Under 12's. Home v AFC Oldham

  Result - Reddish North End 6 AFC Oldham 2

In the end we won this game well, with some very pleasing passages of play. To be fair the scoreline is a bit harsh on Oldham, they had several chances during the match, but on the other hand we also could have scored many more. The fact that both managers gave the ‘man-of-the-match’ awards to the opposing goalkeepers tells you something as well.

We were disrupted before the match by Josh not being able to play due to a back injury, so a reshuffled Reddish kicked off and got forward quite well, forcing a couple of good stops from the Oldham keeper. But our makeshift defence looked far from watertight and Oldham spurned two good chances before hitting the post, with Callum Williams also in action far too often for my liking. The boys were a bit lethargic in the heat and we were a bit fortunate not to concede.

Thankfully Reddish cashed in on this though, good work from Michael winning possession and the cross eventually falling to Sam who fired home. Shortly after this the Oldham keeper made his only mistake of the afternoon, scuffing a goal kick straight to Jamie who forced the ball in. Had an unmarked Arran been able to get a touch on a loose ball shortly afterwards it would have been a third, but 2-0 at half time was very pleasing.

We tried to sort our defensive problems and emphasised to the boys the need to keep the energy levels up. The second half was fairly even, neither side created very much for a while, but when Sam was fouled he powered in the resulting free kick, a terrific goal. Shortly afterwards Michael got himself into the action, stabbing home twice from close range – I love it when players are in the right place at the right time. Reddish thought that was that – it should have been – and we decided to take it easy, but Oldham made us pay with a couple of well-taken goals. That was the only disappointing part of the match, and we finished on a high as Sam claimed his first hat-trick, again firing high into the net from long range. He was rightly delighted, it was a superb effort.

Another great morning for the team, I am so pleased for the boys who have worked very hard on a hot day. Still lots to work on but I was heartened to notice some of the things we have been working on being put into practice in the match. Next week will be a tough test away at North Manchester Boys, but going there with two wins is a fantastic start to the season.

Scorers : Jamie (1) Sam (3) Michael (2)