ABBEY LANE v MILLMOOR JUNIORS 3/2/08

[Craig Millward]

ABBEY LANE (1) v MILLMOOR JUNIORS (4)
GOALSCORER(S) - MATTHEW PETTY
MAN OF THE MATCH AWARD - DANIEL HARDY



MATCH REPORT

Abbey Lane played host to fourth placed Millmoor Juniors, and in a action packed game Abbey Lane came away with a 4-1 defeat.
The early exchanges in the first half were shared as both teams attacked with venim, pushing back the defences, trying to force a break. Millmoor took the lead on fifteen minutes in a strange fashion, a ball was played through behind the defence, Abbey Lanes keeper came racing out to clear the danger, he was totally flattened by the oncoming striker and also in the same incident the Abbey Lane defender. With the keeper out flat on the floor Millmoor collected the ball and shot into an empty net. The referee explained he didn't have time to blow his whistle to stop play before Millmoor had fired the ball, this was a hard decision to take, but one that we had to accept. Abbey Lane kept their heads and tried in vane to force an equaliser, but it just would not come. Abbey Lane were having their fair share of chances and squandered a couple of clear cut shots on goal.

The half time whistle blew, i told the lads i could not fault any one of them, as with only a bare eleven players, they had played probably the best football i have seen them play all season, and they were still very much in this game.

The second half started, and with only minutes gone Abbey Lane found themselves 2-0 down. A good ball played out wide saw Millmoor attack, an Abbey Lane defender was turned inside out allowing Millmoor to fire home. As far as luck goes Millmoors third goal was labelled completely with luck, another loose ball towards goal saw Abbey Lanes keeper fly out of his net to clear the ball, it struck the oncoming defender and then fell nicely to his feet to slot home.
Abbey Lane got themselves back into the game with a good goal, a quick throw by HARDY on the right in line with the penalty area, found PETTY with his back to goal, a turn and shot saw the ball fire into the roof of the net. This rallied the team as they pushed on with fifteen minutes left to try and salvage at least a point, and attack after attack saw the Abbey Lane strikers cancelled out by a well organised Millmoor back line. With five minutes remaining Millmoor made it 4-1, where a great ball was played over the top for the striker to chase making no mistake slotting the ball home. Abbey Lane had a couple of late chances but were unable to make any of them count.

Abbey Lane were very unlucky today, particularly with the first goal, as in all too many cases this season an early goal in this fashion does have an effect on the team and it is always an uphill battle when you go 1-0 down. I can't fault the eleven lads who were on the pitch today as they all played their hearts out with at times some excellent football. We can only imagine what could have been if we had converted some of our first half chances, but be it bad luck or inability to score a goal when most needed, the lads gave their all. As i have said earlier in the season, we probably are not a match at the moment for the top three or four teams, but we should be well capable of claiming points off the rest.