On a clear, bright and sunny afternoon we
travelled to Hough End playing fields to take on an unbeaten Griffins side in
our third league fixture of the season. Caleb
was missing through injury and Bayley missed out due to a Family commitment. Dion and Josh started on the bench. The opening minutes of the game saw both teams
probe forward without testing either keeper. Ladybridge’s first chance of the game came
after Callum passed forward to Jack on the edge of the Griffins box and he
turned the defender well and drove the ball towards the goal which the Griffins
keeper did well to hold on to. Both teams were finding it hard to maintain
possession in the early stages of the half as both defences were managing their
respective offensive units very effectively. The Griffins No 9 looked very threatening with
pace to burn up front and he would be a constant thorn in the Ladybridge’s side
throughout the game. On 20mins
Ladybridge were unlucky not to open the scoring when Liam battled well down the
left flank and managed to find Jack well with a pinpoint pass and Jack’s
thunderbolt of a shot from the left 20 yards out ricochet wildly off the left
hand post and out for a goal kick. Ladybridge
sustained some good pressure in the next 10mins of play forcing 3 corners over a
short period of time which were all dealt with well by the Griffins defence. Both teams were trying their best to get that
all important first goal before half time but neither side were able to find
the back of the net and at halftime it remained goal-less.
Half Time 0-0
Both teams had early chances after the break
with the Griffins No 18 coming close with a shot/cross effort that found the
side netting after a minute of the restart. Ladybridge were then to go close themselves
shortly after when a lovely 1-2 between Nathan and Josh saw Nathans shot saved
well by the Griffins keeper. Ladybridge
forced the first corner of the half on 5mins and Jack's chipped in ball found
Ben whose header just went over the bar. Griffins then had a good opportunity
when their No 9 was released with a long ball forward and only a last ditch
challenge by Sam denied him the shot on the edge of the box. The No 9 should have opened the scoring 5mins
later when he latched on to a nice through ball and after a good 30yard run
dragged his shot wide of Conor's right hand post. Griffins would rue this miss
when mid way through the half Josh battled well to find Jack on the edge of the
box and his shot was parried well by the keeper but the loose ball was blasted
into the heart of the goal by Josh to make it 1-0 to Ladybridge.
Unfortunately for Ladybridge they would only
enjoy the lead for a short period of time when the Griffins hoisted another
dangerous ball forward that found the No 9 in space and his pace this time beat
the Ladybridge defence all ends up and he placed the ball wide and right of
Conor's despairing dive to make it 1-1.
Ladybridge had a couple of attempts to take
the lead in the crucial last 5mins of the game and were denied the first by a
goal-line headed clearance from a Liam effort from 15 yards out. The last opportunity fell to Jack 25 yards out
and his screamer of a shot was saved brilliantly by the Griffins No 1.
Ladybridge however would rue both these missed opportunities when the Griffins
No 9 was again set free down the left and with only Conor to beat his shot was
deflected wide and out for what would turn out to be the last crucial corner of
the game. The corner was chipped into
the middle of Ladybridge's penalty area and the No 19 was first to the ball and
he headed home with seconds to go to make it 2-1 to Hough End Griffins.
Full Time Hough End Griffins 2-1 Ladybridge
Ladybridge knew that that today’s game would
be a tough test and so it proved. Hough
End ended our unbeaten start to the season with a last gasp effort that denied
us a point I feel we probably deserved. The
No 9 for Griffins was a constant threat and better finishing by him could have
given him a hatrick on another day. Their
keeper was also instrumental in keeping us out with some smart stops throughout
the game. Well done Griffins, your
clinical finishing with the last header of the game gave you a hard fought
victory this afternoon and the all important 3 points.
This was a tough defeat to swallow after all
the hard work that the lads put in for 69 minutes this afternoon. I felt the draw would have been a fair result
but we've been undone at the death with the last move of the game to go down
2-1 to a good Griffins team.
Next Sunday we have a massive task and
opportunity to bounce back positively from this defeat when we lock horns in
the Lancashire Youth Cup 3rd round with some old friends of ours from our
Central Lancs League days in the shape of Bamber Bridge Blues, I'm sure it'll
be a cracker!!!
Gordon
