of the league at the time of writing, with a deserved 2-0 win and spirits high. We showed we were capable of competing in both sides of the game. First half we played some good football and showed real dominance on the ball before battling it out and matching them physically in the second. All-in-all a great start to pre-season.
The training and matches continued to come thick and fast, and apart from one slip up in a Charity Cup, it was a near perfect start. As a team I felt we were coming on leaps and bounds as we got fitter, sharper and continued getting closer as a group on and off the pitch. These improvements showed in our performances in the next games with some emphatic wins, scoring 15+ goals without conceding one. These amazing wins were matched equally by the celebrations, most notably our Wednesday night trip to Newcastle.
After indulging in some electrolytes and loosening up the legs in Market Shaker, a few of us stepped outside for a breath of fresh air when we bumped into Nate Diaz. Yes Nate Diaz, the American MMA fighter who fought Connor McGregor twice and is one of the biggest names in the UFC. Randomly in Newcastle on a Wednesday night walking down the high street looking for a curry house.
As pre-season continued I was enjoying life at Durham more and more. The training, the socials, the self-catered dinners with the boys and the hours of table tennis. After a couple weeks I felt completely settled into Durham life.
As pre-season continued I was enjoying life at Durham more and more. The training, the socials, the self-catered dinners with the boys and the hours of table tennis. After a couple weeks I felt completely settled into Durham life. Getting back to the football, we knew the real test of this pre-season would come on the final Friday night, playing Easington Lane away. They were the team that beat us in the Charity Cup and are one of our biggest rivals in the league this season. It was an early opportunity to put a marker down and show that we are serious contenders. We rocked up in high spirits and ready to put right our previous performance. As expected, it was a battle and we ended up going a goal down early on. However that didn’t phase us, the four weeks of pre-season had forged us into a team that had each others’ backs. We weren’t going to fall at the first hurdle and got it back to 1-1 before half time. Moving into the second half we scored again to make it 2-1 and we thought that would be enough to win it. However following a goal line scramble from a corner they equalised making it 2-2. Shortly after this setback our skipper decided to take matters into his own hands. He embarked on a slalom dribble the length of the pitch before sliding in Phil Kay to make it 3-2, sealing the victory in a game that could have massive repercussions at the end of the season. After that massive win, a trip to Mr Allens’ was always going to be on the cards and it was ‘loaded’.
Reflecting back on the last 4 weeks, I remember one of the first things I was told was that pre-season is one of the best times at university, now I can see why.
Reflecting back on the last 5 weeks, I remember one of the first things I was told was that pre-season is one of the best times at university, now I can see why. Firstly physically, with the notorious five lappers, the quality S&C sessions (as well as my personal muscle up training with PT Gomps, I’ll get there one day) got us in good shape. Then technically, with the high standards set in training, the high volume of games and the competitiveness challenged us all. And finally socially, (I’m not just saying this because this is going on a newsletter), I genuinely feel we have a really good group of lads and I’ve already made some incredible friends. I think the relationships we’ve built will pay off throughout the season, and already has with that big away win at Easington Lane. I think I speak for all the freshers when I say we feel really settled and we’re all buzzing for the season ahead. I do believe this is a special group and hopefully we can look back eight months time with four promotions and reflect on how important this pre-season was. We will see…
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