Witton Albion v Macc Saints

MCYFL Cup – Round 1

Witton Albion vs Macclesfield Saints

First Half

Undeterred by the fact that Witton Albion are now ranked two leagues above them, Macclesfield Saints started strongly. In the opening minutes Tom sent a ball through to Jack who managed to bypass Witton’s goalkeeper to open the scoring. Soon after Witton made an excellent cross into the box that was cleared away skilfully by Al. They kept up the pressure and Joseph made a great save. With the ball back in play Callum made two good headers to send the ball clear. Better defensive play and tackling by Macc Saints saw Witton Albion’s attempts on goal thwarted although one went over the top of the goal by just inches.  The opposition soon equalised and would have gone ahead had it not been for another excellent save by Joseph. Admidst the frantic play in the box a number of decisions went against Macc Saints. First a free kick was given and this was followed by two penalties in quick succession. The first for a hand ball, and the second,  a foul within the box.  Joseph was unable to save the first but did well to keep out the second penalty. With Witton also scoring in between the penalties the score reached a frustrating 3:1. Towards the end of the first half Saints had further chances  , there was a near miss by Jack which was quickly followed by a great goal from George after a run of good passing.  After 30mins the score was 3:2 but unfortunately Witton Albion managed to score again during a prolonged period of stoppage time.

Half Time Score 4:2.

Second Half

Macc Saints came back on with some determined play in the second half. Matthew, playing in Left defence passed well to Tom and onto Jack but the shot on goal was saved. Mike playing in defence, played well in his familiar role ably supported by Callum and Alex. Unfortunately Al’s knee injury restricted his playing time and he was rested to prevent further injury.  Rhys , Tom and Sam played well in midfield but Witton Albions aggressive tackling prevented us from passing fluently to make our efforts count. Ross played well in Right midfield, passing through to Rhys who nearly scored. Witton regained control and from a corner would have scored if Joseph hadn’t made a fabulous save more suited to Old Trafford!  Unfortunately from their next corner Witton passed well to send home a great headered goal making it 5:2. Saints rallied and would have closed the scoring if goal attempts by Tom and Jack in quick succession had  not hit the goalposts! Sonn after Witton did manage to find the net. After further stoppage time the final score was 6:2.

Final Score 6:2.

Wayne and Sean congratulated all the players on their improved performance with particular praise for Joseph.

Man of The Match – Mike

Thanks again to the Hunters for the above report