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Saturday 11th January 2020 (9.00am KO)
Moorside Farm, Victoria Lane, Swinton, Manchester, M27 9LF
Referee: Joseph Horrocks
Drew: 3-3 (HT 2-1)
Goals: Oliver Hall, Henry Errington, Alfie Rostron
MotM: Dillan Caldwell
The Hurricanes were back on ‘home’ territory but for an away fixture, as the Moorside Yellows welcomed the Beechfield back to their usual ground for the first time in several months, against their very near neighbours. The Hurricanes were without their tough-tackling midfield general Joshua Whitehead but were pleased to welcome back Enzo Barbosa from ‘international duty’ and captain Oliver Hall after his recent illness.
Regardless of their proximity, the sides should’ve been very familiar with each other, after two close league games last year (both leading to narrow Beechfield victories) and a draw on the opening day of this season. However, the last meeting between the two sides ended in a surprising 6-0 win for Beechfield, as the Yellows were missing a number of key players for the mid-November cup game. Therefore, today’s game was expected to be a tight affair, with a very early morning kick off, on a large playing surface that was heavy and uneven, with a strong breeze blowing across the pitch throughout.
Both teams started competitively, with some ferocious challenges flying in from both sides, but the poor conditions meant that it was difficult to play any flowing football, so the game was a little scrappy and had relatively few clear-cut chances early on. It therefore took a mix-up in the Moorside defence to present the Hurricanes with their first scoring opportunity of the game, as Oliver Hall pounced on a loose ball in the opposition area and calmly fired the ball into the bottom corner to give the away side an early lead.
Whilst this might normally have given the Hurricanes a boost, they seemed uncharacteristically quiet and it was the home team who responded better to the early goal. It wasn’t long before Oliver Williams and Fabio Figueiredo were being tested in the Hurricanes defence, as the well-organised Yellows were beginning to see more and more of the ball. However, the boys defended resolutely and any chances that did get past them were quickly nullified by Dillan Caldwell, who was dominant in his sweeper role at the back.
It therefore took a set piece before the home side could register a shot on target and, unfortunately, they were able to capitalise on their first corner of the game. The ball ricocheted around the penalty area, as the Hurricanes struggled to clear it from out of the heavy mud around the goal mouth, before a firm strike from a Moorside striker was enough to earn them an equaliser. This did seem to provoke a response from the Beechfield players, who didn’t really deserve to lose their lead, and it wasn’t long before they started to look more threatening.
Amaan Khan was whipping in a number of dangerous crosses and corners from the right, and the pace of Enzo Barbosa was beginning to cause some real problems for the home defence. Jamie Maher also showed some good touches and cleverly ran clear of the defensive line before being cynically hacked down. However, the referee bizarrely chose not to award a free kick, which was just one of a number of decisions that left players, coaches and supporter feeling bemused.
Despite this, it was a counter-attack that eventually led to their second goal, as another Moorside corner was caught by ‘keeper Oliver Dalton-Bunker who hoofed the ball forward. After the Hurricanes broke quickly, the ball found its way to Henry Errington on the edge of the box and he needed no second invitation to rifle the ball beyond the home goalkeeper, who couldn’t even get a glove to his shot.
This gave the home team’s confidence a real boost and they were definitely on top as the referee blew for half time. Coach Ben Robinson was ably assisted by assistant Chris Rostron on the sideline, in the absence of Glenn Whitehead and Tom Hall, and their words of encouragement certainly had a positive impact as the away side started the second half very brightly.
Reece Cartwright was the first to try his luck with a firm low shot, after an excellent solo run, that was saved well by the home goalkeeper. Alfie Rostron was next to step up and was desperately unlucky to see his efforts drift just wide of the post twice in two minutes. However, Alfie was not to be denied for a third time as he maintained his composure to coolly slide the ball under the on-rushing goalkeeper to give the Hurricanes a two-goal cushion.
Unfortunately, this was as good as it got for the Hurricanes as the tide of the game seemed to turn against them and the Rangers became stronger, more physical and more determined as the second half wore on. Thomas Robinson was working hard to keep the Yellows’ attackers at bay, and also managed to turn defence into attack on a number of occasions with some powerful runs forward. Man of the match Dillan Caldwell continued to chase, block and tackle anything that came towards him but even he couldn’t prevent the Rangers scoring an excellent second goal, as the ball was pinged in from the left before their striker calmly controlled and fired it into the top corner.
Things went from bad to worse for Beechfield as a last-ditch tackle in the penalty area upended a Moorside striker and the referee point to the spot. Thankfully the resulting penalty was hammered high and way over the bar. Although it was a let-off for the Hurricanes, it wasn’t long before their luck seemed to run out. Another heavy challenge led to a Moorside free kick just outside the area and one of their players hammered his chance into the roof of the visitors’ net to pull his side level.
There wasn’t long left to play so, while the Yellows didn’t have chance to push for a winner, there also wasn’t time for Beechfield to re-take the lead, despite having been the better team for long periods of the game. As the referee brought proceedings to a halt, both sets of players looked tired, but the home side seemed happier with their share of the spoils, having drawn level late on, in a game that they had never led.
After the game coach Ben Robinson said “It feels a bit like a loss today and the lads’ faces after the game said it all. They looked disappointed, which to me says it all about their mentality. An away draw is not good enough for them, so that’s a positive. However, they shouldn’t be too hard on themselves, as that was a totally different team today to the one that we faced in the cup last year. They were more organised, more physical and the way they set up defensively just showed how much respect they had for us. This was our most physical league game yet and we gave as good as we got. Credit to Moorside for not letting their heads drop after we went 1-3 up, but we seemed to just let our foot of the gas, and them getting that second goal really lifted the team, so fair play to them”.
“We could’ve put the game to bed in in the first ten minutes of the second half with a bit more composure, but onwards and upwards. It’s another game under our belts before we start back in the cup competition. The weekend after the first week back at school is always tough, especially with a 9am kick off. I could make excuses about the playing conditions, and some of the referee’s decisions, but don’t want to take any credit away from the home team. It was great to get Enzo back from his holiday and Olly Hall back from illness. I thought he did a great job in Josh's position, who we missed today. Well done to Dillan who was the best player on the pitch today and earned a well-deserved MotM award. Thanks to the parents for making an early morning kick off in numbers too.
The Hurricanes squad for the match was: Oliver Dalton-Bunker, Fabio Figueiredo, Alfie Rostron, Amaan Khan, Oliver Williams, Oliver Hall, Henry Errington, Dillan Caldwell, Jamie Maher, Enzo Barbosa, Reece Cartwright and Thomas Robinson.