U12 Cougars v AFC Partington -14th November 2010 - Cougars come back to snatch victory from jaws of defeat

15 November 2010 Match report for Wilmslow Town U12 Cougars 3 - 2 home win against AFC Partington U12 (14/11/2010)   U12 Cougars v AFC Partington -14th November 2010 – Match Report Headline   -    Cougars come back to snatch victory from jaws of defeat   Team:     Result   P.Ward,  J.Swift, W.Kennedy, W.Nicol, J.Potter , J.Graham  E.Hundeyin,  R.Bell, C.Hayden, C.Barton. J.Mason, L.Wright   Won 3-2   H/T 1-1   After last week’s demolition of St Johns Celtic the Cougars lined up in fine spirits to face AFC Partington. They knew though that this would be a far sterner test as Partington had also enjoyed a good start to the season and were just behind the Cougars in the league. The Panthers were without the injured Atakan this week.      The starting eleven was Patrick in Goal, a back four of William and Luis at full backs , with Jayden and Jonathan central, a midfield five this week of Callum wide left Connor wide right and Reece/Joe central with Will playing as holding midfield. This left Emmanuel up front,        1st Half   The match started slowly with few chances as both teams were struggling to gain control of a crowded midfield. Emmanuel managed to wriggle through for the first attempt on goal which was cleared for a corner.      With Reece and Joe snapping into tackles the Cougars began to dominate in midfield but time after time we were caught offside. Partington were playing a high defensive line well but with just a little more awareness we could have been clean through on goal on several occasions. There was no one culprit with a number of free kicks awarded against us for having 3 or even 4 players flagged offside.   Connor did manage to finish well from a superb through ball from Will K but again we were adjudged to have been offside. Partington then came back into the game and forced a corner on the right.  From this they managed to take the lead with an attacker finishing well from close range after several weak attempts from the Cougars to clear the ball.   The Cougars went about repairing the damage and played some good passing football in spells particularly down the flanks, Luis and Connor were linking well as were Will K and Callum. Jayden was also having a good game in an unfamiliar central defensive role alongside Jonathan . Partington were looking dangerous though but Will N who maintains his position well in front of the back four snuffed out many attacks and played the ball on well.   Chances came and went.  Callum and Jake on for Reece both went close before Connor on the right played in Emmanuel for the equalizer. This was deserved as the Cougars were having the majority of the possession.   There was just time for several more offsides before the referee blew for half time.       HT score 1-1         2nd Half   Encouraged by their strong fight back the Cougars started the second half brightly , they maintained their 4-4-2 line up with Jake moving to right back in place of Luis..   Emmanuel again broke clear and in attempting to finish collided with the Partington keeper who had dived bravely at his feet getting a kick in the head for his troubles. Fortunately after treatment he was able to continue and he continued to thwart the Cougars attempts to break the deadlock.   Partington were looking dangerous on the break and the Cougars defense slowly retreated towards their own penalty area but not always in a straight line. Partington narrowly missed regaining the lead with a forward firing over when through on goal.   Another Partington attack resulted with a shot from the edge of the area which Jonathan attempted to clear. Uunfortunately the ball bobbled on the uneven ground up onto his right hand . The referee was on hand and had no choice other than to award what was a clear penalty.   The kick was firmly struck but was too close to Patrick who pulled off a solid save much to Jonathans relief. Partington continued to press though and did regain the lead shortly afterwards again finishing from close range after the Cougars defense had failed to clear their lines once again.   The Cougars then went on the attack , Emmanuel and Connor both went close to leveling the scores , on the counter Patrick saved well when Partington got beyond the sagging defense.        With 5 minutes remaining Emmanuel then broke free again and this time finished well to make the score 2-2   Joe was continuing to battle away in the midfield and got his head to a number of Partington clearances hitting the deck theatrically each time to the cheers of the vocal Cougars sideline support.   In the final minute Emmanuel made the Cougars comeback complete again finishing well when played in by Connor.   Final Score 3-2   Goal scorers    Emmanuel (3)   Assists Connor (2)   Summary   A real battling display from the Cougars who nearly contributed to their own downfall by constantly being caught offside and failing to clear their lines. This victory keeps the Cougars up amongst the division leaders but the team are aware that sterner tests lay ahead and they will have to rectify these faults if they are to remain in contention for promotion.   Managers Thoughts A nerve wrecking but competitive and enjoyable game – great outcome and great spirit from the team.   All players could have been awarded MOTM and it feels as if we are beginning to settle in this formation, with everyone knowing what is expected from them in their assigned positions.   This is how we will continue to grow as a team and if we concentrate on improving our weaker points (yes – I DO mean getting caught offside as one of them) we stand a good chance to get to the top of our division. We have some tough games ahead over the next couples of weeks and we will not get away with making mistakes against the top contenders of our league.  Let’s show them what the Cougars are made of by concentrating and playing the best football ever! Well done guys!   Man of the Match           Another close call this week with a number of boys having good games. Awarded to Joe Potter for a solid  midfield display and some memorable headed interceptions.    MOTM: Joe Potter Silver: Jayden Graham Bronze: Patrick Ward Team : P Ward, J Swift, L Wright, J Graham, W Kennedy, J Mason, C Hayden, C Barton, J Potter, W Nicol, R Bell, E Hundeyin Goals : E Hundeyin (3) Assists : C Barton (2) Referee : Abdullah Zubairu Source: Bill Kennedy << to news index   Wilmslow Town U12 Cougars : More Information Fixtures Results News and Reports League Data Stats