Putting together a great football post-match report is one of those things that a may appear to be a simple enough task, but the reality often proves otherwise. If you regularly read football match reports you may be familiar with the structure and style that is favoured by those in the industry, and there is a reason why a great report takes on a similar theme. And you certainly don’t just restate the score (which is easily available anyway) Here is how you can piece together your own effective and readable game report.
Start with the result and the key moment
Obviously in sport, the result is king, so this where you start, also citing the most critical moment in the match, which usually means the winning goal, or the players whose goals propelled the win. If the match was a draw, then what meaningful moment added to that draw – for example, did one of the goalkeepers make a late save which kept the scores level? This is always where you begin.
Tell the narrative of the match
After the opening salvo, go back to the start of the match and tell the story chronologically through the key moments, focusing on other characteristics of the game too such as the tempo, the level of aggression of both teams, the vociferousness of the crowd, the performance of the officials, and so on. From here you can build the drama of the match and really give the reader a sense of the game, and how the atmosphere and result was building.
“In telling the narrative of the story, you must have seen the match – match reports based on the scoreline itself or on second-hand copy are always immediately noticeable to the reader, especially those who were at the game and will immediately be able to identify the inauthenticity of the report. Once you lose the respect of the reader in this way, it’s very hard to get it back. So, watch the game, and take copious notes,” advises Bill McCrory, a football writer at Ukwritings and Boomessays.
Finish the narrative by linking back to the main moment
There is always something cyclical about a match report in that it ends more or less at the same point as it began, and that completes the circle for the reader, giving a sense that there is nothing missing and confirming the feeling that they know ‘understand’ that particular match. That’s why the final paragraph needs to link back to the pivotal moments.
“The best way to summarize a great match report is to say that, for someone who hasn’t seen the game, it leaves them not needing to. They may want to – the descriptive elements of your report may propel the reader straight on to YouTube in a desperate hunt for match highlights, which is great – but the overall sense you should leave your audience with is one of satisfaction that they can ‘see’ the game in their head exactly as it played out,” suggests Lisa Addison, a journalist at Academized and Essayroo.
Use the right tools
Poorly written copy just won’t suffice, and these days there is very little excuse for it with the plethora of online tools which are there to assist with everything from grammar to spelling to proofreading, editing and beyond. Tools like WritingPopulist, State Of Writing, AustralianHelp, Studydemic, Writing Services and Revieweal are all incredibly useful services that can elevate your writing to professional-looking levels.
Use quotes
Quotes add a sense of thoroughness to any piece of non-fiction writing, and here they will add weight if you can include pertinent quotes from the teams’ coaches, star players and the player who was integral in the game’s pivotal moments.
Context
Also add a little context for the season. So how does the result reflect the teams’ overall progress? Are any injuries sustained in the game likely to wreak havoc on upcoming events? What does it all mean for the teams in the bigger picture? This is the final piece of your match report jigsaw.
Go easy on the stats
Stats have their place, and you can pepper them in gently throughout the report, but by no means should you bombard the reader with these types of statistics, which ruins the flow of your writing. Statistics can work as an aside to your report, but should never be the bones from which you build it.
Aimee Laurence can be found offering her expert insights as a news editor at BigAssignments and Best Essay Help, where she focuses on sports and leisure. Aimee also tutors at College Assignments academic service.
