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
