| HSM Trojans 7-7 Ladybridge Crusaders League Saturday 11th September 2004
An excellent performance after the long summer break, with two new faces in the Trojans line-up � Anthony and Josh. Ladybridge took the lead after only 3 minutes, but Trojans then piled on the pressure, coming very close to scoring on 3 occasions. Jordan made a great run down the right wing only to see his shot saved by the keeper. Jack came close to finding the net, and then George�s shot was saved by the Ladybridge keeper. On 13 minutes, George picked up a fine pass from defence and netted the equaliser. Unfortunately, Ladybridge then took the lead on 16 minutes. Trojans were quick to respond, with Jordan levelling the score a minute later, only to see Ladybridge again take the lead the following minute. The fast and furious pace continued, with three goals in quick succession. Trojans continued to attack the Ladybridge goal and played some good football. This was rewarded with an equaliser a minute before the half-time whistle, when Jordan � outstanding in midfield � scored with an excellent effort. He completed his hat-trick immediately after the kick off, after George had beaten several Ladybridge players and then put Jordan clear. Trojans looked to be heading towards half-time with a 4-3 advantage, but with almost the final kick of the half, Ladybridge equalised. The second half was played at a much slower pace with both teams defending well. However, on 41 minutes Ladybridge took the lead, despite Alix making a good save from the initial shot. Two minutes later, the Trojan defence were once again slow to react and Ladybridge made the score 6-4. Trojans were by now becoming frustrated and there were some tense moments, but they pulled themselves together and started to play as they had done in the first half. Josh made a number of good runs up the right wing, and then Trojans were awarded a free kick on 47 minutes which Jordan stepped up to take. He swung the ball right into the box and found George. The Ladybridge keeper managed to get a hand to it, but Jack was able to finish off and put the ball in the back of the net. Two minutes later, Josh made another surging run up the right wing, beating several Ladybridge players to cross an excellent ball over to George, who calmly finished to make the score 6-6. George then completed his hat-trick on 52 minutes with a fantastic lob over the Ladybridge keeper�s head. The drama wasn�t quite over though, as following a handball, Ladybridge were awarded a penalty 2 minutes from time. Alix made a superb save, but the defence failed to clear the ball and Ladybridge equalised. Another high scoring and highly entertaining game, which Trojans really did deserve to win. After finding themselves 2 goals down early on in the second half, they showed real guts and determination, and fought back to almost clinch an impressive victory. There were impressive performances from new boys Anthony and Josh, and despite the team possibly being unsettled by the loss of 3 established players and the addition of 2 new ones, they pulled together and played well as a team. Well done lads. Man of the Match � Jordan Team: Goal � Alix Defence � Luke, Robert, Alex, Mark Midfield � Josh, Jack, Jordan, Arthur Strikers � Curtis, George Sub: Anthony |
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| Marauders Tigers 5 - 8 HSM Trojans Lge Saturday 18th September 2004 An excellent performance by a 10-men Trojan side, despite some dubious refereeing decisions which almost spoilt the day. The Trojans had been hit with both Luke and Antony missing through illness and were only able to field 10 players. This however did nothing to upset their confidence, and were very quick off the mark, going a goal up after only 2 minutes. Jack scoring after some excellent passing play from Jordan and George. Within 5 minutes, the Trojans were 2 up. Jack scoring an excellent solo goal, rounding 2 defenders and firing in a bullet of a shot from a tight angle. The Trojans defence had been totally untroubled, with the ball hardly entering their half, and George, Jordan, Alix, Jack and Mark all creating chance after chance, but failing to add to their tally. However on 18 minutes, the Trojan defence stepped up to play both the Marauders strikers offside. The ref was unsighted and waved play on, resulting with the Marauders scoring. Despite the appeals from players and parents, the goal was awarded. The Trojans bounced back immediately, with George scoring on 20 minutes and again 2 minutes later, giving the Trojans a comfortable and deserved 4 � 1 lead. Just before half time though, things started to get a little out of hand. A Marauders player clearly blocked a clearance with his hand. The ref again ignored the appeals and the ball was in the back of the net, to make the half time score 2 � 4. The Trojans defence had been playing the offside trap beautifully. It seemed the Marauders strikers were unaware of the offside rule and were being caught out every single time. Sadly, the ref was lacking on the offside rule himself, and insisted on waving play on each time. 5 minutes after the interval disaster struck for this very reason. The Marauders had now scored 3 goals which all should have been disallowed. This caused the frustration to spill over onto the pitch, with several of the Trojans players coming near to being sent off for arguing with the ref. This lapse of concentration resulted in the Marauders equalizing (This time a good goal!) 2 minutes later. With the score at 4 � 4 there was a turn of events on 40 minutes. The ref once more waved play on when a Marauders player was at least 5 yards offside. The Trojans all stopped, with the exception of Curtis who pulled off an excellent save from a point blank shot. Suddenly the game changed again, and from being in almost a losing position, the Trojans set about the opposition and scored 4 goals in 10 minutes. George completing his hat-trick, Alix scoring twice and Mark making it 8 � 4. This 10 minute spell was probably the best period of attacking football that the Trojans had ever played. The Trojans switched their players around for the last few minutes, with all 4 defenders (Alex, Robert, Josh and Arthur) all coming close to scoring. The Marauders scored a late consolation to make the final score 5 � 8. Team: Goalkeeper � Curtis Defence � Josh, Robert, Alex, Arthur Midfield � Jack, George, Jordan, Alix Forward � Mark. Man of the match � Josh. (Covered for the absent Luke very well, and made some excellent overlapping runs with Jack on the right wing.) |