A great game to watch for the neutral and not one for the faint hearted. Both teams showing that they will be more than a match for any team in this division.
Heyside attacked the most and some of the football played really stood out but again not putting away chances still is our achilles heel, Stanley as we know from past encounters pack the defence and midfield and spray long balls to the forwards counter attacking very quickly, so in the first half we seem to combat this very well playing it down the wings keeping the ball well away from the congestion and moving Stanley's defence out of position and this is how we got the break through.
Billy passed out to Kingy at left back he chipped a sublime ball down the flank to Adam who had timed his run well, with his head up he slid a great ball into the box for Liam to calmly slot the ball home, Stanley's heads dipped and minutes later a bit of a shot and scrammble saw Hayden get Heyside's second goal and it was great reward for all the teams effort.
Luke was having a fine game also at right back breaking up the attacks and slipping some lovely balls into midfield.
We could and should have put the game out of site but a 2-0 lead was a fair reflection of the half.
Half Time - Heyside Juniors Reds 2 AFC Stanley 0
This is probably the point where myself and Dave made the mistake of changing things, as they always say "if it aint broke don't fix it !!"
Billy came out of goal and in stepped Kingy now we know we shouldn't of done this as Kingy had had a storming first half on the left and it did leave the defence very light with Josh O having to work overtime to stem the attacks.
Some of the players then decided to take things into their own hands and ignore simple intructions of shape and discipline, the only thing Stanley did was defend very well in numbers and pump a long ball up field and suddenly Heyside were all over the place Adam seemed to be covering every blade of grass as the rest of the midfield just seemed to bomb forward and ignore the fact that there was defending to do at the same time.
This eventually caught the team out with two sloppy goals conceded, it was the players downfall for not listening from the sidelines and individuals doing there own thing and not putting in the effort required, too many today relied on others rather than put a shift in for the team that just isn't good enough !!
For the ones who did listen well done you can be very proud of your effort.
Full Time - Heyside Juniors Reds 2 AFC Stanley 2.
Two points dropped today not through lack of effort but by lack of discipline on the pitch, this has got to stop we are here to coach and get the best out of every individual so don't think that going onto the pitch you don't need to listen to the Managers instructions you do !! You have also got to be patient in games and not think that teams will just roll over and concede goals, we need to calm down a little in possession and be a bit quicker with our passing to open the better teams up.
A nice comment by the Referee at the end really pleased me, he said "this has been the best game he has had to ref all season and it was a great advert for 9 v9 football " he also added that "we were unlucky not to get all 3 points today and to keep playing attractive football".
Next week we are in the Second Round of the primary cup against Curzon Ashton Whites who are unbeaten this season and are riding high at the top of the Second Division so we are in for a tough game. If we can all play as well as we know we can then we should be able to give them a run for their money.
Billy Joyce - Good first half in goal and didn't have that much to do, came out in the 2nd half and forgot about defensive duties.
Josh King - Best game he has played for the team on the left and really deserved MOTM, in goal for second half due to volunteering so thank you.
Josh O'Neil - Commanding once again for the team needed more help in the 2nd half and was let down by others.
Luke Casey - Was over run at times but defended superbly and linked up play very nicely...well done.
Adam Ford - All over the pitch today and bust a gut for his team. Good assist for the first goal.
Liam Brown - Good reaction for the goal, left the defence exposed at times and maybe his cold got the better of him today.
Hayden Smith - Forgot his position today and seemed to be playing as a striker rather than a midfielder,another goal to his tally though !!
Connel Mallon - Needs to do what he does in training on the pitch, a knock to his head left him a bit subdued.
Alex Williams - Well marshalled today by a good defence and not much happened for him.
Connor Knowles - Some nice touches when he came on and pushing for a start next week.
Jayden Elson - Seem to not understand his position when he came on and needs to listen a little better.
Jack Dowd - Very unlucky to only get a few minutes today,again did his job well and will get more time on the pitch this season.
