Osborne To Keep A Journal For Bulldog Fans on GWUSports.com During World University Games
August 03, 2007 | Men's Soccer
Men's soccer assistant coach Jason Osborne has been selected to play in the World University Games for Great Britain.
During the course of the training and competition, Osborne will keep a journal and send it to gwusports.com for all the Bulldog fans to view. Below is Osborne's first entry.
August 13, 11:39 p.m. EST
Yesterday was a tough day. We played a tired Canadian team who was playing a very defensive style, looking for a PK shoot out from the start. We had most of the possessions and most of the chances throughout the match. Their only real chance came in the 85th minute and came from a wide free kick, which was met with a head from inside our 18-yard box. It was awful defending on our part and we lost, 1-0. Now the highest place we can get is fifth. This is a good achievement for our squad. However, we know we could of beat the Canadians. Canada goes on to play Italy, who beat Japan on PK's. We now face Japan for a fight for fifth place.
The Japanese have sent their Olympic team, so it is a formidable team with a lot of strengths.
August 11, 11:42 a.m. EST
We won our group! We tied Mexico, but outscored them on PK's. We then beat the Morroccans and defeated the Khazakstanians. Tomorrow, we play Canada. They are a strong team who came in second in their group. This will be our fourth game in seven days. Now is the time that we will be utilizing all of our squad to try and get to the semifinals.
On another note, village life is starting to get a little claustrophobic with the food becoming less and less appetizing. However, our boys are doing well and we are confident of a win tomorrow.
All the best to everyone back in Boiling Springs!
August 9, 11:15 a.m. EST
Today was a great day for team Great Britain. We beat the
top-five seeded team Morrocco 4-1!!! This is a great achievement as
they were Bronze Medalists at the last games two years ago. We
started very slow and were down 1-0 at the half. However, the
second half was very different as we opened the game up and went
all out, scoring four goals in the space of 20 minutes. This result
has put us in good standing to win our group. We play Khazakstan in
two days and if we win that game, we will go through as group
winners. Now its down down time for us and time to recharge our
batteries.
August 8, 11:55 a.m. EST
We played Mexico and they were good. We entered halftime a goal down, but we went out in the second half and ran the show. We pulled back with an early goal and we ended up going to PKs. We were able to outscore them 5-4 in PKs. Next up for us is Morocco. They are ranked in the top five for this tournament so it should be a good match.
I'll write more soon. Go Bulldogs!
August 4, 2007 - 7:36 p.m. EST
Yesterday was a learning day for us. We played the Canadian team in a friendly. They were big, strong guys with a lot of athleticism. Most of the guys on our team are getting used to the new system and struggled a little at the start; however, we got a 1-1 tie and were confident at the full-time whistle that if we would have played a full 90 minutes instead of two 30 minute halves, then we would have gotten a result.
Today we are moving from our holding camp hotel to the Olympic Village. As there are only two players here that have been to a WUGS before, a lot of the younger players are asking a lot of questions. The only thing I can reply to them is that, "You won't believe it!" Over 12,000 of the world's most elite athletes crammed into one village.
Other than that, our first game is in two days against Mexico. We are all looking forward to it and hope to get a result.
Cheers!
August 3, 2007 - 1:14 p.m. EST
Hello to all! I hope things are going well in Boiling Springs. Right now, we are on a 13 hour time difference from GWU. The humidity is close to 80% and everyone on the team is losing between 5-8 lbs. each session. We are currently training twice a day and working really hard to get this group of players who range from MLS to USL to lower division UK plays, to try and gel. Our system we are implementing will take a little bit of getting used to, but with the athletes we have, our coach thinks it will be a great formation.
We are staying just outside of Bangkok in the Amari Hotel. It is absolutely fantastic! We have a friendly game against Canada on Saturday and our first group match against Mexico in a few days is live on Eurosport!!
I'll write more when I get some time. Hope all is going well in Boiling Springs. Go Bulldogs!
Continue to click back on this same link to get up to the minute journals from Osborne on his time at the World University Games.
