It’s hard to see a side endure a season like UEL’s Second futsal team but still look back at it in a positive light. However, their captain Robert Wheeler is doing exactly that. The Blues finished second from bottom with just three points from their seven league games, picking up their only win of the season against bottom of the league Writtle College.
“I think it has been a struggle, but we can take plenty of positives from how the players have developed. You always learn from your mistakes and to see players getting better has definitely been a positive,” claimed Wheeler, who often stood in as manager in the absence of coach Trevor Tamatave.
Results Not Everything
UEL’s season started with a 9-3 defeat at home to Medway, which was followed up by a disappointing 8-0 loss to eventual champions Queen Mary. A distinct improvement in performances after this wasn’t enough to change their fortunes, as they then suffered back-to-back defeats to London School of Economics and Imperial College London, 4-2 and 12-4 respectively.
“The results were frustrating, but it was great to see the lads improving and enjoying themselves. It was also a big positive socially, especially for the new students as it helped them to settle and make friends.”
Wheeler highlighted the subsequent 8-2 win away at Writtle as one of the standout moments of the season. “It’s always a challenge at the start of the season as players join who have never played futsal before, so to see them develop from 5-a-side players to proper futsal players was great, and the win against Writtle was a great example of that.”
UEL then found themselves in the Conference Cup quarter finals, after they made the four-hour journey to Swindon to then find out that Buckingham New had forfeited, adding some good news to an otherwise unnecessary trip. The run was not to last though, as their quarter final clash at home to Queen Mary ended 11-3 to the visitors.
Improvement
Their season ended with two more defeats to London Metropolitan and Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, although the performances were a lot more convincing, despite the challenges that they’d faced throughout the season.
“We had quite an inconsistent squad so it was difficult at times. We had a lot of new players come in who didn’t know the game, and when one player isn’t in co-ordination with the rest of the team it can be fatal.”
Despite the results making this season look like a bleak one, Wheeler should be proud of what he has done for the club, as the squad improved and put in plenty of good performances with a number of players looking ready to step up to the first team. This development of players has put the UEL Futsal Club in a good position for the future.