Under 14's Match Report v Horton Foxes (07/08/2011)

Although only a friendly, there was much more at
stake than a pre-season warm up; certainly a day which will go down
in history, marking the first ever game for Wibsey Lions Football
Club. Since the team broke away from Wyke Wanderers three months ago,
the team had strengthened with no fewer than six new signings,
including two former Horton Foxes who were very keen to play well
against their previous club.





Horton Foxes fielded a weakened side, with players
away on holiday, however the Lions were also missing Jake Gilderdale,
Mudiwa Tegama, Calvin Barker and new Skipper Damien Hields.





Wibsey got off to a brilliant start, and took the
lead after only three minutes, Mikey Brooksbank slotted the ball
through to Connor Rhodes, Connor didn’t strike it as cleanly as he
would have liked, but it still went in.





Connor came close to making it 2-0, but his shot
whistled over the bar.





Horton Foxes came to life shortly after, they were
very good at winning the ball, Wibsey had become a little complacent.


The Foxes equalised after 7 minutes, an excellent
throughball managed to squeeze through Davis and Tai, and their
striker fired the ball into the back of the net.





Buoyed by their equaliser, the Foxes continued to
work hard to put the Lions under pressure. Another through ball fell
to their striker, who again finished very well. 2-1 to the Foxes.





Horton Foxes did look like the better side in the
middle, they won practically every ball, with the Wibsey midfield
looking a little demoralised. Josh Thompson then moved onto the right
wing, and newbie Callum Docherty came on and gave Wibsey a
well-needed boost to the midfield.





Horton Foxes nearly extended their lead, when a
shot was deflected into the bottom corner, but new keeper Mathew Hale
pulled off a fantastic save to deny them.





Wibsey made the score 2-2 after 17 minutes. Mikey
Brooksbank floated a perfect cross, which landed perfectly for Josh
Thompson to fire into the roof of the net, his first goal on his
debut, a very special goal, especially against his old team.





Wibsey struggled to hold the game at 2-2, Connor
had been left a little isolated up front, and they had struggled to
keep hold of the ball.





Half Time- 2-2





Wibsey came out much brigher. Stand-in Skipper
Nathan Khan had perked up, and they had started to look the stronger
team.





However, despite their strong start, it was Horton
Foxes who took another lead. A cross was dropped by Keeper Matty
Hale, into his own net.






Wibsey didn’t let their heads drop, and it was
only two minutes later that Wibsey came back into the game. Mikey was
taken down in the opposing half, and very cleverly took a quick
free-kick which caught Horton Foxes off-guard. Josh Thompson sprung
to life and slotted the ball home to net his second of the game. A
fantastic performance from Josh so far, and Wibsey had made the score
3-3.





Wibsey looked more organised at the back now,
Davis Peel on his debut had the defence very well organised,
especially considering the big loss of Damien Hields at the back.
Abel Mariwandi and Bradley Hawes also kept it tight at right back.






Mathew Hale, came out a few times to pull off some
good one on one saves, but his best was a save from a long range
effort, Mathew watched it, and did very well to tip it over the
crossbar.





Only 14 minutes gone in the second half, and
Horton Foxes scored again. This time it was from a corner, a
fantastic run from their central forward and he powered a bullet
header into the net. A top goal, and Wibsey were once again trailing
with the clock ticking.





With six minutes remaining, Connor Rhodes was
given the ball on the edge of the area and curled it around the
keeper. Another great finish from the lad who scored 44 goals last
season.





Wibsey pushed to get a winner in the last few
minutes, and they looked much the better side. Scott Morris had a
chance but it was held by the keeper.



Josh Thompson almost scored a hatrick, but his
shot hit the bar.





With seconds remaining, there was a final twist in
the tale. Callum Docherty played a clever ball to Connor, who beat
the last man and placed his shot past the keeper. It was Connor’s
hatrick, and so late in the game there was no time for a comeback,
the whistle went straight away.





The first win for Wibsey Lions!!


Goals


Connor Rhodes (3, 48, 56), Josh Thompson (17, 36)





Man of the Match


Josh Thompson: A great debut for Josh, it
was always going to be a top performance, he was definitely up for
the game today, and he deservedly scored two very good goals.





Manager Comments


We were a little lazy at times today, and we gave
Horton Foxes a bit too much space on the ball, especially their
stronger players. We need to identify stronger players in teams and
make sure they don’t get much of the ball, and when they do we are
on them quickly. It was our first game ever, and to get a win was
fantastic though. We played much better during the second half, and
we fully deserved to win the game. It was good to see our debutants;
Josh Thompson, Callum Docherty, Bradley Hawes, Mathew Hale and Davis
Peel all putting in a top display. It was great to see our new
team-mates settling into our team so well.. Well done boys! Really
proud of all your efforts today!