Tuesday 29th May
vs. Birkdale Hawks 8-1
Team: Ciarán B; Elliot, Lewis,
Joe H, Adam; Danny, Caleb (capt.), Jacob, Joe T; Darren, Ciarán S. Subs: Cormac,
Tom.
The boys finally got their
first win of the Summer League, and a big one at that against limited opponents,
although they should have made it into double figures.
Josh and Matty were enjoying
the sun in Spain
with the school, which meant another reshuffled defence but the Hawks barely
troubled them in the first half. Instead they had to defend corner after corner
as the boys came forward at will.
Adam miskicked from the
first corner after only 90 seconds and Lewis shot high from the edge of the box
five minutes (and five corners) later. A great header against the bar by Darren
in the 7th minute showed they were getting closer and they should
have taken the lead a minute later, only for Jacob to be wrongly called
offside.
Darren had another chance
after a mazy run on the left from Adam and a pass from Ciarán S set him up but
he shot over and then Jacob and Joe T opened up the other flank only for Joe’s
shot to be blocked for yet another corner. As the corner swung in, Darren’s
overhead shot just cleared the crossbar.
The opener finally came in
the 10th minute with a run straight through the middle onto Jacob’s
slide-rule pass and clean finish from Darren. Two minutes later and Danny was
on the end of a high ball into the box from Lewis to coolly shoot home and
double the lead and the third should have followed in the 14th
minute as a scramble from a corner saw the ball cleared off the line at least
twice before Jacob shot just wide of the right hand post.
Darren fizzed one across the
face of the goal in the 15th minute with teammates eager for a lay
back and Jacob’s pass took out the defence but ran away from the strikers after
17 minutes as the Hawks continued to struggle to escape from their half.
Danny had a shot blocked
away by the keeper as he got on the end of an accurate pass from Caleb and then
turned provider, popping up on the left to cut back and cross for Ciarán S, who
saw his shot scrambled clear.
The third goal seemed as if
it would not come, as Jacob’s 24th minute low header from another
corner, this time after a good link-up between Darren and Ciarán S, went
narrowly wide. Danny picked up the goal kick and set up Darren, only for the
forward to shoot wide. Joe H, who had shot from distance earlier in the half,
then set up Jacob and, from the resulting corner, Danny’s shot was blocked by
the keeper’s knees
Finally, the defence gave
way on the stroke of half time. Darren forced the umpteenth corner of the half
and from the clearance, Caleb set up Lewis who fired home to make it 3-0 at the
break.
Ciarán S gave way from Tom
at half time as Adam pushed forward from an untroubled defence and Joe T joined
Darren in attack.
Darren had time to shoot
wide after a powerful run before a 31st minute mix-up between Ciarán
B and Joe H saw the Hawks awarded a free-kick. The Crosby
keeper made a point-blank save to push the ball out but could only watch as his
defence reacted far too slowly and the forward’s shot trickled over the line.
The lead was restored
immediately, as the boys went down the other end and Lewis met Danny’s cross to
score his second. Danny was finding lots of space on the right, linking well
with Caleb inside him and Joe T in front, and his cross after 36 minutes was
met with a low volley from Jacob to make it 5-1.
Lewis completed his
hat-trick in the 39th minute from Joe T’s pass after Darren’s
barnstorming run down the left and Danny got his reward for an excellent second
half display as he had all the time in the world to score his second and his
team’s seventh after 41 minutes, set up by Cormac who had replaced Jacob after
his goal.
A shot that skimmed the top
of the bar, after Danny and Joe T had worked to great effect on the right, was
Lewis’ final action as he and Caleb were replaced by Ciarán S and Jacob with a
quarter of the match left.
The defence had been largely
redundant, bur Elliot’s concentration was not at fault as he cut off a
potential break and set up Joe T, only for the forward to see his shot fade
wide of the post. It was proving to be Joe T’s unlucky day as another shot went
wide after Cormac and Jacob had linked up in the 45th minute and a
minute later the keeper fumbled Joe H’s free kick after Darren was fouled just
outside the box.
The changes in midfield and
the desperation of the Hawks to keep the score line respectable meant that the
game degenerated into a scrappy mess towards the end but there was still time
for Adam to see his shot pushed around the post with three minutes left and for
Jacob to complete the scoring with a near post header as the Hawks failed to
deal with the corner.
This was a great win but the
boys could easily have doubled the score and the Hawks would have had no
complaint. The skilful use of the ball in midfield from Jacob and Danny’s
splendid second half on the right were highlights but the Man of the Match
medal, if not the match ball (for which he only has himself to blame, blazing
his first half shot into the wilderness of the adjacent field) went to
hat-trick hero Lewis.
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