Ladybridge v Manchester Lads (3rd round Manchester Cup)

On a cold, wet, miserable afternoon we welcomed Manchester Lads to Tempest Road to contest this third round Manchester County Cup match.  Ladybridge had a full squad of 13 available and Bayley and Liam started on the bench for the home team.  

Ladybridge had the first effort on goal in the first period when Jack fired in a corner from the left and Craig's header towards goal was collected well by their keeper.  The next ten minutes of the game were quite scrappy with neither team dominating.  Manchester Lads had a free kick on 15mins about 35 yards out and the chipped effort into the area was headed well clear by the Ladybridge defence.  On 18mins Ladybridge would be punished for some sloppy play at the back and our former player Taylor needed no further invitation when he found himself free in the box with the ball at his feet and he stroked home a low and powerful shot past Conor into the right hand corner of the net to make it 1-0 to Manchester Lads.

Taylor was presented with another gilt edged opportunity a couple of minutes later when he broke free in the box but his effort this time was skied over the crossbar.  Ladybridge had a couple of opportunities to draw level before the break, the first of these saw Nathan beat the Manchester left back and he squared a ball through to Jack who smashed his effort wide of the left hand post.  Our second effort 2mins from half time came after the referee awarded an indirect free kick 5 yards out which was blocked well by the 8 man wall.

Half Time: Ladybridge 0-1 Manchester Lads

To be fair to both teams the first 15mins of the second period passed by with very little goal action to trouble either keeper but the first opportunity to open the scoring in the 2nd half fell to Manchester Lads when they were awarded a similar indirect free kick for a back-pass that we had in the 1st half and this time Ladybridge managed to defend it as well as Manchester did to deny a good goal scoring chance.  On 20 mins, after increasing pressure from the away team, Manchester would score the crucial 2nd goal that effectively killed off this Cup tie.  It came from a corner taken on the right that was delivered perfectly into the box to find an unmarked Manchester player who powerfully headed home to make it 2-0 to Manchester Lads.

Ladybridge tried hard to find a way back into the game but Manchester never looked like surrendering their lead and they repelled any advances forward easily with their defence and keeper looking solid when called upon.  Jack had the last chance to make the last 5mins interesting for the home team but the Manchester Lads goalkeeper pulled off a fantastic save from his shot 10 yards out to keep a clean sheet and see his side through to the next round of the Cup.

Full Time:  Ladybridge 0-2 Manchester Lads

Manchester Lads deserved their victory today and never looked like conceding in either halves.  All their players looked a yard sharper than their opposition this afternoon and we wish them all the best in the next round of the Cup.

A lack-lustre performance all round from the Ladybridge squad this afternoon with a performance that matched the weather for long periods.  This defeat has ended our interest in Cup football for this season and now we will look to try and finish as high up the league as possible with 5 League matches remaining before the end of the season.

Gordon

Hough End Griffins v Ladybridge (Semi Final Challenge Cup)

On a very windy and overcast afternoon we arrived at Hough End Playing Fields to compete in the semi final of the Tameside League Challenge Cup.  Ladybridge had twelve players available this afternoon with Craig missing due to being Cup tied.  Unfortunately due to the wind this match was not going to be for the purist with both teams struggling to cope with the strong crosswind blowing across the pitch.  Hough End settled into the first 5 minutes well and the sharp and quick No 11 on the right wing made a couple of dangerous runs down his wing to test out the Ladybridge defence.  Nathan was at the centre of Ladybridge's first foray forward when he went past a couple of defenders down the right wing before delivering a dangerous cross into the box that was cleared well by the Hough End defence.  The first goal of the game came on 10 minutes when Ben played a wonderful ball forward behind the Hough End back line that Dion latched on to and he shot smartly past the Hough End keeper to make it 1-0 to Ladybridge.

Five minutes later the Hough End No 11 again burst down the right and delivered a superb ball into the box that should have been dispatched by the Hough End striker but he pulled his shot wide of Conor's right hand post.  Matt came to the rescue with a tremendous header away from another cracking cross from the busy Hough End No 11 on 25mins. Unfortunately Ladybridge were unable to hang on to their slender lead into the break when Hough End equalised through a chipped in cross from the left that seemed to loop over Conor and into the back of his net to make it 1-1.

Half Time 1-1

Ladybridge would be playing against the wind in the 2nd half and the No 11 again was causing problems down the right from kick off testing us with a couple of decent balls into the box in the first 5mins.  Jack had a good chance to break free on about 10mins but the impressive No 16 was able to wrestle the ball away to safety.  Both teams really were cancelling each other out in the next 15-20 minutes of the game with both defences snuffing out any attacks well.  Hough End were awarded a couple of free kicks 35 and 25 yards out that their No 10 hit well but were eventually cleared well by the Ladybridge defence.  The game turned however with 10mins to go when a ball bounced up awkwardly at the Ladybridge defenders hand and the linesman flagged for a penalty.  The No 5 for Hough End stepped up to take the penalty and slid his shot to the left and under a diving Conor to make it 2-1 to Hough End.  The last ten minutes saw Ladybridge throw everything forward but found the Hough End back line marshalled well by the No 16 in no mood to give Ladybridge a way back into the game and they ran out the last few minutes to take the Cup tie 2-1 at full time.

Hough End edged out Ladybridge this afternoon in tricky conditions in a keenly fought contest that could have gone either way in the 2nd half.  Their No 11 and No 16 were instrumental in their teams win this afternoon with the No 11 causing problems throughout the game going forward down the right and the No 16 being the rock at the centre of defence.  Well done to all at Hough End and good luck in the final.

It's probably no consolation to our lads losing a close semi-final like this but each and everyone of them should feel proud of themselves after putting in a good, solid performance against the strongest (in my opinion) team in our division.

Gordon