Collapse sees Active run riot

24^th November

vs Active Soccer 1-8

Team: Ciarán; Adam, Ben, Tom, Elliot; Joe, Josh; Ollie, Lewis, Danny O; Jacob. Sub: Cormac.

This was a dispiriting display on a barely playable pitch – although the terrible surface was the same for both teams, Active Soccer’s more direct tactics allowed them to exploit a heartless second half performance.

Active created a couple of early chances, winning headers from corners, but the boys had started brightly on the attack. Jacob and Josh combined to force a corner, which was wasted as they all attacked the near post.

Joe stood firm to block shots as Active came back at them but the boys were having the better of the early contest. Lewis’s throw set up Josh for a 12^th minute shot which the keeper took at the second attempt  and then Jacob saw his shot taken by the keeper. After 15 minutes, a great cross from Adam was tipped off Jacob’s head and, from a well-worked short corner, Ollie shot over the bar.

Ciarán was unlucky to concede a goal after 17 minutes as the long range shot bounced horribly in front of him and the forward was first to pounce on the rebound off his chest. Two minutes later and the Active lead was doubled as the forward, running onto the ball over the defence, was deemed onside and the Crosby keeper was lobbed.

Josh and Lewis forced saves before half time but the writing was on the wall as the boys folded after the break. Active scored three more in the first ten minutes of the second half as they carved out chances at will.

The indecision all over the pitch constantly left the boys chasing their opponents and, in the 45^th minute, Lewis and Joe combined to upend the forward in the box. They were grateful that the penalty struck a post, as was Ciarán whose feet were stuck in the gluepot of a pitch.

Cormac replaced Danny O for the last quarter but, despite a Lewis header just over the bar from Josh’s corner, they continued to ship goals. An inability to clear a corner in the 48^th minute, followed by indecision from Tom and Ben allowing the forward a free run on goal two minutes later, sent them seven down.

They finally showed what they were capable of after 52 minutes as Lewis robbed the ball in midfield and passed to Josh, whose cross was headed home by Jacob. Then, in the final minute, Active came forward and, with the defence standing off, found it all too easy to wrap up their victory with an eighth goal.

Defeat to a good side is acceptable. However, until the first goal went in, the boys were playing the better football and were as likely to score as Active were. After the first goal, their heads began to drop; after they went further behind just after half time they collapsed and the heart and, to some extent, the desire went out of some of the boys. The value of the work in training may now be more obvious to them than ever after this abject display. Some credit goes to Ollie, taking the Man of the Match award for trying to play some football on a quagmire pitch.

Second half display secures victory

Saturday 10^th November

vs Maghull FC 3-0

Team: Ciarán B; Tom, Joe, Matty, Ben; Josh, Caleb, Jacob, Adam; Elliot, Cormac. Subs: Lewis, Ciarán S.

The boys rode their luck in the first half but a flurry of changes after the break ensured another victory.

After last week’s superb display, and with Maghull only able to field a scratch side, it was surprising that too much of the first half was played in front of the boys goal, as they were constantly outfought and were guilty of dawdling on the ball. They struggled to cope with a series of early corners and, after Ciarán B had made a great save to deny Maghull in the 11^th minute, they should have gone a goal down as the rebound was blazed over.

Any attacking threat was coming down the left as Adam linked with Ben, Caleb and Cormac to run at the full back, without forcing any serious threat on the Maghull goal. Switching Josh and Jacob gave the side better balance, greater strength in midfield and they were a more potent threat as the half ended. Jacob set himself up in the 23^rd minute, only to shoot wide and Cormac linked up with Josh only for the midfielder to see his shot on the stretch easily saved.

Maghull had a half-chance late on after Tom was caught in two minds but Ben and Caleb opened up the left again and Josh’s instinctive lob drifted wide of the far post. Elliot was quick to close down the goal kick and joined up with Jacob to rob the ball from the throw-in: the keeper pawed the cross off Adam’s head to keep the scores even at half time.

Lewis came on for Caleb after 31 minutes – the midfield maestro struggling with an ankle knock after a poor, and unpunished, tackle moments earlier – and his swashbuckling run forced a good save in the 33^rd minute. Adam then shot narrowly wide as the boys built on their strong end to the first half.

Ciarán S came on for Tom, with Elliot dropping in at right back, but the defence was looking stronger as Matty coolly stepped up to pinch the ball off the forward and feed Josh. He gave Ciarán S his first chance to run at the Maghull defence: the ball may have run away but they were now being stretched constantly.

Lewis pulled another shot wide in the 36^th minute and a sly tug, missed by the referee, stopped a typical barnstorming run at the heart of the defence by Josh. Cormac, with his last action before being replaced by the recovered Caleb in the 40^th minute, then linked with Jacob to create a chance for Adam, only for his shot to go narrowly wide.

In the 42^nd minute, Lewis pushed the ball down the inside right channel for Jacob who decided to cross when the shot seemed like a better option and Ciarán S forced a save out of the keeper. The boys nearly paid for this generosity a minute later as, looking stretched on the left, Ciarán B came to close down the forward and was grateful to see Joe on hand to head out, the keeper clutching on to the clearance from his defender.

It looked as if the goal wasn’t going to come when, a minute later, the boys nearly hashed up a short corner, only for Josh to cross and Ciarán S to hit the crossbar. Then the bounce from a lob into the box completely deceived the keeper and somehow they prevented Jacob from getting a touch to the ball.

Lewis was beaten by a bobble and shot over in the 47^th minute but the goal finally came a minute later as Josh, from the right, sent the ball in and Ciarán S set up Jacob to slot home.

Josh took a knock in the build up and Matty, whose break from the action lasted only a minute, came back on with Tom now at centre back. Maghull were buckling now and Jacob was upended in the box in the 50^th minute. Caleb’s penalty was high but onto the inside of the right hand upright to double the lead.

Three goals in four minutes finally reflected their dominance for three quarters of the match and the third on 52 minutes was a classic free kick move: Ben’s ball was far too good for the Maghull defence and Jacob touched it past the keeper for his second. It took a great clearance off the line by the defender to prevent Jacob’s hat-trick a minute later as the Maghull defence froze as Ben’s deep ball set up the chance.

A much-improved second half defensive display was nearly ruined in the last minute as Maghull broke out, only for Ciarán B to preserve the clean sheet, saving with his legs, as the boys recorded another win.

The boys played the match unaware that the three points were already assured by Maghull’s inability to field a fully registered team. They put first half wobbles behind them to run out easy winners and, once again, it was difficult to pick a Man of the Match with a number of them getting a vote. In the end, Ian’s casting vote went to Joe, the bedrock of a defensive display that again provided the foundation for victory.