Under 13's. Tameside & District League. Division 1.
Home v Moston Brook

  Result - Reddish North End 1 Moston Brook 8

Match Report: James Emmerson

Such is the unfathomable way the fixtures are worked out, this was our second game in three weeks against the league leaders. And as the score suggests, we struggled today, outplayed for long periods by a very good side. The morning was bright and breezy, thankfully the complete opposite of the forecast, and the pitch was in pretty good condition considering the amount of rain there has been. We all knew we were facing a big task and it was disappointing to see the boys make life hard for themselves by gifting a number of soft goals to our opponents.

We started okay but, as we have seen too many times, we paid a heavy price for switching off and not matching Moston’s energy and work rate. We were 4-0 behind at half time so really the game had gone by then, and although we were at 2-1 in the second half for a decent period, in the end two more poor goals conceded left everyone pretty gloomy afterwards.

I will sum up by looking at plus and minus factors. On the minus side, we let in too many goals, and weren’t brave enough to compete at corners as Moston won header after header. Some players were slow to react and didn’t read the game well, especially in the second half. One of the team had a particularly quiet match so effectively we played large parts of the game with ten men. There was nothing like enough talking or encouraging, which we tell the boys about time after time! Hopefully they will learn – soon!!

On the plus side, considering we were without two of our biggest and best players through illness (Sam and Josh), the boys battled really well on a difficult morning. As Louis picked up an injury, we couldn’t make any subs in the second half, and despite effectively having ten players, we showed commendable spirit. And we scored! Jamie smacked home a good little goal, spinning and finishing well, and the dummy he sold a big defender in the first half was excellent – just what we’d been working on in training. The boys tried to pass the ball when they could, and tackled pretty well at times. Callum had another good game in goals, Jake was outstanding at left back – winning the vote for man-of-the-match – and there were other valiant efforts throughout the side.

It is daunting when you are facing up to a team physically much bigger and stronger than you, so I don’t want to be too critical of the boys considering all of the above. Also I think Moston had been stung by our plucky riposte a fortnight ago and were under orders to ensure no repeat! As I say they are an excellent team and they play the game with a good attitude, and we wish them well.

Next week we play our delayed cup match at Delamere Rangers.

Scorers : Jamie (1) 

Man of the match : Jake