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Rob Bellingham
Unicorn Platinum Reporter
United Kingdom
54 Posts |
 Posted - 20/10/2008 : 01:59:46
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Briggs Lights Up the Wizards
Unicorn Wizards 1 Stretford Vics 0
The Wizards reacquainted themselves with their old adversaries from last seasons Division 2 title race and produced a memorable performance to come out on top.
The Wizards had the better of the early exchanges and almost took the lead on 3 minutes when Tom C put in an inviting cross from the left for George to shoot narrowly wide. Two minutes later Dan came close with a powerful header from George’s corner.
There was some excellent football being produced by the Wizards at this stage with quick passing moves involving so many players that, should they continue, I will need to learn shorthand to keep up. One such move almost created an opening goal when Ross held the ball up well before playing it to James D who in turn found Dan with a lovely through ball. Dan shot from distance and unluckily saw the ball thud against the crossbar with the keeper well beaten.
With fourteen minutes gone Brad hit the post with another long range effort, underlining the Wizards early ascendancy but meaning that the scores remained all square.
The home team did have the ball in the net after 24 minutes when James O finished following a scramble from a Wizards corner. The referee correctly identified an offside to halt the celebrations.
With the half time whistle imminent, the Vics came close to grabbing the lead against the run of play when Barney misjudged a foray off his line. The ball looked as if it was about to fall to a Vics player in front of a temporarily unguarded net but the defence held firm to scramble the ball to safety.
Half Time – Wizards 0 Vics 0
The second half commenced with the Wizards playing against a fairly strong wind but with their confidence no doubted boosted from the words of praise the first half performance had drawn from their coaches.
The elusive first goal almost came in the 37th minute when Dan made progress down the right wing and saw his cross appear to strike the hand of a Vics defender in the box. The referee waved play on with the ball falling to Simon, whose powerful drive flew inches over the bar.
Stretford were more involved in the game during the second period and began to look more dangerous on the break without creating any clear cut chances to take the lead.
The Wizards were finally able to convert their pressure into a goal in the 47th minute. Brad picked up the ball in midfield and swept the ball out to George on the right. George played in a high cross which beat the Vics defenders but looked as if it may have been heading just too deep. This was to reckon without Simon’s intervention as he met the ball perfectly beyond the far post to head it back across the keeper and into the net for a text book finish.
With time still for the Vics to stage a comeback, the Wizards worked hard to protect their lead for the remainder of the half. The Vics pressed further forward and the Wizards began to sit deeper as the clock ticked towards full time.
The Vics best chance came on 57 minutes when the striker was played through on goal, only to be denied by the fast advancing Barney who got a hand to his shot to tip the ball wide for a corner.
The final whistle blew on a hard earned home win, which again shows that the Wizards are well equipped to compete in this top division. Their three fixtures against the Vics last season resulted in two draws and an extra-time cup defeat, so today’s performance is a good benchmark of the improvement being shown.
As I’ve mentioned before, it is hard to capture the efforts of everyone in these reports as there is much to applaud from all the players. Having reviewed this weeks report it is hard to think that the sterling efforts of Jake and James D at full back and Matt, Alex and Josh in central defence have barely merited a mention. First-class performances were delivered by all of them and the victory was built on these firm foundations.
606: DEBATE
Lots of positives today. Good football backed up by a strong defensive performance.
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Date: 19 October 2008
Competition: Timperley and District Junior Football League Division 1
Wizards: Barney, Matt, Jake, Alex, James D, Josh, Tom C, Brad, Joe, Simon, George, Dan, Ross, James O
Goals: Simon
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None
Men of the match: Tom C and Josh – Two new squad members who both played a full part in a great win
Moment of the match – It has to be Simon’s headed winner.
Click Here for League Table: http://full-time.thefa.com/gen/Index.do?league=7712931
Click here for cup draw and results: http://www.manchesterfa.com/FixturesAndResults/CountyCups/ManchesterYouthU12Cup/?tab=fixtures
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Wizards v Stretford Vics 19 0ctober
