Lytham St Annes YMCA U-11s: Match Report v Spirit Of Youth (1)
| Competition | League - Poulton Primary League Div 1A |
|---|---|
| Result | Lytham St Annes YMCA U-11s 2-1 Spirit Of Youth (1) |
| Date | Saturday 13 February 2010 |
| Kick Off | 10.15am |
Match Report
Match 1
YMCA (0) 2 - Oscar O'Neill 2 (21, 36)
V
Spirit Of Youth (0) 1 - Scorer (26)
Springtime, when a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love. On the eve of St Valentine's Day the sun finally shone in full vigour upon Seafield Road, that in the distance overlooks the sandy tracts, And the hollow ocean-ridges roaring into cataracts. Whilst some might have been contemplating verses to impress a fair maiden this lovers' weekend, it was YMCA vurses Spirit Of Youth and there was little love lost between these two colossi of last season's division 1B as they came head to head for the first time in the top flight.
There was the small matter of a light cloud to pass by the sun as Spirit Of Youth got this match underway with a 10.15 kick off due to the West Lanc's derby taking place at lunchtime later. YMCA had enjoyed an 8 goal extravaganza at South Shore a week earlier and were in the mood to blunt the scorer's pencil again this morning. It took less than a minute for YM to force the first corner of the day which Isaac Eastham floated temptingly into the box and Bradley Jones directed the ball just inches wide. Spirit suddenly realised it was 'game on' and a swift break upfield called Ben Holmes into early action at the opposite end saving well from a snap shot at goal. But it was a rare opportunity for the visitors and within minutes YM were banging on the Spirit door again as James Cowburn headed just over from another well flighted Eastham corner. The chances were falling thick and fast to YM but this time it was Eastham's turn to fire wide following a 3 man move involving Jones and Cowburn again. Spirit showed a lot of resilience with a speedy attacker up front well marshaled by Liam Docherty in defence. With some swift counter attacking YM had to rely on the strength of Docherty more than once to avert the danger and some well timed tackling by Nathan Keegan. But the YM pressure kept coming and after James Cowburn headed just over again, Oscar O'Neil hit the cross bar with another header from a Bradley Jones cross. On 15 minutes Ben Holmes was called into action again diverting a fierce shot round the post as Spirit continued to fight doggedly, but it was the last chance of the half which had seen YMCA do practically everything but stick the ball into the back of the net.
The second half began with more pressure from YM and their reward finally came in the 21st minute when James Cowburn first shot against the goalkeeper, then hit the post from the rebound before the ball fell kindly to Oscar O'Neil who fired home from close range. At last it seamed the floodgates would open as Bradley Jones saw his shot cleared off the line 2 minutes later following a slick move involving Charles Shaw and Oscar O'Neil. But YMCA's lead was to last just a further 4 minutes when the ball was lost in midfield and fell invitingly to a Spirit player who drove the ball firmly into the roof of the net from just outside the box. For all YM's dominance they found themselves level again against a Spirit side who simply refused to allow themselves to be beaten this morning. Another chance fell to O'Neil on 29 minutes after a great solo run from midfield, but the Spirit 'keeper pulled off a fine save to deny him a second. The game suddenly took on a furious pace as Spirit themselves kept Keegan and Docherty busy at the back as it seemed the match would peter out into a draw. The Spirit keeper was in great form but on 36 minutes the visitors failed to clear a Charles Shaw corner and when the ball fell to Oscar O'Neil with back to goal, he hooked the ball into the net to give YM a priceless lead. With 4 minutes remaining, YM kept possession until the referee's whistle finally signalled the end of the match with 3 points ground out against a doggedly determined Spirit Of Youth side.
Man Of The Match: Liam Docherty
Match Stats
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Starting Line-up: 1. ben holmes (9)
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Goal Scorers: 2 x oscar o'neil Man of the Match: 3. liam docherty |
