It is the culling season for teenage footballers and nerves are understandably raw. A goalkeeper misses his kick, the back-pass rolls against the foot of a post, he scrambles across to clear but only as far as the striker who knocks it into an open net.
No one laughs at this comedy of errors. Scouts sink deeper into their long, quilted coats, scribbling notes and tapping phones, team-mates offer encouragement and parents try to transmit their silent support.
These are the English Football League exit trials and around 300 youngsters are fighting to keep their dreams alive.