U10's A title chasing - it's not over yet

21 March 2009

First Period

With Albion trailing Urmston by 9 points at the start of play and 3 games to go Urmston just needed to avoid defeat to take the U10 Div 1 title having lead all the way and only losing one game to date. The pressure was on both teams and it promised to be a tense and close match, and so it proved.

The first period kicked off and Albion started the more sprightly with Alex shooting just over and Miles doing similarly from a free kick on the right hand flank. Then a real break for Albion – with the ball bobbling around the box it hit an Urmston hand and the referee awarded a penalty for handball, something often unusual at this level. No question who was taking it – Miles stepped up and hit a strong low shot to the right. Although the very talented Urmston keeper got a hand to it, there was too much on the shot and it found its way into the corner of the net for 1-0 and much relief for the Albion coaches & parents alike. At this juncture, the feeling from the parents on the touchline was that we were on our way – little did we know that this was to prove to be the decisive moment of the match.

With Sam & Miles having shots deflected, Tom heading wide from a corner and Nathan pulling off a couple of smart saves, the period ended 1-0 to Albion.

Second Period

The second period was again all Albion. From a Sam Eyres shot, Miles headed wide and then a good interchange between Miles & Will resulted in another shot over the bar. Will, put clean through, then shot wide, maybe nerves were affecting his usually assured finishing? Sam then had a superb shot which struck the upright having beaten the keeper & looking in all the way. How much more could we do without scoring?? The defence was coping really well to snuff out the occasional attacks from Urmston but Ian, Tom & Sam were spending much of their time in the Urmston half as Albion pressed hard to double the advantage. Calvin & Miles again worked tirelessly in the middle and the half ended with a free kick from Alex just wide. Still 1-0 to Albion but now an air of concern from the touchline going into the final third of the match.

Third Period

Albion were quicker out of the blocks again and Miles saw a smart shot saved by the Urmston keeper who had been by far the busier to date. Then Urmston broke and the Albion defence cracked for arguably the first time and an Urmston strike was saved by Nathan but dropped at the feet of their striker. 1-1 surely! No. Nathan recovered superbly to track and block the shot and recover the ball to the relief of all Albion supporters. Nathan picked up an injury for his trouble and was replaced by Patrick who had a solid final 10 minutes or so.
Wilmslow heeded the warning and both Will & Sam saw shots go wide. Sam then had a shot saved on the line. Tom had a header on target saved and Sam’s follow up shot was also saved. In their final attempt, Urmston found themselves with a loose ball in the Albion box and as the striker stepped up to bury it from 6 yards out, Calvin somehow got his toe to the ball and away to safety with a match-saving interception. No question about Albion’s desire to win this match!

Urmston then saw their big defender down and injured while making a full-blooded clearance through Alex who also took a knock. The Urmston player was clearly injured and in pain and was eventually taken to hospital for an examination and we all wish him well as it is quite a distressful sight to see at this level.
A final flurry saw Albion on the attack and Alex headed over the bar and Sam narrowly missed a follow-up from Miles’ shot.

The final whistle blew, it had been a comfortable win in terms of clear chances but a narrow one in terms of the scoreline, 1-0. We did what we needed to do to keep our chances of retaining the title alive – credit to the lads for a performance of character in the face of sturdy opposition and home support.

Man of Match: Miles Fenton. A display of leadership and character especially for the decisive moment of the match. Special mention to Nathan & Sam who were close behind in the voting.

Source: M Harney

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