Ladybridge continued to pressure Heyside with a couple of corners straight from restart but efforts on goal by both Taylor and Dion from these would result in shots just over their crossbar. Cole continued to create chances down the flanks and James was unlucky not to score from a cross from Cole when the keeper saved well from his snap shot after about 10mins. The first substitution for Ladybridge saw Taylor replaced by James Y. Heyside tried to force themselves forward with a couple of long balls over the top only to find Sam cutting out these balls with excellent headers to relieve the pressure. Josh was having a good game and was in the thick of the action with Ben marshaling well in midfield. The 2nd goal for Ladybridge came from a good cross into the area by Ben who found James Y in space who calmly passed the ball past the keeper to make it Ladybridge 2-0.
Tom replaced Cole on 20mins. Heyside's defence were battling well against Ladybridge's forward line but they did give up another goal before half time when a dangerous cross into the box was unfortunately turned into his own net by the Heyside No 14 after good pressure from James Y. Ladybridge 3-0.
Heyside managed to contain Ladybridge well before half time so it remained 3-0 to Ladybridge at the break.
Taylor came back on for James at half time. The first 5mins of the 2nd half saw Heyside’s best work of the game as they started to play some good passing football as they tried to penetrate the Ladybridge solid defensive four. However if the first 5mins of the 2nd half were Heysides the next 30 were Ladybridges when we managed to rack up 5 unanswered goals before full time. The first of these came from a sharp run and pass from Dion to Taylor who found Tom in space in the centre of the pitch 20 yards out and he unleashed a real thunderbolt past the keeper to make 4-0. Ladybridge's fifth goal was set up by an excellent clearance from feet by Conor up to the half way line that found Taylor, who promptly ran past a couple of defenders before chipping coolly over the advancing Heyside keeper to make it 5-0. Our sixth started with a pass from Taylor to Dion who found James Y in space and he dispatched a good shot into the goal to make it 6-0. Heyside had a great opportunity to score after this goal when their No 17 found his teammate the No 10 advancing forward with just Conor to beat but his final touch on the run was just too far in front of him and allowed Conor to kick the ball clear. Ladybridge's seventh goal came after a corner taken by Dion that found Cole on the edge of the box and his smart shot was parried well by the Heyside keeper only for the loose ball to find James who dispatched it over the line to make it 7-0. The final goal of the game was created after some determined work from Ben in the centre who ran forward to find Tom 20 yards out and he hit a low hard shot past the keepers despairing dive to make it 8-0 full time. Neil switched personnel on a number of occasions with substitutions throughout the 2nd half to give all the lads valuable game time.
Our opponents gave it 100 percent effort this afternoon and their keeper and defence showed plenty of resilience and heart although the final score would suggest otherwise. Heyside had a good collective attitude throughout their side that I'm sure will see them bounce back quickly from a tough cup tie defeat. The Ladybridge team, coaches and support wish you all the best for the rest of your season.
Ladybridge today operated and performed very well from front to back and all the squad played a part in today’s successful cup-tie win - well done one and all.
Our next opponents are top of the league Avro away whose current unbeaten league form at home is very impressive indeed. Our league aspirations will be fully tested by Avro in this game, so we'll need to perform at our best if we want to take anything positive away from the game.
