Under 12's. Home v Wythenshawe Town

  Result - Reddish North End 2 Wythenshawe Town 0
(Friendly Game)

Having not been given a fixture by the League today we opted to take on Wythenshawe, who were, like us, without a game. The big clash of the day in the cup saw the top side in the ‘A’ division (Moston) taking on the top side in our ‘B’ division (Clayton), which is why we were both fixtureless, so at North Reddish Park it was the two second place teams in the ‘A’ and ‘B’ divisions who met. And what a morning for Reddish! I am absolutely ecstatic with the result and the performance, way way beyond expectations, and a thoroughly deserved boost for the rest of the season.

I have nothing but bad memories of playing Wythenshawe last year at U11’s level. They deservedly won the league last season and beat us twice with ease, scoring 14 times against us without us managing even a shot on target. I remember our 8-0 loss at their ground, which is the lowest I have ever felt and the closest I came to disbanding the team and packing up – yes, we were that bad.

This season Wythenshawe have again played some great football, winning regularly and losing only to the ‘A’ division leaders, so when the boys all said they wanted to play them I was pleased with their attitude but very wary of what might happen. However, the experience of playing Clayton has stood us in good stead, as the boys now know the level at which they need to perform in order to compete, and I was delighted that - in front of the club chairman! - they stuck to our plan so well today and got their rewards.

We absorbed a fair bit of pressure in the first half at times, only occasionally putting pressure on in their box. However, Wythenshawe only managed one clear shot at goal which Callum saved superbly, and the boys defended calmly, in numbers, and with obvious determination. We broke the play up repeatedly, with Callum B, Daniel and Mark outstanding, and with Felix and Jake doing their jobs brilliantly, we grew in belief as the half progressed. We turned around goalless, which was an achievement in itself, and again I was really pleased at how well we weathered the anticipated quick start from them in the 2^nd half.

We kept breaking the play up, closing down space and tackling well, and as more opportunities came our way we started to look threatening. Sam really came to life in the 2^nd half and it was from a corner that he won that we went ahead. Sam himself fired in a great cross which wasn’t dealt with and fell to Jamie who stabbed the ball into the top corner. The boys were thrilled and so were all the parents! The confidence continued to grow and although there was still plenty of work to do, we did it well, and despite them having a fair bit of possession I honestly cannot recall one clear-cut opportunity Wythenshawe had. We had some more chances, a half-decent one from a corner went begging, but late on another cross not dealt with fell to Michael, who fired the loose ball high and goalwards. As it came down I could sense it was over the keeper and in, which proved to be the case. 2-0! And with hardly any time left Reddish had sealed the game.

Boys if you are reading this it is difficult to put into words how proud I was of all of you today. You have excelled against a good side, and shown what determination, energy and team work can do. Even more pleasing was the fact that I made loads of substitutions, so numerous times key players were off the pitch and others were in unfamiliar positions. Despite this we still did ourselves proud and came away with a fantastic result, burying a few ghosts in the process. WELL DONE! Let’s take this level forward to next week when Oldham visit us for a league match.

Scorers : Jamie (1) Michael (1)

Man of the match : Jointly awarded to the entire team!