Under 12's. League Cup B Division Final at Woodley Sports

  Result - Reddish North End 0 Clayton Villa 3

Although the team have had to settle for the runners-up spot in today’s final, they can hold their heads high after a very pleasing performance in difficult circumstances. Despite having two clear goals disallowed, and losing our captain Josh to illness after just 10 minutes which forced a major re-jig, the team showed exceptional character on a big pitch and a hot afternoon, and battled hard against the best team that plays at U12’s level.

It was a desperate blow that Josh was unwell. I saw him on Friday evening and thought there was not the slightest chance of him playing, but he perked up enough and was understandably very keen to take part. However, with the warm sun, he managed 10 minutes before wisely admitting defeat - putting the team first, he asked to come off. This meant Daniel had to take his place at centre back and Alex came in to shore up midfield. However, before Josh departed we should have been one up. A poorly defended corner saw Reddish players bundle the ball forward and over the line, and a Clayton player scooped the ball out with his hands in the manner of one who knows it’s gone in. Everyone close to the goal knew it was in, even Clayton parents told me it should have been given, and if it wasn’t in, the handball should have been penalised. But between them the ref and linesman managed to not see any of this, which is highly unsatisfactory and frankly rather a bitter pill to swallow. This was the same ref we had in our recent game against Ashton and when I saw he had been given this final I feared the worst.

We had two other good chances in the first half but could not find the composure to finish, but I must be fair and say that we had some defending to do as well. Clayton possess very pacy forwards and they opened us up a couple of times but we managed to get determined blocks and tackles in. A couple of shots went just wide and Callum made a few comfortable saves, but generally Reddish held their own until just before half time when a speculative shot somehow skewed in. It was disappointing but overall I was very pleased with the boys.

Two weeks ago I had seen the A Division Final here and it was all over by half time. I was desperate to avoid a similar thing happening and emphasised to the boys that the primary aim – having gifted Clayton early goals in all our league matches - was to be in the game at the interval. And were we ever! The boys were genuinely disappointed to be behind and I hoped that the obvious injustice done to them would spur them on.

However in the second half we didn’t up our game until too late and also the heat seemed to catch up with our makeshift line-up. Thankfully Callum was very sharp in goal and made a couple of excellent saves, before some weary challenges allowed a Clayton player to skip through and shoot – although Callum parried the shot at full length the loose ball got tapped in for 2-0. At this point I did fear the boys might become too discouraged but they continued to battle. Sam had to come off with an injury although he returned shortly afterwards, and those closest to the incident all said he was unlucky to have a penalty awarded against him. Callum almost saved it but the spot kick just squeezed into the corner via his palm.

Reddish looked a bit despondent but to their great credit started to get the ball forward. One excellent burst from Sam saw him deliberately clipped from behind as he homed in on goal, but only a free kick for Reddish and no card for the Clayton player – it was a straightforward yellow at least. From the free kick Michael curled a great shot against the bar and despite players flinging themselves at the loose ball we couldn’t force it in. Shortly after this Sam went in again and scored but we had this one disallowed for a shoulder barge, which according to the ref is not permitted! Puzzling that this rule was mysteriously introduced at this stage to say the least!

So there we are. A fantastic effort all things considered, and the boys did themselves a huge amount of credit today. Sorry this report is going on a bit but I want to make a few points in finishing:

A)   our congratulations to Clayton Villa. They played some good football in the second half and while we can feel aggrieved about poor decisions which cost us goals, they took their chances and played the game in a good spirit. I don’t begrudge them their victory despite our ill-fortune and I hope we learn from their passing and composure.

B)   I got a text from Clayton’s manager. It said “Your guys did you proud today, never gave an inch. Got to say that most of my parents said the ball crossed the line, but that’s football.” Can’t argue with any of that.

C)   I am SO PROUD of all the team. Despite losing Josh and having players in unfamiliar positions they never gave up when everything was going against them. We have certainly not been disgraced and we made Clayton work hard for their win.

D)  Thanks to all the parents for their fantastic support. All the boys were so looking forward to the day, some couldn’t eat beforehand, but to have your family and friends there cheering you on was such a big part of the day and makes it memorable despite the result. I am delighted to have you all as part of the club.

Next week we return to league action with a trip to Ashton-under-Slime and hopefully a win which will secure us runners-up spot in the League. Come on boys, it’s the least you deserve!

Photo gallery from today's Cup final

Well done Reddish North End - Under 12's