U13's suffer - Derby Day misery

20 September 2009

For the Blue areas of Wilmslow it was a Derby Day to forget, only the Red half, well three quarters, had something to cheer, as Fergie’s boys showed what a winning championship team has to produce every week; hunger, desire & will to win to the very last second!

Unfortunately Erik’s boys seem to have forgotten a lot of what has made them such a great team over the last 4 seasons. Although no one would have predicted the final result given how much control the team seemed to be in during the first half, with the defence & midfield in dominant form restricting the opposition to a solitary shot on target. Raife, Jordi, Benno & James produce a solid back four formation, which left Isaac as a spectator for large parts of the half.

In front of them G & initially Dan were bossing midfield with Adam & Dean making regular positive forward runs, from one of these early runs Pete came close with a shot that hit the side netting. Shortly afterwards Pete’s free kick flew across the 6 yard box but no Town player could get the all important touch . Unfortunately this was his last contribution to the game as he limped off with a groin injury and only returned to the match very late on.

In truth the forward line were struggling to make any inroads against a very big and powerful Ashton back four, who were as good as our defence in sniffing out any chances and when we did breach their line, the Ashton keeper proved to be very alert and pulled off four good saves.

Luke’s pace was a constant threat through the centre & again in the second half when switched to the left wing, he repeatedly skinned the full back only to find himself with very little support and so the attacks petered out.

As the first half came to an end you felt it was only a matter of time before our dominance would result in a goal. How wrong we were.

Right from the kick off Ashton stepped up their work rate and put Town on the back foot. All dominance in midfield was lost and the back four, with Owain now on for Benno at centre half were exposed to wave after wave of Ashton attacks. The first goal conceded was as a result of a sloppy pass in midfield which was quickly intercepted and two quick passes later the ball zipped across the Town goal mouth before being unfortunately diverted into his own net by Owain’s despairing lunge.

This was definitely not the spark to get Town going, in fact heads quickly dropped as Ashton totally dominated play, with the exception of a few telling runs by Luke.
Isaac pulled off a couple of important saves as shots rained in from him from all parts.
Eventually the inevitable happened and Town conceded a second from a stunning free kick, which Isaac simply could not reach. Despite the manager running the changes there was no let up and apart from one shot from Milan that was goal bound until it hit Luke which then resulted in a frenetic goal mouth scramble Ashton’s defence never looked like it would be breeched and their total dominance was confirmed with the third goal just before the end of the game, when Dan’s goal kick was won by the opposition number 8, who unchallenged launched a blistering shot from outside the box into the open net.

The boys now have a week to remember what has made them such a great side over the last 4 season’s winning three titles. I’m sure the management team will pick them up and have get them back on their A game for the return match next week

Man of the Match: Raife.

Players Performance

Isaac
A spectator for large parts of the first half showed good alertness to come off his line, when required but could not keep out the onslaught that hit him in the second half.   

Jordi
With his defensive colleagues held a strong defensive line in the first half. But struggled to cope with the onslaught in the second and was regularly exposed with having 2 attackers to mark. Only cheered up when he saw Owen score the winner for the Reds.

James L
Typical dogged performance from James, who was pushed up into left midfield in the second half to try and help stem the flow and add a bit more bite to the attacks. 

Raife
A man of the match captain’s performance, who without some last ditch challenges would have seen an even worse score line.

Benno
Slotted in well at centre half and worked well with the rest of the back four to make the defence look such a solid item in the first half.

Adam
Made some very positive runs in the first half when the ball was got to him. Also showed new battling style with some strong challenges.

G
Was at his competitive best in the first half. The midfield and the team suffered from his absence in the second.

Deano
Started the first half well, making a few good runs and worked well with Lawto on the left flank. Unfortunately despite repeatedly beating his full back his crosses seemed to 
miss his target. Also just missed the target with a couple of shots.  

Dan
Made some strong positive runs into the box, but on each occasion delayed having a shot and allowed the defence to get back and make a challenge. Finished off in net showing he has good hands as well.

Luke
His pace was a constant threat, but was starved of any decent service. Unlucky with a couple of half chances. Switched to left wing in second half and tormented the right back, but lacked any decent support to make them count.

Pete
Unfortunately his season is now starting to resemble ex united striker Louis Saha’s time at OT, lethal when on the pitch, but spending too much time on the sidelines due to little injuries, today it was his groin. Needs to show more determination to play through the pain barrier as he is no good to the team watching from the touchlines.

Ol F
Came on as a second half sub and made some positive forward runs, but in his eagerness to press forward forgot some of his defensive responsibilities and did not take kindly to the words of encouragement from the Assistant Manager.

Bradley
Tried to stem the flow in midfield in the second half and had a couple of strikes at goal but seemed to run out of steam as the half progressed.

Milan
Showed some good touches and composure when he came on, but as with the rest of midfield was unable to make any telling contribution.

Ol Meheta
Bustled around with great energy upfront, but due to the lack of service, was unable to link up with Dan or Luke so struggled to get into the game.                             

Owain
Played the second half in the unfamiliar position of centre half and due to the onslaught struggled to make a telling contribution

Source: P Boyle

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