Lady luck deserts the boys

Saturday 23^rd February
vs Maghull 2-4

Team: Ciarán; Adam, Connor, Tom, Matty; Ben, Joe, Caleb, Josh; Ollie; Jacob. Subs: Cormac, Danny, Elliot.

A clash of colours left the boys donning the yellow shirts of rivals Marina Sands, which turned out to be ominous as they had little luck to reward an improved display.

They started brightly and took the lead after 3 minutes. Jacob had failed to get enough onto Josh’s cross a minute earlier, but Ben’s clever ball along the edge of the box gave him the chance to poke it over the advancing keeper.

Jacob came close to doubling the lead a minute later, hitting the outside of the post after Ollie and Josh had found space behind the left back.

Connor and Tom were alert to any breaks by Maghull through the middle and their opponents goal continued to have a charmed life as, from a corner, Jacob, Tom and Caleb couldn’t find the space to get a meaningful touch and Josh shot wide after 9 minutes.

The move in the 12^th minute, Caleb’s inch perfect ball for Ben to run onto and shoot narrowly wide, deserved a goal and Joe and Ben combined to return the compliment 3 minutes later, only for Caleb to pull his shot wide.

The defence had coped comfortably with anything Maghull had offered, and Ciarán had had little to do between the posts. As Caleb and the Joe saw shots go wide, and Josh’s touch from Jacob’s square pass just ran away from him, the boys looked to take a narrow lead into the break. In the last minute, however, Maghull won a corner which was floated under the bar. Although Matty got to the first touch, he was powerless to stop the forward shooting home from close range to level the score.

The three subs came on, replacing Adam, Josh and Matty, for the second half as Maghull took heart from their equaliser. Connor made a couple of solid tackles, but when Joe was dispossessed in midfield, Maghull broke down the left, with the pass to the forward perfectly weighted to lift the ball over the advancing Ciarán for the lead.

Caleb was continuing to open up the Maghull defence, his ball to Jacob in the 34^th minute eventually coming to Ollie who sliced wide. On 36, Jacob saw his shot saved at the near post saved after wrestling past the defender as he led the line looking for the equaliser.

Josh returned to the action in the 40^th minute, relieving Joe, but disaster struck again 5 minutes later. Once again, a Maghull break left the defence stretched and Elliot’s clearance fell kindly to allow them to rifle home their third.

Ben saw his 48^th minute free kick hit the post from an acute angle but the boys pulled one back with a great free kick move. With more space, Ben’s kick this time found Jacob spinning round his marker at the back post to head home.

Cormac and Tom gave way to Matty and Adam as the boys went in search of a winner. The game was getting stretched now and Ciarán did enough to put off one attack and was out quick to another whilst, up the other end, Josh stepped in off the right wing to shoot wide.

Caleb Willis - Man of the Match

Elliot needs to avoid black cats and avoid ladders – his clearance just inside his half in the last minute hit him in the face and left two forwards with a clear run on goal. Ciarán made a tackle on the edge of his box but the ball again ran the way of the forward to slide it into an empty net.

The boys showed far more spirit and determination in this game than against Liverpool North, creating a host of chances in the first half and battling hard. Some of the ideas from training are now being taken onto the pitch but they must continue to work on holding their shape across the park. Jacob and Ollie were bright at the top of the team but Caleb’s incisive passing saw him take the Man of the Match accolade.