On a very cloudy and
overcast evening on a very heavy pitch we welcomed Avro, our League Cup final
opponents, to Ladybridge Lane. Tom, Josh
and Ollie were the subs this evening. The first five minutes of the game saw both
teams feeling each other out and trying to come to terms with a difficult
surface. The first effort on goal came
from Ladybridge when a throw in from Cal found Taylor in the box who passed
smartly through to James Y who set up Dion for a shot that just went over the
crossbar. The next 10mins of the game
was played out with neither team taking charge of possession. Cole was causing the Avro defence problems
down the left flank and he had two efforts within a couple of minutes of each
other when he fired a free kick from 30 yards just wide and also saw a good run
into the box finished off with a dragged shot left of goalkeepers post. Cole was then fouled in the box and the
referee awarded a spot kick, which the keeper did well to save from Cole to
keep the game level. Avro started to get
a foothold into the game soon after the penalty and a good run by their forward
Ty was defended well by the Ladybridge defence before he could get his shot
away. Avro then had a free kick from 25
yards out but this just whistled past Conor's right hand post. The last chance of the half fell to James who
collected the ball well from a Cal throw in but his shot from the edge of the
box hit the left hand post and was cleared out well by the Avro defence.
H.T 0-0
The 2nd half
started well for Ladybridge when after a minute a long and accurate pass
forward by Cole found Taylor in space and he proceeded to split the Avro
defence to fire a low hard shot past the keeper to make it 1-0 to Ladybridge.
Shortly after the
opening goal Avro were awarded a free kick 20 yards out after a handball but
fortunately for Ladybridge the powerfully hit shot went just past Conor's right
hand post. Avro were to be awarded a
penalty after 10mins of the half and Ty stepped up to slot the ball past Conor
to make it 1-1. Cole again was unlucky
not to score when he made a good run into the box from halfway, only to be
stopped well by the last defender before he could unleash his shot on goal. Avro were to get on the score-sheet next when
Ty was not picked up on the right wing and he delivered a cracking cross into
the box that was clinically put away by Nile to make it 2-1 Avro.
Ladybridge were
not finished and the equaliser came with about 5mins to go when Cole spotted
Josh free on the right and his pass to him allowed Josh to advance into the box
and he directed an excellent effort past the Avro keeper to make it 2-2 game
on... and it would be Avro that had the last effort that cost Ladybridge a
point.
Ty was a real
thorn in the side of the Ladybridge defence throughout the 2nd half and after
picking up the ball just inside the Ladybridge half he proceeded to get past 4
or 5 challenges before he powered home an unstoppable drive to make it 3-2 to
Avro.
F.T 3-2 Avro.
Avro this evening
had a perfect warm up for the Cup final on Sunday with a win that they battled
well for. Ty was their man of the match
and his 2nd half performance with a clinical penalty and great last minute goal
topped off a superb match winning performance. Well done Avro you stopped us picking up the
league title tonight that a win would have given us, we look forward to another
cracking game on Sunday.....
Ladybridge had
enough efforts on goal in both halves to probably put this game to bed but for
whatever reason they didn't manage to convert as they normally do. No silverware was won or lost this evening and
we have four massive games that could deliver 2 Cups and the League in the next
10 days. Hopefully this evening’s set
back will focus the lads for the battles ahead as all four games will be as
tough as this was this evening.
Gordon
