Ladybridge v Walshaw Sports - Tameside Challenge Cup Final

On a mild and overcast lunchtime at the impressive Ewan Fields Football Stadium, the home of Hyde United FC we arrived for the Final of the Tameside Challenge Cup against Walshaw Sports.  The pitch was presented to both teams in immaculate condition which, in no small measure is probably down to some significant investment from Man City, who use this ground for their reserve fixtures.  

Today we only had 13 players in the squad with Ollie unavailable due to a family commitment.  Tom and Josh started on the bench for Ladybridge.  The early stages of the half saw both teams struggling to dominate either possession or territory.  Walshaw forced the first corner after 5mins of the game which was cleared well by the Ladybridge defence.  Taylor was unlucky when he was released for a run at goal but the Walshaw No 12 produced a great challenge in the box to deny Taylor the shot.  Cole followed up with a great 25 yard effort from the left that the Walshaw keeper did very well to save on 10mins.  The opening goal of the game was started by a superb 25 yard pass from Matt who picked out Cole and he proceeded to run at the Walshaw goal before picking his spot to score and make it 1-0 Ladybridge.

A couple of minutes later Ladybridge doubled their advantage when a weak goal-kick fell to Dion who ran forward to deliver a delightful cross from the right that picked up Cole in space in the area and he again clinically finished the move off with a good strike to make it 2-0 Ladybridge.

Walshaw forced a couple of corners with about 5mins of the half remaining but Sam and Matt made good clearances to deny Walshaw any efforts on goal.  The dangerous No 16 for Walshaw had been pushed up in an advanced position from defence and he was unlucky to see a strong shot from 30 yards just go wide.  The Walshaw keeper did well with a minute to go when he saved a Taylor header from point blank range to keep the score 2-0 at half time

HT Ladybridge 2-0 Walshaw

Walshaw had an early opportunity to pull a goal back straight from the restart when their No 8 picked out the No 16 only for him to skew his shot wide of the left hand post.  Shortly after this the Walshaw No 6 tested Conor in the net with a decent effort from 25 yards out.  Ladybridge could have scored a couple of goals had it not been for some great goalkeeping from their No 1 when he stopped goal-bound efforts from Cole and then Taylor.  Walshaw were trying hard to fight back and get a foothold into the game but good defensive work from our four kept the dangerous No 16 quiet.  Ladybridge scored their third goal midway through the half when some good work down the right by James Y saw him float a lovely cross into the area where Taylor eventually found a way past the Walshaw keeper to make it 3-0 Ladybridge.

Our final goal of the game was scored when Josh picked out James Y out on the right and he advanced forward into the area before dispatching an unstoppable drive past the keeper to make it 4-0 Ladybridge.  James was denied a late goal when the Walshaw keeper pulled off a great save from a 20 yard snapshot.

FT Ladybridge 4-0 Walshaw

Walshaw today were much better than the scoreline suggests.  They pushed us hard at the beginning of both the 1st and 2nd halves but they found a resolute defence led by Sam and Matt in no mood to give them anything.  Their goalkeeper came to their rescue on numerous occasions during the game and he deservedly won the Man of the Match award at the post match award ceremony.  I was particularly impressed to see that their seriously injured Captain who was on crutches was fully involved with his team mates at the start and on conclusion of the game.  It says a lot about Walshaws collective team spirit and also shows some excellent man management from their coaching staff - very classy guys!  The Ladybridge Team and support hope he makes a very speedy recovery during the closed season.

Well I've pretty much run out of superlatives to describe you guys this season.  This was your 43rd competitive game, which has seen you achieve victory in every competition you've played in.  To defend the Lancashire Youth Cup, win the League and two further Cups is a superb achievement for you and the coaching team - well done to everyone.

Enjoy the summer break lads - you've all earned a good rest!

Gordon

Stalybridge Celtic Blues v Ladybridge

On a mild cloudy evening we visited Blocksages to take on Stalybridge Celtic Blues in our final league game of the season.  Ollie and Caleb were unavailable for us this evening and Sam started on the bench.  Stalybridge started the game well and their No 31 was very prominent with his throw-ins proving to be a potent weapon from the start and it was through one of these that Stalybridge opened the scoring.  He launched a high looping throw in from the right and the Stalybridge striker made a good leap to head home to make it 1-0 to Stalybridge.

Ladybridge hit back within 5mins to level up the game when a slick pass and move between Ben and Taylor resulted in Taylor scoring his 50th goal of the season!  1-1.

Stalybridge were enjoying plenty of possession in the half and they were unlucky not to go ahead again when a corner was met well by the Stalybridge player only to see it fly over the bar.  Sam made a great run from well inside his half and dribbled past 3 or 4 Stalybridge players to find James Y whose advance on goal was brought to an abrupt end by some good defending.  The Stalybridge No 11 scored an excellent goal right on half time when some slack defending allowed him too much time and space in the box and he made no mistake to make it 2-1 Stalybridge.

HT Stalybridge 2-1 Ladybridge

Playing with the slope in the 2nd half saw Ladybridge up their game from the start and early in the half Taylor had a good effort just go wide after a good clearance from the defence found him in an advanced position.  James Y was then to test the Stalybridge keeper from 25 yards out but he did well to keep out a good goal-bound effort.  The Stalybridge No 19 was very unlucky not to score when he made a good break up field only to see his effort go just over the bar.  The final goal of the game was to be Ladybridge's as Dion battled well with a defender in the right hand corner of the pitch to eventually deliver an excellent cross into the box that was met well by James A’s pin point header that nestled into the bottom right hand corner of the net to make it 2-2.

The last ten minutes of the game saw Ladybridge pile forward trying to force another goal with efforts from a Sam header and a Cole drive before Dion hit the crossbar with a great shot in the last minute. Stalybridge held out and their defence was not to be breached again as the game finished 2-2.

FT 2-2

Stalybridge played very well and matched us all over the pitch for a good 60 minutes and they thoroughly deserved a share of the spoils this evening.  Played in a good spirit on a difficult surface we've come away with a good warm up for the Challenge Cup final on Saturday.

At times this evening it felt as though the lads were suffering from an end of season hangover.  After securing the league title in the last game it didn't seem like they were up for it at times, especially in the first half.  However, Ladybridge certainly upped their game in the last ten minutes of the match in particular and if we can perform like this consistently throughout the Cup Final on Saturday we'll give ourselves a good opportunity of picking up some more silverware to end our season on a high.

Gordon

De La Salle v Ladybridge

On a cloudy, cold and overcast evening we visited De La Salle for our penultimate league fixture.  Dion, Tom and a returning Ben started on the bench for us this evening.  This was to be a game of two halves and the first half was dominated by the home team. Rarely has a team been able to out play and restrict us to no chances on goal in a half but this evening DLS managed it.  We were under the cosh after 2mins when a DLS forward was unlucky not to score when he dragged a good effort wide.  Their first corner came on 3mins and again one of the DLS players was unlucky not to score when he headed the ball just over the bar.  So we could have been two down after 5mins.  A few minutes later Conor denied DLS when he saved a point blank effort from a corner.  DLS finally managed to get their deserved breakthrough when a free kick from 35 yards out was driven into the box to find the DLS No 11 free and he headed the ball home to make it 1-0 DLS.  

Ladybridge only forced one corner in the half and this was cleared well by the DLS defence.  DLS should have added a further goal before half time but Conor again made a crucial save in the last minute when he saved a goal bound effort from 10 yards.

HT De La Salle 1-0 Ladybridge.

DLS started the half by forcing a corner within a minute of the restart but the Ladybridge defence managed to clear this well.  Our first offensive move of the game came shortly after when Dion was unlucky not to get on the end of a good pass by James Y but the DLS keeper was switched on to the danger and managed to intercept the ball before Dion reached it.  Cole was the architect of our first goal when he powerfully ran down the left wing and his accurate pass to James Y was finished well by him with a low shot to the left of the DLS keeper to make it 1-1.

This goal seemed to kick start our lads and Cal found himself in an advanced position shortly after the goal and he picked out Cole in the box but his shot just went wide of the left hand post.  Our second goal started with Dion's mazy run across the DLS defensive line and his sublime pass to Cole was finished off well by our left wing wizard to make it 2-1 Ladybridge. 

Our lead didn't last long though as DLS hit back almost immediately when a defensive lapse at the back handed the ball to the DLS forward who made no mistake and made it 2-2.

With about 10mins to go Ladybridge would score the last goal of the game and Cole was on hand to literally slice through 3 or 4 defenders challenges to deliver a great ball into the box where Josh gratefully received the ball and he duly smashed home his shot to make it 3-2 Ladybridge.

Full Time De La Salle 2-3 Ladybridge.

DLS tonight made us fight right until the last minute to gain this vital win.  They should have been 2 or 3 up at half time and out of sight.  They didn't manage to kill us off and I'm sure they're still scratching their heads wondering why they lost this game.  Their players played as though they were going for the league, not us, and a similar performance in the 2nd half to the one they produced in the 1st would have given them the win that it would have merited.

Ladybridge scraped past a determined and impressive side this evening.  When the chips were down at half time and only one team looked likely to win this game they went out in the second and turned this game around completely to produce the vital win we needed to secure the League.

Well done lads from all your supporters and coaches. Tonight's 2nd half performance was one that we will remember for a long time.  Winning Cups is always special but it is the League that defines a team’s season and you have managed to secure this with a game to go which is a superb achievement.

Next up is our final league match of the season away at Stalybridge Celtic Blues on Thursday evening.

Gordon

Ladybridge v Avro - Tameside League Cup Final

A bright and chilly morning greeted both teams at Ashton United for the Tameside League Cup Final.  Our team Captain Ben was a massive miss for us this morning after picking up a rib injury during Thursday evenings defeat to Avro.  Tom and Josh started on the bench for Ladybridge.  The early stages of the half were quite scrappy with both teams struggling to dominate.  Avro's first effort on goal came after about 10mins of the half from a free kick from 30 yards out just going wide.  Ladybridge also had a good effort when James was fed from the left by a pass from Taylor but his shot just went wide of the mark.  Mid way through the half Cole made a lung busting run down the left flank into the heart of the Avro penalty area but his shot was skewed wide of the left hand post.  Avro's best opportunity of the half was to come with 10mins of play remaining when the Avro wingers swinging cross into Conor's area, almost found Ty's head with an empty Ladybridge net to hit.  Caleb stepped forward to take a Ladybridge free kick with 5 to go in the half but he lifted his effort just over the bar.  Avro finished the half strongly and had two decent efforts with one coming from a free kick that was cleared well by Sam and the other was from some good passing and movement that saw the ball find its way into the Ladybridge box but the snap shot from the Avro striker just went wide.

HT 0-0

The 2nd half started well for Ladybridge and it was Cole again who nearly opened the scoring when he made another trademark flying run of 50 yards down the left flank only to see his strike clear the crossbar.  Avro again pressured the Ladybridge defence when a corner was curled into the box where Sam did well to clear with a timely header.  Ladybridge had a free kick awarded to them after 45mins and Cole's delivery into the box found James just short of glancing the ball home.  Avro's No 19 had a really good chance to open the scoring when he made a strong run into the box only to be denied by a superb last-ditch challenge by Matt.  The first and only goal of the game was to be scored by Ladybridge and was set up well by Taylor whose delicate flick on found Cole striding forward into the box with just the Avro keeper to beat which he did with a well struck effort that nestled into the bottom left hand corner of the net to make it 1-0 Ladybridge.

Invariably the team going behind will always create a couple of chances to strike back and in the next 5mins Avro had a good shout for a penalty for handball turned down and their No 15 forced a decent save from Conor when his free kick was goal bound from 35 yards out.  The last five minutes of the game were played at a frantic pace and the Avro No 14 had a good shot saved well by Conor before Cole, in the dying minute, saw a great shot curl agonisingly wide before the referee's final whistle.

FT Ladybridge 1-0 Avro.

One goal separated these teams on Thursday evening and one goal proved enough to separate the teams again this morning.  Avro have a good squad of players with a never say die attitude and they did their coaches and many supporters proud today.  It took some resolute defending from our defensive quartet to keep them at bay.  We look forward to meeting them again in the league and cups next season.

Ladybridge were down to a squad of thirteen players this morning and all of them put in a tremendous amount of effort and guile into winning the League Cup and they deserved the many plaudits they received post match.  One massive match down and three more to negotiate before the end of the season, which could deliver the League title and another Cup within the week. Well done lads, you did yourselves proud today - keep it up!

Gordon