Maltby Juniors 3 Abbey Lane 3

[chris@tmseurope.co.u]

12th October 2008
Maltby Juniors 3 Abbey Lane 3
Scorers
Cole Priestley
Ashden Morely (2)

Another sunny day in Rotherham with perfect playing conditions, Abbey Lane were down to 12 players after George Morfitt reported injured and Chris Davis-Smith reported an X factor wannabe.

Maltby were a side unknown to Abbey Lane, Maltby were promoted to the 'A' division last season and the lack of fixtures against each other showed from the kick-off when both teams found it hard to establish any sort of flow or control. Two different styles of football were on show, Maltby playing one dimensional and direct with Abbey Lane trying to establish their passing game with little success.

The first threat came from Maltby when they hit the post after 5 minutes and this was followed up with a deserved goal after 10 minutes when an attack down the right resulted in a shot against the post which crossed the line before Ash Milnes could clear the ball.

Abbey Lane posed no threat to the Maltby defence and it was no surprise when the home team doubled their lead after 30 minutes after poor defending allowed the Maltby forward an easy shot passed Chris Marshall. This was a poor half by Abbey Lane with all players struggling to keep the ball under control and very few passes reaching there intended target. At last half-time arrived giving the management an opportunity to speak to the players and assess what was the worst performance of the season. One change was made at half-time with Cole Priestley replacing Oliver Ledger.

The second half began well when a James Halliday corner found a run to the near post by Cole Priestley who flicked the ball into the net. Just the start to the second half needed but the come back was soon un-done when the referee awarded a dubious free-kick just outside the Abbey Lane penalty aera. The Maltby player hit the ball direct and with mustard, Chris Marshall made a fine save but was unable to hold the ball and prevent the follow-up by the Maltby forward who beat the Abbey Lane defence to the ball and placed the ball passed Chris's left hand.

Oliver Ledger replaced Ben Pond and Abbey Lane changed formation going back to a midfield four with two forwards. The second half performance had improved a little but the game seemed to be slipping away. The Management changed the format again by replacing the injured Chris Howe with Ben Pond who took a centre midfield role, Brad Gledill went into centre defence and Ashden Morley went to right back.

The last 10 minutes became the most industrious of the match when Abbey Lane staged an unpredictable and unbelievable fight back. With 5 minutes to go a corner by Liam Pashley found the head of an unmarked Ashden Morely who lept like a salmon to head the ball into the Maltby goal.

The goal injected spark and life into the Abbey Lane team which had been all but absent during the previous 70 minutes. Game On!. Abbey Lane drove forward and again their endeavour was rewarded when they equalised with 5 minutes remaining. Again another corner by James Halliday found Cole Priestley at the back post, his header across the goal found Ashden Morely unmarked again who's header rocketed against the bar, his split second reaction enabled him to volley the rebound into the net (a goal his dad could only dream about). The closing minutes saw half opportunities from both sides but Abbey Lane had somehow pulled off an amazing comeback emphasising the character of the players and never say die attitude. All future performances can only be an improvement on this one, but once again set pieces play a major part in deciding the result of the game.