Euxton Villa 3  Ribbleton Juniors 2

This game was played with a very strong breeze blowing down the pitch and Euxton had the advantage of it in the first half. Euxton started brightly and in the first 10 minutes we had  chances for Lewis and Connor which the Ribbleton keeper saved. The game was being played in the Ribbleton half but Euxton were not making the most of the wind. The first clear chance came when Connor went past his defender and hit a great shot which the Ribbleton keeper dived to parry. The ball fell free in the box but the Ribbleton defence were sharper than the Euxton forwards and got to it first to clear.

Two minutes later the same thing happened, when a strong run from Connor forced another good save from the keeper, but this time Josh was first to the ball and he finished well. Euxton were on top in midfield with Dominic and Matthew driving us forward, but at times balls over the top were being won by the Ribbleton defence rather than the Euxton forwards because they showed more tenacity or reacted quicker.

On 24 minutes Euxton scored a second when a well timed run from Steven saw him beat the offside trap and lob the keeper. It was a good goal and should have set us up for a big push. However Ribbleton had other ideas and within a minute they went upfield and though Euxton had more than enough players and opportunity to clear the danger, they somehow managed to allow a Ribbleton player a shot inside the box which was deflected past Matty. It was a sloppy goal because Ribbleton did not have to earn the opportunity - a lack of decisive action from Euxton players was the cause.

It looked like we were going to take just a one goal lead into the second half until Connor created something out of nothing. A good shot from outside the box was deflected out towards the corner. Connor chased it down , despite starting behind the Ribbleton defender, got to the ball first and beat the defenders challenge. From virtually on the touchline he drilled a shot across goal and it took a deflection from a covering defender on the line and went it. It was a great example of hard work from Connor which is becoming his trademark. He never lets the defenders rest.

We were concerned at half time that the boys might think the game was all over at 3 -1. Though they had clearly been the better team we knew that the wind would play a factor in the second half. It was going to be a baptism of fire for Jack as a sweeper and we talked to them about meeting the ball and concentrating.

Sure enough the second half started much more even and there were chances at both ends. Matty pulled off a very good save from a firm drive on 32 minutes and he was having to come off his line well to clear or gather the ball. Jack was trying to adjust to the ball being played over the defence and this was spurring Ribbleton on. After 36 minutes we conceded when after spell of pressure we did not clear our lines. We were second to the ball in midfield and the Ribbleton forward beat the offside trap and scored.

It really was game on now, but Euxton still carved out chances. Lewis hit a shot that the goalkeeper could not deal with but the ball stuck on the line and shots from Connor and Josh were saved. We also carved out chances where a better first touch would have resulted in shots.

With ten minutes to go our legs seemed to tire in midfield, though Dominic was working hard and kept going well despite his illness last week, but Ribbleton now looked the stronger. Then the moment that won us the match happened. Good play from the Ribbleton forwards created a chance inside the box. The forward hit a firm drive that was heading to the corner when Matty pulled off a superb diving save to push it around the post. The shot had goal written all over it but Matty did brilliantly. This was the best of 4 good saves that Matty made in the second half and he played well above his age. I have not seen a better goalkeeper in this age group.

The defence for Euxton had to work very hard in the second half and the last 10 minutes were certainly tense  We used our substitutes to give us fresh legs and were playing a team with some skill, strength and nothing to lose but the boys determination to win got us through..

On balance I would say the better team won but we have to learn to finish games off when we are on top. Having to handle the "pressure" of the last 15 minutes will not have done us any harm ahead of next weeks semi final.

Man of the Match : Matty W - a goalkeeping display of a 16 year old