Team:

• Ryan Shield
• Jack Morris
• Robbie O’Donnell
• Craig Dale
• Tom Marshall
• Macaulay Kilpatrick
• Will Gill
• Chris Cockbill
• Liam Cooper
• Connor Bartle
• Max Pashley
• George Carline
• Dylan Farrow

Match Report:

Nobody likes to see our players upset after games because that is not what playing the game should be about – today our boys had faces longer than Red Rum’s at the end which is a sad sight to see. There is one thing for a sure a good performance and a win will put the smiles back on their faces and this has to be our key objective when we get back to playing after the two week break coming up.

Only a month ago the boys were on a roll and nicely positioned in mid table with games in hand – the world of football looked a good place from our perspective. Today it doesn’t look so great but with a bit more luck, and our injured players coming back to fitness there is no reason why the good times should not return. Our players haven’t gone from “good to bad” they are just experiencing a dip in form which has led to a complete lack of confidence. It is mine and Marks job, and the job of the supporters, to try and lift the lads and encourage them to move forward. I have no doubt that this is what we will all do and no doubt that the boys will respond positively.

A 6 – 1 defeat is tough and our performance overall perhaps did not warrant a much better outcome in all honesty. That said there were some positives. In the first half, Connor hit the inside of the woodwork and Liam almost scored from the halfway line against the wind. Chris found space and went close to scoring, and Ryan S (helping out in goal) pulled off two good saves to keep the scores down. Wilford scored a couple of excellent goals which made full advantage of the wind assistance they had.

In the second half as we pushed to try and get back in the game, George turned the Wilford defender with great style to set himself up for a run in on goal – unfortunately the defender caught him with a challenge which saw him leave the field unable to return to the action (not a cynical challenge – just part and parcel of the game). Thank you to the Wilford parent that provided George with the ice pack for the swelling on his knee – he really appreciated it and it helped ease the pain. He is now well on the road to recovery.

Thanks also to the Wilford Manager for agreeing to allow Dylan (not originally in the squad today) to join the action to replace George. Macaulay wasn’t able to continue and Dylan stepped in so that we didn’t have to go down to 10 men. Just as well he did because our top scorer added to his total for the season and scored a consolation goal before full time.

As the game wore on we lost our shape a little as the boys tried to narrow the margin between the sides by pushing forward. This allowed Wilford the chance to score two further goals which had we not been 4 down and chasing the game, we might not have conceded.

Fulltime – 6 – 1

Summary:

Thanks to Ryan S and to Tom today for sharing the goalkeeping duties – not an easy job but both stepped forward bravely when asked and deserve credit for doing so.

Thanks again to the Wilford Manager for his supporting gesture in allowing Dylan to join in for the later stages of the game. He certainly extolled the YEL virtue of Sportsmanship Above All.

No match now until the 30 th March which is the start of British summertime, lets hope that the change in seasons changes our fortunes and the boys get back to playing with smiles on our faces. There are still a number of games to go which provides plenty of opportunity to turn things around.

Thanks to Ian and to Spugy for running the line for us today.

Alan and Mark.