Youth Men's side for the Cowra Senior Soccer Club went down 8–3 to Blayney in tough conditions, with coach Drew Willis pointing to a slow start and a lack of talk as the key factors.

“I believe the key factors in our loss were a slow start and a lack of communication in the team," Willis said.

"Blayney put a couple of early goals on us and we couldn’t keep up with their tempo.”

Blayney jumped on the front foot early and forced the game onto their terms.

“The ground in Blayney is unfamiliar to us. It’s incredibly bobbly and is on a hill,” Willis said.

Those conditions, plus the weather, made it a grind from the first whistle.

“It was cold, windy and rainy," Willis said.

"On the day we couldn’t really overcome it.”

After the break, Cowra tightened up and focused on limiting damage.

“In the second half we changed our formation to a more defensive line-up to stem the flow of goals we had been conceding," Willis said.

"It worked and we had a much improved second half.”

With two games left before finals, the group is focusing on the positives and banking the lessons.

“We are only two games away from finals, so this loss might impact the confidence a little," Willis said.

"A positive for us at the end of the game was our spirits were still high.”

There was a clear standout despite the scoreline, with work rate and attitude shining through.

“My standout for this game would be Jackson Brown, regardless of the score, he always gives 100%," Willis said.

Looking ahead, the focus is simple, to start fast and speak up from the back to the front.

“Definitely communication needs work and starting the game on the front foot," Willis said.

"We need to make sure we are sharp come finals time.”