Due to a waterlogged pitch at our home pitch this fixture was played at
our old pitch at Ladybridge Lane on an overcast and cloudy afternoon. Our subs were Josh, Tom and James Y. Ladybridge were unfortunate not to take an
immediate lead against our opponents when a direct shot high and wide of the
keeper from Cole 25 yards out from the left hand touchline was disallowed for
offside. Ladybridge certainly started
the game well and built momentum well and Dion was unfortunate to shoot just
wide after being found by a clever flicked pass by James. Moston's first foray forward saw an excellent
cross into the box by their No 5 but Caleb managed to get in front of the
Moston attacker and cleared the ball well. The first goal was to be Ladybridge's when a
throw-in into the box was flicked on by Ben and the ball appeared to be passed
into the net by a Moston defender. Ladybridge
1-0.
Moston almost equalized from the restart when their No 11 broke through
the heart of the Ladybridge defence but with just the keeper to beat his angled
shot was collected well by Conor to his left. Dion created Ladybridge's next effort when he
ran well down the right and found Ben in an advanced position but the keeper
did well to block his attempt. The game
was flowing from end to end and Moston again came close when their No 9
unleashed a good shot from 30 yards out that just went wide of Conor's right
hand post. The final goal of the half
came from a corner delivered well into the box by Dion and Ben placed his
header well to score and make it Ladybridge 2-0.
Half Time 2-0 Ladybridge.
Ladybridge again started brightly and a Cole free kick into the area in
the first couple of minutes of the half found Dion whose first time effort just
went wide of the right hand post. The
next 15 minutes of the game however, saw Moston revert to a more direct style
of play and they pumped a succession of long balls forward and this gave our
defensive quartet plenty of work to clear these balls away from danger. The Moston No 7 had a good chance just go wide
from a free kick from 25 yards but their pressure eventually bore fruit when
their No 9 made the most of a bouncing ball in the area to pull one back for
his team and make it 2-1 Ladybridge.
This goal however seemed to have a galvanising effect on Ladybridge
because the next ten minutes of play were to be dominated by the home team and
efforts from Cole and Taylor were dealt with very effectively by the Moston
keeper. The next goal would be crucial
for whichever team got it and the home team would benefit when a long clearance
from the Ladybridge defence found Cole free on the left and after some good
interplay with Taylor, Cole received the ball back in the box and he beat the
keeper well to make it Ladybridge 3-1.
Full Time Ladybridge 3-1 Moston.
Moston fought hard today and for short periods in both halves their
direct play kept our defence busy. I'm sure they'll be keen to try and reverse
this result on Tuesday night when we face them again in the league.
Moston provided a tough test today and gave us an idea of what to expect
on Tuesday evening. A very solid
performance was put in by the usual defensive quartet but the midfield also had
to front up well against a determined opposition. Well done on a great Semi-Final win - you
deserved it!
Ladybridge have now reached the final in each of the three cups we've
entered this season, which is a fabulous achievement. With the Lancashire Youth Cup already secured
we now have a great chance to add more silverware in the Challenge Cup Final at
Ashton FC on Sunday morning against Walshaw Sports. Good Luck lads!
Gordon
