On an overcast, damp and
drizzly morning we arrived at Manchester Lads ground at Our Lady's RC High
School for the 2nd round of the Tameside Challenge Cup. Subs today were Liam,
Bayley, Tom and Nathan. This game was always going to be a tight affair after a
close game in the league last week when Ladybridge hung on to win by the odd
goal to take the points. Manchester
started the game brightly and after a minute they forced a decent effort into
the side netting after some good work down the left flank. This early warning was not heeded by the
Ladybridge defence as a throw in from the left in line with our penalty area
was passed across to the right edge of the box and their No 16, in space,
powered an excellent shot low and to the right past Conor to make it 1-0 to
Manchester. However, Ladybridge bounced
back immediately from this setback in the best possible way two minutes later
with an equalizer. Dion on the left
found Jack with a nicely weighted pass in the center of the pitch and from 25
yards out he unleashed a real piledriver towards goal that was parried away
well by the keeper but Taylor snaffled up the loose ball and fired home from 5
yards out to make it 1-1.
Five minutes later the
Manchester No 11 fired a decent shot in on target from 15 yards out and Conor
dived well to his left to steer the ball wide of his right hand post to keep
the score level. The next twenty minutes
would see both teams enjoy equal amounts of possession and territory but both
keepers did well during this period keeping out efforts from both sides well. The first corner of the half came on 25mins
for Manchester and the No 2 was first to the chipped in cross but Conor met his
header well to make a good save. Ladybridge would go into the half a goal
to the good though when Tom, after losing the ball, wrestled it back off the
Manchester player in midfield before playing a 35 yard cross-field ball up to
Taylor who took the ball in his stride before shooting across the diving keeper
to find the back of the net to make it 2-1 to Ladybridge going into half time.
The first 15mins of the
2nd half saw both teams being frustrated by an inability to keep the ball for
long periods before giving it up to the opposition. The first significant chance of the half fell
to Ladybridge when Jack and Taylor passed the ball well to each other before
Jack took a shot that the keeper saved well on about 20mins. The Manchester No 7 was to break free 5mins
later and was tackled superbly by Sam just before he was about to pull the
trigger 20 yards out. Manchester were to
go close to leveling things up on 30mins when they were awarded a free kick 25
yards out which their No 17 took and tested Conor who was able to push the ball
out of the danger area before being cleared well by the Ladybridge defence. Three corners in the last 5mins for Manchester
saw the Ladybridge defence tested to the max but they were not to be breeched
before the full time whistle to ensure a goalless half and a victory for the
away team 2-1.
Manchester looked very
comfortable in their home surroundings this morning and surprised us by taking
a very early lead. Manchester always
looked dangerous from set pieces and in the last ten minutes of the game threw
everything forward trying to find the equalizer. Two games in quick succession and only
defeated by the odd goal, Manchester have given us a couple of real tests at
home and away. Unfortunately
Manchester's usual goalkeeper was missing from their team this morning nursing
a broken thumb. The stand in (a center
forward by all accounts) did an excellent job throughout the game for his team
and certainly didn't look out of place between the sticks - well done!
Ladybridge have managed a
couple of really encouraging close wins against a good Manchester team after
setbacks against Hough End and Bamber Bridge in the previous two games. Conor handled really well this morning in
tricky damp conditions and his defence, marshalled well by our Captain Sam,
managed to hold on well after coming under constant pressure in the last ten
minutes of the game. All the players got valuable game time in this morning as
we look forward to a couple of tricky looking away league fixtures against
Glossop and Prestwich in the early weeks of November.
Gordon
