It was a relief to get a game in today as it’s been 3 weeks since our last competitive game. A clear bright breezy day saw us away to Walshaw Sports this morning. We had a depleted squad with Matt, Dion and Patrick away for the half term holiday. Ladybridge started quickly on the compact Walshaw pitch and we were unlucky not to be one up two minutes into the game after Taylor’s header into the net from a Cole cross was adjudged offside. The first goal of the game was to come from a similar move, which saw Cole deliver a vicious cross into the Walshaw box that was deflected in by the Walshaw defender to make it Walshaw 0-1 Ladybridge.
Walshaw were level shortly after though with a long throw into our penalty area finding the attacking Walshaw player who was much quicker to seize on the loose ball than the Ladybridge defence and he duly placed the ball past Conor to level it up 1-1.
The No 16 for Walshaw would be a constant threat to Ladybridge all game and it was through a determined run by him that saw his smart shot parried well by Conor only for another Walshaw player to follow in from the save to stroke home 2-1 Walshaw. Ladybridge won a corner shortly after going behind and Tom was unfortunate to shoot over after a nice turn and shot in the box. Ladybridge continued to press forward looking for an equalizer and they eventually forced a goal after James Y ran past a couple of opposition players to deliver a great cross into the box that Taylor smartly headed home to make it 2-2. Walshaw were to have the final say on goals in the first half though as their dangerous No 16 played a high looping shot over Conor into the net from 20 yards out to put Walshaw into a 3-2 lead at half time.
Ladybridge started the 2nd half quickly and Taylor was unfortunate not to get a penalty when he was clean through with just the keeper to beat but the ref ruled that the defender got a touch on the ball. Ladybridge regained parity in the game with another one of Tom's special long-range efforts that gave the Walshaw keeper no chance 3-3.
Both sides enjoyed periods of possession and territory over the next ten minutes and the score-line was an accurate reflection of the game as a whole. Conor's long clearances were causing Walshaw problems throughout the game and when one of these bounced well into the Walshaw half Taylor latched on to the ball and was through on goal only to be denied by the brave Walshaw keeper who managed to get his body in front of Taylor to save, but he sustained an injury from this that forced him off with about 20mins of the game to go. Walshaw had two great opportunities to take this game by the scruff of the neck in the next 10mins and it was their No 16 that both chances fell to. His first attempt was a similar effort to the one that he scored for Walshaw in the 1st half when he again launched a high looping ball in towards the goal but this time it hit the crossbar to sail out. His second attempt followed a smart turn where he outpaced the Ladybridge defenders and his low shot just went wide of Conor's post. Ladybridge also had chances and a good throw out from Conor found James Y out on the right and he travelled a good 50 yards with the ball to deliver a great cross into the box that the sub keeper dealt with superbly. Walshaw took the lead again when they produced some good passing down the left flank that resulted in a good cross into the Ladybridge box that again found a Walshaw attacker quicker than our defence to make it 4-3 to Walshaw.
Ladybridge had ten minutes left to try and salvage something from this game and Taylor was unfortunate not to find the back of the net when a long clearance from Conor found him in space and his run and shot just went wide of the right hand post. The equalizing goal did come eventually and it was a speculative individual effort that saw James Y run well with the ball down the right wing to deliver what he admitted later was a cross into the area that actually sailed over the Walshaw keeper into the net to make it 4-4.
The last goal of the game was a harsh one for Walshaw to concede as it came from one of their defenders trying to clear the ball from his penalty area only for this clearance to hit one of his players and bounce back and spin into the net leaving the keeper with no chance to make it Walshaw 4-5 Ladybridge Full Time.
Walshaw were very unlucky to be on the wrong end of the 4-5 result today and it took a bizarre own goal from them in the end to seal the win for Ladybridge. A draw would have been a fair result in my opinion. Walshaw have a great defensive unit that work hard and well together and they possess a real gem of a player in their No 16 who was the stand out player for me on the pitch today. I'm sure they will be relishing the opportunity to try and reverse this result next week in the Cup. All at Ladybridge would like to wish their keeper a speedy recovery from his injury and hope he is well enough to face us next week.
Well done today lads each and every one of you put in an enormous amount of effort to edge past a competent hard working opposition. A three-week layoff and three players missing certainly tested your resolve this morning but once again you found a way of grinding out a victory when defeat stared you in the face.
