Charlton Athletic U18s midfielder Matt Dench spoke to Valley Gold after the recent 4-2 defeat at home to Bristol City.
The 17-year-old signed from Australia last July and describes himself as an attacking midfielder who likes to get forward, get on the ball and creates goals told Valley Gold:
“It was a difficult first half with the conditions going against us but it didn’t stop us from playing and controlling the game. Although we controlled most of the play we still needed to be more clinical in front of the goal. We had many opportunities that we couldn’t quite finish.
“We also needed to be more reliable in front of our own goal when playing out from the back. We conceded twice from these situations which was disappointing & very unlike us.
“Just as we went one-nil down, Tyreece Campbell brought us back on level terms with a clinical finish from a counterattack. We then went 2-1 up when Mason Burstow converted a Zach Mitchell cutback to reward some very good approach play. But we were pegged back due to a mistake when trying to play in our defensive third and we were punished. The score at half-time, 2-2.
“In the second half we conceded from their first attack with a poor clearance from a long ball that they finished first time. It was not the way we wanted to start the second half. We didn’t have as much control after half-time. We couldn’t seem to find a rhythm or intensity to our play and overall we didn’t string together as many passes. Towards the latter stages of the game, we give away an unnecessary foul on the edge of our box which resulted in another goal. The final score was 2-4 to Bristol City.
“Although we were unfortunate to end the season with a loss after a 12 game unbeaten streak we won the league. After the game, we collected our medals and the trophy.”
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