Euxton Villa 3 Cadley Boys 1
This semi final saw Euxton host
the only team in the Under 11 leagues with a 100% record.
Cadley Boys in addition to winning every match , had
conceded only 5 goals all season. Clearly Euxton would have
to be at their best in order to beat them .
The game started in driving rain
but the pitch was in generally good condition. Euxton
started a little nervously and it put us on the back foot -
it looked a little ominous with the Cadley midfield passing
the ball very well. Then Euxton started making a few tackles
and moved into the Cadley half. After 5 minutes a long ball
up field looked like it was going to roll for a goal kick
but Connor chased it down hard, forcing the Cadley defender
to concede a corner. Dominic hit in a great corner and
George timed his run well to head the ball firmly. It beat
the goalkeeper and Lewis, like a good forward should, was on
the line to poke it home.
This seemed to settle the Euxton
boys and give them belief and we started to play some good
football. Both teams were trying to pass the ball well and
there was a lot of energy being spent by both teams in the
midfield. The next 15 minutes passed with some great
football from both sides with lots of competitions going on
all over the pitch. What was pleasing was that Euxton were
winning lots of 50:50 balls and working hard for each
other .
On 20 minutes Euxton scored a
second. A ball down the left was made into something by
Connor through sheer determination. Once again he got in
front of his marker and hit a great ball across the box
which Lewis couldn't quite reach. James D chased the ball on
the right and recovered it really well before hitting a
cross which fell to Josh who hit a firm drive into the top
of the net. Once again the willingness to chase down balls
had provided the chance.
Apart from when the ball
squirmed out of Matty's hands on such a wet surface and
there was a bit of a scramble, there were no scares. We
finished the half 2 - 0 up without Matty having to make a
save and having conceded only one corner.
The half time team talk was all
about starting again and concentrating - the pressure was
going to grow on Cadley the longer we were ahead and with
our pace up front we knew that we will create chances.
Cadley certainly came into the
game more in the second half and continued to play some good
football through midfield. However Euxton matched them in
both effort and skill and it was a good cup tie. Steven,
Matthew and James D continued to make tackle after tackle in
centre midfield . The back three were solid with James G
reading the game and covering through balls, George heading
the ball to clear well and Jack E making a number of
intelligent interceptions. The wide players were working
their lines well and the front two would not let the Cadley
defence settle.
With 10 minutes to go Cadley
scored. Euxton for once didn't clear their lines and Cadley
played a number of one twos and created a chance for Ward
inside the box and he finished well. As frustrating as it
was for Euxton not clearing the ball, it was a well worked
goal . Cadley were motivated now and it was clear that
Euxton would need another goal.
Within 3 minutes we had it. The
ball was passed in midfield and a cross field ball hit
towards Dominic. He looked second favourite to the Cadley
central defender who had an outstanding match, but a strong
and determined run saw him beat the defender to the ball,
touch it past him then get into the box and cross the ball.
The cross evaded the Euxton forwards but Josh recovered it
and laid it back . After a couple of tackles on the edge of
the box the ball came out to Dominic who hit a superb shot
into the top left hand corner. No goalkeeper would have
saved it.
It was then a case of
concentrating and seeing the game out. We brought on Joe for
Josh to give us some fresh legs up front. He did well having
a number of runs at the Cadley defence and pushing them
back.
Cadley pushed and pushed in the
second half but could not break us down. Matty was
commanding his box and collected a number of crosses but the
goal apart he did not have a shot to save. That's how well
we had worked as a team. But it wasn't all defending we
attacked and forced a number of corners. It was an evenly
fought match.
The final whistle came after
nearly 5 minutes extra time caused by a number of knocks for
both teams in a committed but fair encounter. Players from
both sides had given their all but Euxton ran out worthy
winners.
A great match, a great
performance and a great result !!
Man of the Match : Jack E
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