U13s cup win with secret weapon - Lycra Man to the rescue

4 October 2009

Given the boys track record in Cup competitions, one win & one bye in five seasons – even another local team who play in Laser Blue, can boast a slightly better record than this !!!  It was with a little trepidation that we all set off for Bramhall for this Cheshire Cup tie.

One major headache for the Boss was eliminated before kick off, which given the state of his hangover, was a great relief to him as selection problems/squad rotation was not an issue today, as 3 players were not available for various reasons, Owain & Luke were away & Adam fell foul, literally, of a running machine !!!

On a bright sunny afternoon, playing on a good pitch, the boys produced a fantastic display of attacking football that simply blew the opposition away.  A staggering 22 shots on target, left the Bramhall defence in total disarray & if it was not for the generosity of a Boris Johnson look alike ref, the score would have been more than the nine nil demolition we saw.  

First Half

As a cup tie, the game was over within five minutes thanks to goal machine Boyley, who was in scintillating form, by banging in a quick brace. It was obvious Pete was full of confidence, as the first goal was scored with his right foot. Following a slide rule  pass into the penalty box from Milan, Pete swivelled and hit a bullet of a first time shot past the keeper.

Milan, after waiting patiently as a sub in all previous matches, looked perfectly at home and immediately struck up a excellent partnership with G & the forward line and displayed a great range of passes and showed what an intelligent player he is.

Town’s second goal was more route one, with Peter outpacing the defence to get on the end of Jordi’s through ball, before coolly slotting home. 

With so much pressure it was a surprise that the Cougars did not make it three sooner than the 18th minute. This was mainly thanks to the defiance of the home keeper, who pulled off a couple of fine saves. He was also helped by the woodwork as Boyley rattled the framework with a couple of rasping shots.

Although it was one way traffic, the defence remained on its guard and all in turns held off Bramhall’s pacy forward, although he lacked any support, so each attack was quickly snuffed out.

Inevitably the third & fourth goals finally came. Dan slotting home from close range following another telling pass from Milan. Dan then set up Oli Ford who burst through the defensive line to slot home, much to his Dad’s satisfaction.

Three minutes later Boyley completed his hat trick, this time G setting him up, following an excellent build up from the back. Despite the constant assault on the Bramhall goal, no further goals were scored in the half and you could hear the audible sigh of relief from the home defence, when the ref blew, especially as he was not working to Fergie time, as he added no additional time, despite all the goal celebrations, multiple substitutions & regular medical treatment to the home defence.

In a throw back to old Puma days, the boys amassed a staggering 21 shots on goal in the first half, of which 12 were on target.

Second Half

With some strategic changes made to the Cougars, Benno on for James, Bradley on for Barto & Ol Mehta on for Dan, it took the boys a while to settle into their stride. Well ninety seconds to be precise, inspired by the arrival of his dad “Lycra man”, Ol Mehta pounced on Boyley’s through ball, to smash a vicious shot high into the net, six nil.  

The shots continued to rain in on the Bramhall goal as everyone tried to get into the act, long range efforts from Bradley & Milan were blocked. Boyley turned goal provider again with an excellent reverse pass to Ol Mehta to bag his second of the day with a powerful shot.

To keep the boys going the boss made some unexpected substitutions, replacing Isaac in net with Barto & Boyley up front with Isaac and it proved an inspired choice, with Barto resembling Van Der Sar, pulling off  three great saves and Isaac adding great enthusiasm and entertainment up front as he came so close to scoring a remarkable hat trick. Unfortunately the ref did not want to read the script, as he blew for offside twice as Isaac slotted home, both very tight decisions. Isaac then compounded these missed opportunities, with the miss of the season, by dribbling past two defenders plus the keeper and with the goal at his mercy & his team mates, Dad & a very audible Mum screaming encouragement managed to put his shot in row Z rather than the back of the net.

Dan returned to the fray & quickly got in the action, by setting Ol Mehta for his hat trick, with a great finish from outside the box. Deano completed the scoring by sliding in at the back post to make it nine nil after the keeper spilled Isaacs shot.

This was an excellent performance by the boys & although the defenders had little to do, they remained focussed throughout and were as pleased as the forwards to keep a clean sheet. Although this was not the boy’s toughest match, nothing should take away from the quality of the finishing, which was first class.

Player Ratings

Isaac Bass
Isaac shone today not with his gloves, but with his eye for goal, he could have had a hat trick, unfortunately the ref incorrectly denied him a brace of goals by incorrectly whistling for offside & on the other occasion his left foot let him down at the crucial moment. But at least he enjoyed his brief run out as centre forward.
Jordan Garner
Solid as ever at the back, and came close to scoring on a couple of occasions with long range efforts.
James Lawton
Showed his versatility by playing both left & right back. Always keen to push forward and join the attack and also saw a couple of long-range efforts just go wide.
Raife Copp Barton
Dominated central defence, nothing got past him & marshalled the back line with great assurity to ensure a clean sheet was kept.
Ol Barton
Showed great versatility first as a solid defensive partner to Raife & then as Town’s Edwin Van Dar Sar, pulling off three great saves to ensure a clean sheet was kept.
Ol Ford
Took his goal well, showing a good turn of pace followed by a cool finish. A solid performance, that met with the Asst. Managers approval.
George Todd
Centre Mid or centre half, no matter the position, G always delivers a quality performance. Linked well with Milan in central midfield and provided the impetuous to keep driving forward.
Milan
First start for the Town and showed with his range of passes what a quality player he is. Seemed to always have time on the ball & came close to opening his account with a couple of shots.
Deano
Another solid performance some great forward runs & crosses into the box and capped it all with a goal, showing quick reactions inside the box.
Dan
Lead the line well and made life very difficult for the opposition, scored one & could easily had more. Linked well with Pete & both wingmen.
Boyley
Another hat trick, which could have easily been doubled, as he hit the woodwork twice. Deservedly won man of the match for a quality performance, clinical finishing added to some visionary passing.
Ol Mehta
Ol, managed to draw the attention away from his Dad’s lycra touchline show, which is saying something!, with a quick fire second half hat trick. All three finishes were of great quality & coolly taken.
Benno
Solid second half performance at left back, won every tackle & header and showed great pace up to double up on the left wing.
Bradley
Another solid performance, produced some strong forward runs in the second half & great strength to retain the ball when challenge.
Adam/Owain/Luke
All not available.

Man of the Match : P Boyle

Source: A Boyle

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