It was back to league
business for the lads this afternoon on a bright and unseasonably warm
afternoon at Tempest Road. Tom, Bayley,
Nathan and Liam started the game on the bench.
Ladybridge started well and nearly took the lead in the first couple of
minutes when Taylor latched on to a long clearance from Conor and was unlucky
to see his chipped shot just go over the bar.
Manchester had a good opportunity on 5mins when their attacker was
released forward well and his shot from 20 yards out sailed wide of the left
hand post. Ollie broke forward on the
left hand side and found Taylor on the edge of the box and his cross was met
well by Josh who just miss-hit his effort to go wide of the right hand post
after 10mins. Manchester were presented
with a good chance to open the scoring when a weak goal kick by Conor could
only find a Manchester forward 30 yards out from goal and after a short run
forward he unleashed a shot that just went wide. Ladybridge would open the scoring when a long
clearance from Conor was back headed on by Jack into Taylor’s path and he ran
through into the box before passing the ball past the keeper to make it 1-0 to
Ladybridge.
Dion made an excellent
run down the right after 15mins and found Taylor in space and he in turn passed
on to Jack who uncharacteristically shot wide with the goal at his mercy. Ladybridge scored their 2nd goal on 25mins
when a good ball out of defence by Caleb found Josh in center field and he
passed on to Jack who had a pop from 30 yards out and his shot was deflected in
past the keeper by Taylor to make it 2-0 to Ladybridge.
Manchester nearly pulled
a goal back from their 3rd corner of the game when a headed effort just went
over the bar with 10mins left in the half.
Taylor would score two more goals before the break and the first of
these was set up by a defence-splitting ball from Jack that Taylor again ran on
to and showed good strength to beat the defender and push his shot wide of the
keeper to make it 3-0.
A minute later Ben
provided the pass that Taylor again was to take well in his stride before
slotting home to take Ladybridge into the break 4-0 up.
Half Time Ladybridge 4-0
Manchester Lads.
Manchester started the
2nd half really well and managed to get a quick goal back when after some good
pressure the ball found its way out to the right flank and the Manchester
forward moved past a couple of our defenders before placing a good shot wide of
Conor to make it 4-1.
Five minutes later
Manchester scored again when a chipped ball forward from midfield into the box
was seized upon by a Manchester player who fired home low and left to make it
4-2. Ladybridge were certainly on the
back foot throughout the 2nd period and it was no surprise to see Manchester
score a third goal with ten minutes to go when a defence-splitting pass from
midfield found a Manchester player on the edge of the box and he evaded a
couple of challenges well before finding the net to make it 4-3.
The last ten minutes of
the game had a real ebb and flow about it as Manchester searched for the
equalizer and Ladybridge for a goal to put the game safe. Fortunately for the home team our defence was
able to see off the constant Manchester pressure in the final minutes to secure
a morale-boosting win 4-3.
Full Time Ladybridge 4-3 Manchester Lads
It really was a game of
two halves and Manchester came back superbly in the 2nd period and nearly
turned the game around after a first half which saw them concede four
goals. Manchester showed real character
and pushed us hard until the final whistle and contributed greatly to a very
entertaining game.
Ladybridge, after
suffering back to back defeats managed to secure a nail biting victory after
nearly squandering a four goal cushion built up well with some excellent play
in the first half. Hopefully we'll not
dwell too long on our 2nd half performance, which left a little bit to be
desired from a defensive point of view.
It’s been a tough couple of weeks for the lads but hopefully today’s
victory can see them go on a decent run in the next few weeks to rebuild their
belief and confidence going forward, especially as we meet Manchester Lads
again next week in the Tameside Challenge Cup
Gordon
