No relaxing at the Villa - U9Bs show heart in Valentines Day encounter

14 February 2009

With Finn sunning himself in Egypt, Wilmslow's nine-man squad started with Josh Mehta and Harrison on the sidelines. Albion had the better of the early exchanges with Nathan heading a long throw-in just past the post and then good work from Sam and Rohan was rewarded with corners on the left and right respectively.

Timperley's first chance came as a throw on the left was worked into the centre of the field before a shot from outside the area was fired wide. At the other end, Albion won two more corners following pressure down the left-wing, but failed to capitalise.

Then a breakthrough, as the opposition defender mis-read the first bounce from a long Albion goal kick and Sol collected confidently on the second bounce before firing past the 'keeper from the edge of the area. 0-1

With Albion enjoying the majority of possession, Nathan created a chance for himself but put his shot off target. However, he didn't have to wait long for another opportunity and following a long-throw into the Timperley box he seized on some defensive confusion to steer the ball into the corner of the goal. 0-2

Timperley responded well to going two goals behind and had a shot narrowly wide before seeing a long-range effort well saved by James. They also forced a couple of corners – both of which were cleared with confident headers, proving that there is some merit in Friday evening training sessions!

Timperley created three more chances as the period drew to a close - cleared by Sam, Josh Wheeler and Dan respectively – and the final action saw Albion win corner number four after some good work closing down the Timperley defence.

15 mins: Timperley Villa 0 – Wilmslow Albion 2

Wilmslow started the second period unchanged. Timperley continued to press and within two minutes of the restart they had halved the deficit. A cross from the right wing deflected off a Timperley striker to wrong-foot James in goal and send the ball into the Albion net. 1-2

Wilmslow reacted positively, applying more pressure and winning another corner, which Sam swung across the centre of the area, but it evaded both defenders and attackers to drift harmlessly away for a throw-in.

Josh Mehta and Harrison were introduced, in place of Rohan and Sol.

Timperley started to dominate the midfield and Wilmslow struggled to clear the ball and relieve pressure on their defence. Albion did mange to create some chances – a long shot from Dan was well held by the Timperley keeper and Nathan snatched a shot wide when he had the time and space to deliver the quality finish that we've become accustomed to.

In the last five minutes of the second period Wilmslow began to ride their luck. After some excellent running through the centre of the Albion defence, Timperley had a powerful shot go narrowly wide. Josh Wheeler then put in a last-gasp tackle to clear the danger from a Timperley free-kick and a trio of Albion defenders then had to combine to prevent another Timperley shot on goal, at the expense of a corner.

Rohan rejoined the action in place of Nathan.

As Albion dropped-back to defend, Timperley found acres of space in midfield and they were able to collect an Albion goal kick unchallenged on the centre spot and return it with venom, whistling a shot past James' right-hand post. Another mazy midfield run created a good shooting opportunity for the home side, and again it took three men to block the shot inside the area before scrambling it away.

Timperley came closest to scoring when a corner was met in commanding fashion with an attacking header that flew fractionally over the bar.

As the referee blew for the end of the period, Albion players and supporters gave a collective sigh of relief.

30 mins: Timperley Villa 1 – Wilmslow Albion 2

At the start of the third period we were treated to a star turn (and some light relief from the pressure of the game) by Albion linesman Oli Mehta. With his gaze fixed diligently on the match action, and travelling backwards down his line, Oli had an unexpected encounter with the pile of Albion kit bags and coats and disappeared - "A over T" and flag flailing - from the horizon. 9.6 for execution, 10.0 for entertainment,

Back on the pitch, Timperley were applying more pressure and James maintained Wilmslow's lead with a good parry from a close-range Timperley strike, followed by an excellent recovery to get across his goal and clear with two Timperley strikers bearing down.

Rohan and Harrison were replaced by Nathan and Sol.

Albion continued to struggle to clear their lines and a Timperley free kick from the half-way line was given a needless defensive touch as it went well wide of goal to concede an unnecessary corner. More eye-catching running from the Timperley midfield caused Wilmslow problems and resulted in a shot across the face of the Albion goal, which begged an attacker's tap-in but ran away for a goal kick. Then another Timperley attack was thwarted by James, coming off his line bravely to meet the opposition attacker and deflect the ball away for a corner.

Slowly, Wilmslow started to regain a foothold in midfield and play the ball out of danger areas. Sol enjoyed a rare opportunity, but was unable to get sufficient power behind his shot to trouble the Timperley 'keeper. Then, somewhat against the run of play, another opportunity for Sol and this time he made it count. Collecting a pass on the edge of the box, he moved the ball away from the last defender and onto his left foot before beating the 'keeper from just inside the box. 1-3

Timperley responded immediately with a strong, no-nonsense attack through the centre of the Albion defence. James was able to block the initial shot but it rebounded to a Timperley shirt and the home side make no mistake with the second attempt. 2-3

Only a couple of minutes remained and, as Dan raced across the pitch to take a throw in, shouts of "Slow Down!" from the Albion supporters summed-up the mood.

45 mins: Timperley Villa 2 – Wilmslow Albion 3

The game ended 2-3 and Albion were fortunate to take three points from a match in which they were forced to defend for large periods. But a win is a win, and Wilmslow can point to recent games where they were the better side and came away without due reward.

Timperley Villa are possibly the strongest attacking side that the U9Bs have faced this season and benefited from two outstanding individual performances – one in defence and one in attacking midfield.

Another performance worth a mention was that of the referee, who was clear in his decision making and controlled the game confidently. It is rare at this level to witness a ref play the advantage and then pull play back for a free kick when none is gained.

It was fitting that the Man of the Match award went to Dan - one of Albion's outfield defensive trio – who had an excellent game. Goalkeeper James was another strong candidate. The back line all showed a fearless determination and commitment today, even though they struggled to contain the direct and quick-footed opposition attacking. Similar steel is required across midfield where Albion competed enthusiastically, but too often failed to clear the ball or come away from 50/50 tackles in possession.

Albion meet Timperley Villa again in three weeks time and another close encounter can be expected.

Source: A Wheeler

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