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7 February 2010 Match report for Wilmslow Town U13 Cougars 3 - 3 away draw with Broadheath Central U13 (07/02/2010)
With the winter break seemingly over for another year, we all rolled up at Jim Evison for an “away” fixture against the old enemy as their pitch wasn’t playable. Incredibly it has been nine weeks since the lads strutted out on a pitch, which in every sense felt like it was last year... and that’s because it was. The manager himself commented how strange it felt walking out the door on a Sunday morning dragging a sack of deflated balls behind him, but then again, he always walks like that.
A brisk warm up soon re-acquainted the lads with the basic objectives of the game and as kick-off time drew near, they looked confident and raring to go. However, the pre-match confidence looked to have evaporated within the first five minutes of the game with the visitors dominating possession and nearly snatching an early lead when a defensive clearance was sliced into the path of an unmarked opponent, but thankfully he was so startled to get such an early chance, he screwed his shot just wide of Brad’s (yes I mean Brad, who was deputising for our new ‘keeper whose registration had been held up) left post..
Broadheath continued to dominate possession and territory for the first quarter limiting Town to the odd break or two which never really threatened a goal. The most memorable involved Oli Mehta’s contender for Best Airshot of the Season which deserved at least a 5.8 for artistic impression. It was inevitable that Broadheath would eventually convert their dominance into a score which they duly did from a corner to the far post which disappointingly was headed in uncontested by a static Town defence. The lead was doubled fairly soon after when some sloppy defending at the half way line presented an unexpected opportunity to the Broadheath striker who kept his composure and slotted the ball firm and low into the back of the net.
At two nil down midway through the 1st half we felt like we were staring into the football abyss, but an inspired piece of tactical substitution (or was it just pure fluke) by the boss almost paid instant dividends when Dan nearly scored with his 1st touch. In fact, Dan’s appearance up front put a totally different complexion on the game and Town suddenly looked a more potent threat.
It wasn’t long before Town pulled a goal back when, and it had to be, Dan leathered a long range thunderbolt into the back of the net which was no more than he and Town deserved. Fordy, who was having a tetchy battle with his marker, had a claim for a nailed on penalty waived away by the ref. After a period of stalemate, Town began to get a grip of the game and it was supersub Dan again who popped up to steer a little grubber kick of a shot past a rather static ‘keeper. 2-2 it was at the break which most of us would have taken if it were offered after the 1st 20 mins.
The 2nd half (with Adam now in goal) was a much better performance from Town who always looked the most likely to grab the points, but as we all know, football is a funny old game. Boyley went very close almost immediately from the restart. Dan, who by this time was scaring the proverbial out of the Broadheath defence, went on a series of mazy runs which just needed a quick final ball to have been considered real scoring opportunities.
Fordy was continuing and relishing his close quarters battle against his marker and showed strength and tenacity to win a corner when the cause looked hopeless. On the subject of corners, Broadheath could have nicked a goal straight from a feeble Town short corner, but only a poor finish spared our blushes. Personally, I would ban short corners as I’ve never seen them to be effective at any level of football (ooo-er missus......... ..controversial !).
Town could and should have gone ahead when Dan set up a chance for Fordy, but unluckily his rocket of a shot rebounded off the cross way and away from danger. Boyley then suffered the same disappointment that Fordy had just experienced moments earlier when Dan again set up a shooting chance, but Peter’s shot was denied by a magnificent save by the ‘keeper - cruel luck indeed.
At the other end in a match-saving moment, Adam showed his goal-keeping prowess with a point-blank save from a zipped-in corner from which Town counter-attacked and Dan was unlucky to see his shot tamely ricochet off a defender into the grateful arms of the ‘keeper. It wasn’t long after however, before Boyley put Town ahead with a coolly taken shot slotted around the diving ‘keeper after Dan had originally won the ball at the half way line and beaten half the Broadheath defence for good measure before pulling back a killer pass straight to Boyley’s feet.
Having done all the hard work of coming from a two goal deficit to take the lead, Town still on a high from taking the lead, conceded an equaliser from a quick breakaway move, much to the disappointment of the Town coaching staff and parents, who by this time were beginning to show the early signs of hypothermia ad exposure.
Town tried hard to nick the game in the last few minutes with Owain coming closest, but he couldn’t pull the trigger quick enough on his final shot before being descended upon by a couple of burly defenders. As the ref blew for full time, you couldn’t help feeling in the end that this was more a case of two points dropped than a point won, but I guess if you were being completely objective ( something that doesn’t come naturally to me), you would have taken the draw if it were offered before kick-off.
Brad - Couldn’t be blamed for any of the goals in the 1st half and was the most energetic player in the last quarter of the game
Adam - Did remarkably well given that he’d had a painful back spasm about an hour before the game and could hardly move. Looked assured between the sticks in the 2nd half
Raife - Looked comfortably in charge all game without any John Terry moments
Lawto - A typical demonstration of pure tenacity and uncompromising tackling
Barto - Visibly happier to be playing in the heart of the defence, which looked all the stronger for his presence there
Jordi - Came on as a late sub, but that was still time enough for one of his trademark crunching tackles
Fordy - His best all round performance so far this season, something that didn’t go down that well with his marker
G - All action as you would expect and bossed the midfield as the game wore on
Milan - Did a decent impersonation of G in the centre of the park and played with a calm assuredness
Owain - I thought he was going to win it at the death. Energetic display and looks to be back to near his best
Deano - Ditto for Milan. Got into some good attacking positions only to be denied by last line of defence
Oli M - Like many players before him, all his good work will be forgotten and will be remembered for that air-shot
Boyley - Great finish for the 3rd goal. Dad reckons Peter will end up as a Scholes-like midfielder and perhaps that will be his best position. Needs to rethink positioning at far post for corners.... Peter... the ball never gets that far - come in a bit !
Dan - Turned the game around when we were two - nil down. You could see the defender just didn’t fancy marking him in that sort of form
This match report is dedicated to the memory of Michael Boyle who passed away before his time a couple of weeks ago. Mike always loved to come down from Scotland to watch Boyley and the rest of the team as well as his beloved United whenever he could and he will be greatly missed.
Team
A Shaw, B Jackson, O Barton, R Copp-Barton, J Garner, J Lawton, O Davies, O Ford, M Starkie, G Todd, D Musa, P Boyle, O Mehta, D MillerMan of the Match : D Miller Source: M Shaw << to news index
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