MATCH REPORTS - 2011/2012

(Scroll down for previous reports)

29/04/12 - Penwortham St Teresas Yellow 6-1 Hesketh Bank

Our final game of the season after being postponed several times due to an unfit pitch at Worden Park Leyland was against promotion challenging Penwortham St Theresa's who beat us 6-1 at home earlier in the season, on looking back at that games match report it was our lack of ability to deal with a good midfield side which created chances and finished them.

At Saturday's training all the players knew what was expected of them in today's game and we went into the fixture all with the right attitude, sadly 24 hours later on match day things changed dramatically.

We turned up to the match in pouring rain and a biting wind and it was clear in the half an hour we had before kick off some of our players wanted to be somewhere else, sensing this I made a conscious effort in front of all the parents that we were here to play our last game regardless off the weather and we should really give it a good go as it was the last game of the season.

Once we had kicked off it was evident that today was not going to be one of those days were I report highly on our effort and desire to win the ball and it was no surprise to see within the first couple of minutes the home team take the lead, unchallenged through the midfield we failed to clear the ball out of our box and presented there striker with an easy tap in.

Arran, Lewis, Edward and Johnny were all told to warm up as another two soft goals went in past Wiktor which he could do nothing about, we are so rigid as a team from corners it doesn't take much for opposing teams to score due to our team not clearing our lines.

Arran and Edward both went on to replace the unwell Nathan and Joe and we managed to tighten things up and keep the score down, it was a shame we had let silly goals in again which always makes competing in these games an uphill battle, with the changes we made in the first half it meant Arran and Morgan had to switch from the midfield to the back four to try and tighten things up were really they should have been playing in midfield.

Whilst letting goals in we also on a positive note created quite a few opportunities up front with Thomas and Ben putting their shots wide or over the bar, at 3-0 down a goal for us would have made the game more even as we approached the end of the first half, Aiden in particular from left back made two surging runs down the wing and put in great balls into the box which we didn't capitalise on.

At Half time three goals down in the pouring rain it was going to be another 35 minutes opportunity to try and salvage something today but I could see it in the boys faces that they didn't fancy it, if we can't face facts in a team talk why we are 3 goals down without sulking and getting upset then we are always going to come off the pitch beaten.

Lewis went on for Morgan at half time with Oliver moving to right back to try and see if we could use him as a target man up front, dropping the two strikers Thomas and Ben back into a midfield five to try and contain the pressure we were under.

The second half was pretty much game over after 10 minutes when the home team scored two quick goals in a matter of minutes. A great individual run from their midfielder with a terrific finish, then another unchallenged ball from a corner which was stabbed over the line to make the score 5-0.

Luke and Joel again in midfield worked really hard but struggled to create any chances due to the constant pressure they were under, Lewis being man marked by three players as they had no pressure on their back four.

Edward and Ben had to come off injured and this gave the opportunity for Morgan and Jonathan to go on for the last 15 minutes, the boys struggled to motivate themselves and we resorted to encouragement rather than tactical shouting from the side-lines to try and keep them going till the final whistle.

We did manage to score when a great run again down the left wing resulted in Aiden putting a cross into the box which the home team failed to scramble away in the six yard box, Both Lewis and Thomas went for the same ball and took each other out by the goalpost leaving the ball sat in the mud for Jonathan to poke the ball home and score his first ever goal for the club, a scrappy goal but at least the two boys went for it even though they hurt each other in the process.

With 5 minutes to go we started to attack the home team's goal with new found enthusiasm even from our defence, unfortunately a long ball cleared up field resulted in the sixth goal being scored past Wiktor to make the final score 6-1 the same as what we got beat at home by them.

As the final whistle blew it wasn't time for reflection and an overview team talk as the freezing cold and wet parents and players just wanted to get back to their cars and get home, nothing I would have said after the game would have made any difference as too many players were beaten today by the weather before we had kicked off, very disappointing as we had worked so hard in our previous games.

When you work with these boys week in and out you find their levels of ability and commitment and it would be unfair to judge them over the season on today's performance, we will have a two month break now till the end of June when we start pre-season again and we will continue to work on the positives we have had this season whilst addressing areas where we can improve.

No more training and matches now as our season has finished so the next time we will all meet is our junior presentation day on May 27 th at the Catholic Hall Tarleton, then back to the locker room 3G afterwards for some food.

Darren

01/04/12 - Real Mahad 6-1 Hesketh Bank

After last week's heroic efforts against the league leaders todays fixture should put us on a level playing field with our opponents who we beat comfortably on the opening day of the season 6-1, games in this league normally tend to follow the pattern of the table and this was certainly one of those games were we could and should add to our wins this season.

With only Luke Aldersley missing due to a holiday from last weeks starting line up the team today was strong enough in all areas to push for a result, Lewis was brought back into the team up front on his own to act as the target man and Edward and Ben reverted back to wide midfield roles.

From the start it was clear our boys had already won the game in their minds after looking at the league table and we never looked like winning a challenge in midfield, the Real Mahad team though often borderline with physical challenges dominated all over the pitch, so much so that after 15 minutes we made substitutions to try and tighten things up across the park.

A total contrast from last week's efforts by our boys as we only created three goal scoring chances all first half, one a great save from Lewis and the second which he put wide on a one on one situation with the keeper, Real Mahad had numerous attacks which outnumbered us and were 2 goals up through a speculative cross over everyone's heads and the second which we watched go straight through the defence from a corner.

A great solo run from Oliver at left back resulted in us getting on the score sheet to make the score 2-1 to the home team but this only lasted a couple of minutes as for the second week on the run defending wrong side of quick players resulted in a third goal being put past us, at 25 minutes into the game we looked a beaten team and it was a battle to get the boys into half time without giving any more goals away this I know was very frustrating for Paul and myself as coaches and the watching parents.

I said after our first half poor performance against Fishwick Rangers a few weeks back that I didn't want to have to talk to the boys at half time again this season in a manner that focused on desire and commitment instead of tactical play.

To summarise strong but honest words were said at the half time team talk and the boys need to realise if you don't turn up with the right attitude and put the effort in you won't get anything from the game.

The second half started off again with a basic error costing us a goal, the defence getting caught out and Wiktor getting caught outside his area only for the ball to be lobbed over his head into the back of the net to make the score 4-1 to the home team.

With Aiden injured and having to come off the steel and resolve we have often shown in defence deserted us once more and again our keeper on walkabouts was beaten for a 5th goal, Lewis at the other end created another race from half way with the Real Mahad defence and finished his goal with a great left footed shot past the oncoming keeper only for the linesman to flag for offside at the last minute.

Frustration had been replaced in the team with a given up attitude for the last ten minutes and it was no surprise to see a 6 th goal go in against us, a mirror image of the 2 nd goal we conceded in the first half when we stood there watching without making a challenge from the corner.

The score finished 6-1 to the home team and I can have no complaints about the scoreline being a true reflection of the game, this is as poor a performance as it gets and it had nothing to do with footballing ability, sadly Luke the one player who was missing this week would have on today's performance certainly have turned up with the attitude to win, this could not be said of our team today.

Although massively disappointed with the result today it is important that we move forwards from this as our last two games are against the 2 nd and 3 rd place teams in the league, Saturdays training at 3g will focus on basic defensive responsibilities in midfield and defence, particularly corners and re-addressing confidence in the team

Next week we have no game due to the Easter period then our final home game on Sunday 15 th April against Chorley Wanderers at Shore road kick off 11.00am.

Darren

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25/03/12 - Hesketh Bank 0-6 Gregson Lane

After our last game against Fishwick Rangers in February we expected to be back in a sequence of games which we could put all our hard work done in training into practice, alas other than a friendly game which we arranged ourselves with Croston which we won 3-2 we have been left frustrated with postponed games due to waterlogged pitches at the last minute at our opponents grounds.

Today's game was against Gregson Lane who have been top of the league since the opening day of the season and it was a 9-0 defeat we suffered against them in September last year, when I looked back at the match report for that game all those many months ago I commented that our opposition today would win our division, they now only need a win and a draw out of their last 3 games to do so.

Their record of 94 goals scored and only 14 conceded all season was a statistic that any team would be proud of and although they may have looked at the table showing our position a lot lower in the league and thought easy game, we used a Saturday morning training session at Shore road to address the issues which cost us so many goals against us last time.

A starting line up without John Robinson through illness, Aiden Doughty away with Family and Lewis McDonald with muscle damage to his ankle gave everyone who turned up at training on Saturday the chance in the starting eleven with two places as substitutes

This was the first time this season we had an experienced referee in Tex Morley who normally referees under 16s games instead of the junior referees we normally have and it was obvious from the first challenge there would be no issues on the field by either team today

The game kicked off on a really hot morning with Gregson Lane soon using there 5 substitutes to roll players on and off, our 2 subs of Arran and Jonathan would be given their chance as the game developed.

Gregson Lane soon caused problems for us with their 2 strikers showing electrifying pace for young lads and it was only lady luck and some last ditch tackling by Dominik and Oliver that kept the score at bay, Oliver in particular had the hardest job on the pitch trying to keep the left back position covered.

The first goal of the game came 15 minutes in when we failed to clear the ball away from our 18 yard box, the ball being slotted home by the far post under pressure, it was inevitable this would happen but hopefully the flood gates would not open.

Credit to our midfield battlers particularly Joel and Luke who whilst trying to break down every attack had the chance to create opportunities up front for Edward and Ben, Thomas and Morgan were slow to get going in midfield and needed to raise their game before Gregson Lane took a foothold.

The Gregson Lane coaches were surprised their team had not scored more by now and that was more of a credit to our boys than a reflection of their play, this was to change within 5 minutes of the game when 2 goals were rifled past Wiktor into the back of the net, Dave Melling our under 16s manager who was watching commented that he had just seen 2 fantastic goals scored against us that were down to the class of our opposition and nothing else.

Paul Barton, Colin Howard and myself encouraged the boys to keep going yet you could see in their faces we needed to get to half time so I could tighten up on our areas of concern, we managed to do that and Morgan and Thomas were now on the same wavelength as Joel and Luke who never stopped till the half time whistle.

Joe and Nathan continued to give their all at the back under continuous pressure but did the simple things well, 3-0 could have been a lot worse and we went into half time as coaches overall pleased with the first half performance.

The boys sat down and listened whilst taking on plenty of water whilst we addressed areas of concern, the main area was giving good players time on the ball against us and we needed to put into practice our closing down drill which we had done the previous day, Arran would replace Edward and go on up front with Ben with the understanding they couldn't just wait for the ball to come to them they had to put pressure on the oppositions defenders.

Footballing wise yes the opposition were a more gifted team but our boys can put in a performance with desire that can spoil other teams expectations, we went out 2 nd half knowing what I expected of them all and it wasn't sitting back and getting turned over.

The second half kicked off and our issues addressed at half time were taken on board in all areas of the parks, stopping them from dictating play was paramount and although pleasing to us the oppositions coaches could see we wanted this more than their own team, it would not have been obvious to anyone that had just turned up as for the first 20 minutes of the second half it was all Hesketh Bank.

We defended every attack so much so that the 2 strikers they had up front and in particular on Oliver's side were frustrated at every opportunity by Captain Dominik and his defence, Wiktor throughout this marshalled his box excellent and created chances up front with some great goal kicks.

The great work our midfield and up front meant the cross bar and post were clipped several times and only goalmouth scrambles in the oppositions defence stopped us from scoring, Gregson Lane new they had not had a game taken to them like this for a long time and soon they stepped it up a gear as our lads started to waiver in the heat

With 15 minutes to go Gregson lane got a 4 th , not un-deserved as they are a team that works for each other right through the park, would I be happy with this result now if the whistle blew?, in reality yes as we really had given it a good go second half.

Jonathan was given a run out to replace Ben who put himself about today as asked for and showed what he can do other than attacking, by closing down defenders

We still kept going without letting our heads drop right up to the last 2 minutes when we gave away 2 really sloppy goals in quick succession, Dominik 2 yards behind the rest of the defence getting out and Arran leaving his man at a corner resulting in the stranded Wiktor picking the ball out of the back of the net.

The referee blew his whistle with the final score a 6-0 defeat, better than the 9-0 last time but the last 2 goals really put a damper on what was probably performance wise and effort one of our best all season, we were always going to get punished by better teams at stages in the season but I find I learn more about the boys in the manor of the defeat and overall the boys came out of today's game with a lot of credit.

Really frustrated as a manager with the last 2 goals today but on talking with the Gregson lane management afterwards they have put a minimum of 7 goals passed every team this season and they reiterated that 2 nd half our boys wanted it more so that is what I'm going to take form the game and work on with them

It was pleasing several of the boys have commented that the Saturday session which I brought Gibbo in from the under 16s team management, had made a difference to the way that they performed today, I know he enjoyed helping us out for the hour

Our next fixture is an away game next Sunday April 1 st against Real Mahad kick off 2.00pm at Moor Park

Darren

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26/02/12 - Fishwick Rangers 2-0 Hesketh Bank

After our last game at home two weeks ago today's game was a re-arranged fixture away at Moor park against Fishwick Rangers, for those of you that are familiar with Moor park you will know that the pitch becomes a great leveller for both teams over the winter period

From the kick off we were never at the races and were soon under relentless pressure from a team made up of boys who dwarfed our team and used their physical side of their game to intimidate us, all seen fair by the referee this afternoon

Unchallenged a Fishwick Rangers midfield player opened us up in the centre of the park and released a pass to one of the forwards to score from the edge of the 18 yard box to make it 1-0 to the home team

The first notable chance the Hesketh Bank boys made in the first half was some good interplay between Luke and Joel in midfield releasing Lewis to run at the defence and play Thomas through for a run at goal, the ball going wide of the post under pressure from the recovering home teams full back

At the other end Fishwick Rangers continued to attack at every opportunity and won all the balls that required a challenge, Dominik in his usual style stood out with last ditch tackles to keep the score at bay.

Just before half time we worked the ball from midfield up front and a foul was given against the home team's defence by the referee, Thomas took the long range effort and the ball came back off the keeper which was put away by Luke to make it 1-1, the referee was then alerted by the home teams manager who also happened to be running the line that our player was in an offside position and the referee changed his mind and disallowed the goal.

Would Peter Pamfil our linesman all season have given the goal if it had been against us? yes he would as it's not about winning at all costs, this has happened before when opposing managers run the line and the correct decision would have been a major turning point as it would of got us back in the game, a dubious decision or not we had to start again.

At Half time Joe and Nathan needed to come off through injuries and we swapped the forward line about to shake things up a bit, this was on the back of a half time team talk that was required to get across some basic home truths in our efforts and commitment wearing the Hesketh Bank shirt in the first half.

Knowing the lads as I do it's a fine balancing act between praise and stark reality and I know if I hadn't let my feelings be known we would be in for a second half mauling, it was now up to them to put in a performance in the second half.

Straight from the kick off the parents could see a totally different feel to the game, the pressure was now on Fishwick Rangers who hardly created any play at all due to the battling performances of most players across the park, unfortunately to balance up the players being switched at half time, Aiden, Arran and particularly Morgan had to play in un familiar positions against quick and strong lads, they struggled positional wise but they put the effort in which is what I asked.

Edward, Ben and Thomas were never given time on the ball at any stage in the game as the Fishwick Rangers players used their size advantage to be stronger competing in the challenge, the one real scoring opportunity we had came when a ball across the box was put over the crossbar by Edward from a few yards out, the ball needed to go in but at least we were in the right place at the right time to cause an upset in their goalmouth.

Against the run of play Fishwick scored a second goal as the valiant effort the boys put in was taking its toll, again lack of challenges and players out of position allowed the ball to be walked into the back of the net to make it 2-0.

We had one final chance to get on the score sheet when some good midfield play released Edward through with Ben and Thomas assisting, the whistle blew and everyone stopped and the ball was left sat there in the mud with everyone looking at it, the referee shouted to play on as it was a whistle blown we think from the game at the side of us and the ball was cleared up field by the home team.

The boys kept attacking the homes team defence which was leaving us lightweight at the back for coverage and just before the final whistle it looked like we may concede a third, the ball was cleared up field at Wiktors goal and little Dominik was adjudged to have pulled to the ground the big attacker resulting in a penalty.

The penalty hit the cross bar and in the melee that followed, the ball was cleared up field to be followed by the final whistle.

One final note on the whistle being blown just as we had an opportunity on goal, we found it strange as parents why a Fishwick ranger's parent on the other side of the pitch would have a whistle hanging from his tracksuit top, did he blow it? We will never know, I asked the referee if he had blown and he said he didn't, when I mentioned the parent with the whistle to him he commented “maybe he was calling his dog back” we will have a look for this imaginary and invisible dog when we return next week to Moor park to Play Real Mahad.

The first half performance cost us dearly this week and it's difficult to engage the boys into challenging the other team when they would not look out of place in an under 16 game, some of the teams we still have to play are of similar stature and we will try to adapt on the pitch, I have no issues with the second half performance except for the sloppy goal we gave away unchallenged, unfortunately the half time team talk instigated a reaction from the boys that was required for us to compete, I don't want this to be a regular occurrence.

Our next fixture is an away game against Real Mahad kick off 2.00pm at Moor Park.

Darren

12/02/12 - Hesketh Bank 1-6 Penwortham St Teresas Yellow

After our last game last year on the 20 th November we knew we would have games cancelled over the December and January period due to pitches unfit to play on, little did we know that this weekend's game would be our first opportunity for the boys to get back into league action.

Unfortunately after all the weeks of midweek training and extra sessions on the 3G on Sundays this game would leave us with regular players out due to injury and school holidays, hardly the best preparation against a Penwortham St Theresa's team who had only lost one game all season.

The starting eleven we had all had an opportunity to impress the coaches and parents as they knew they would be getting a full game, some positional changes had to be made to accommodate everyone in the team with the understanding that as long as the effort and commitment was put in as individuals mistakes would be accepted if made.

The 4-4-2 formation we started off with soon showed up a weakness in our midfield area as for the first ten minutes the visitors strolled through us with ease with several opportunities coming close, Captain Dominik had to save us from going behind with last ditch tackles all over the 18 yard box.

The first goal game from a long distance effort by the visitor's striker after being given far too much time on the ball to turn and shoot to make it 1-0.

Sensing we were being overrun in the midfield Lewis was left up front on his own and Ben Stafford reverted back into the midfield in a 4-5-1 formation, within a few minutes the response from Hesketh Bank was an equaliser, a long clearance from goalkeeper Wiktor was collected by Lewis who ran at the visitors defence, drawing two defenders in he played the ball over for Ben Stafford to beat the goalkeeper to make it 1-1.

Several chances were created by both teams with one on ones but the score remained level until the Penwortham St Theresa's central midfielder unchallenged calmly slotted the ball past the advancing Wiktor to make it 2-1

A third goal soon followed for the visitors when an unchallenged header by their captain went in at the near post to make it 3-1, basic rules of defending in challenging had cost us two soft goals against, at the other end Morgan and Lewis had chances but were kept at bay by good saves.

As the half time whistle blew it was obvious to the coaches that the boys were deflated and needed picking up, we are all learning with the fine balance of supporting the boys were we can but my policy of being honest with the boys will always remain.

Too many times in the first half the other team had a desire greater than ours to challenge and win the ball, I expected more from certain individuals and didn't get it regardless of the position they were playing in the team.

On a sticky winter surface it is hard to replicate the passing we are teaching the boys on the 3G surface but we play our league games on grass and I shouldn't have to be coaching our boys not to dribble through the mud and clear the ball with some vigour from defence on match days.

With strong but fair words spoken we kept the same formation for the second half with the philosophy of having some belief in ourselves on the pitch, we have been behind and come back before and I felt we could do it again today.

The second half started as the first had finished our only avenue of scoring was Lewis up front on his own being targeted with excellent long range goal kicks form Wiktor, this tactic has worked previously with support from our midfielders which was not there today.

At the other end three more goals went is the visitors made use of all the 5 substitutes they had and our lads tired, all the goals were poor ones to concede with basic errors in not challenging and clearing the ball, the sixth goal typified this as the midfielder ran from half way and was able to ride 4 challenges before stabbing the ball home.

The score finished 6-1 to the visitors which though disappointing for moral and silly mistakes, also identified which players dig in when the going gets tough and how important the players that were missing today are to us, I would have been happy to leave these boys out of the next starting line up if opportunities were taken today

Next week we have no fixture and it is 2 nd place Chorley Wanderers at home on the 26 th February, before then we will work at 3G on our attitudes and ability levels to raise us up to where I have seen pre-Christmas performances.

Darren

21/11/11 - Croston Juniors 2-1 Hesketh Bank

After last week's away win against Ripon Reds we returned to Shore Road this weekend after a decision was made in the week that the Croston pitch was unfit to play, With Croston on the end of a defeat by the Hesketh Bank boys three weeks ago when a draw would have been a fair result, today's game in my mind would be a closer affair.

With Oliver still out through illness and David away on holiday we made several starting changes to last week's team, Nathan, Edward, Jonathan and Arran were our substitutes for the day, with Lewis and Luke moving into the starting eleven.

From the kick off it was clear that today's game would be more compressed in the midfield as Croston had several returning players who liked to tackle and work hard, little opportunity for free flowing football by either team created any real chances with both defences happy to clear the ball up field.

The Hesketh Bank team looked the most likeliest to score with several opportunities before half time, Lewis as the target man brought three good saves from the keeper and also put two volleys over the bar from great crosses in by Luke and Ben but the ball would not hit the back of the net.

At the other end Croston down the left were causing problems with their speed and we were left stranded on several occasions in defence with only Aiden and Wiktor to clear the ball, Croston were very unlucky not to get the first goal.

Ben came off for Arran and Thomas moved up front to partner Lewis in a tactical change as we sensed a bit more of an attacking option might give us the lead, chances were created but again releasing the ball too late from midfield gave Croston the chance to clear their lines.

Morgan and Aiden unlucky with long range shots that went over the bar were our final chances in a great first half for both teams.

The half time whistle blew at 0-0 which was a fair reflection of the first halves proceedings, as expected the game was a lot more closely fought than our previous encounter and the first goal for either team would settle things down.

A bit more focus on trying to make the pass at the right time instead of holding onto the ball was all that needed changing in the second half in our attacking play, and making sure we cleared the ball earlier rather than interplay round our 18 yard box at the other end.

We created enough in the first half to think we could get a result but so did Croston and the start of the second half mirrored the first, both teams relying on the big kick up field from both goalkeepers to put pressure on the opposing defence.

Arran swapped with Morgan onto the right wing and soon put a cross in for Lewis who again volleyed over the bar, we would have been talking about this as a goal of the season if it had gone in but lady luck was not with us yet,

The game opened up with 25 minutes to go when Thomas had to come off injured and was replaced by Edward up front, the speedy left winger beat us for speed down the wing and as our defence were out of position he beat Wiktor with a well taken goal to make the score 1-0 to the visitors.

No sooner had the first gone in then we committed the cardinal sin of letting a second go in, the playmaking midfielder that had caused us problems down the wing drifted in through the midfield unchallenged and again had an easy route past our central defence who were out of position to score and make it 2-0 to Croston.

In the space of 5 minutes we had let Croston take the advantage over us with basic silly mistakes in being out of position to challenge for the ball, with 15 minutes to go and two goals down it was time for a re-think.

Joe, Morgan and Joel made way for Ben, Thomas and Nathan in a tactical substitution with Nathan going to right back, Thomas back into midfield and Ben going up front with Lewis, Edward dropping back also into midfield.

Croston continued to go on the attack whilst at the back John and Aiden in particular cleared the ball up field to relieve any pressure on our defence, Thomas and Luke worked their socks off to create any chances and battled for every tackle.

With less than ten minutes to go and the substitutes now settling in Thomas had the vision to play the ball through the visitors defence for Lewis to run on to, he calmly drew the keeper and slotted the ball into the back of the net, finally his luck had changed to make the score 2-1.

Throwing everything at the Croston goal we now remembered what passing the ball through the defence could create and Lewis was again unlucky to put one over the bar, positives that we can do this but today too late in the game.

Several corners that were taken by Aiden and Thomas created confusion in the Croston defence and the icing on the cake a hand ball by the Croston defender was not given by the referee to Wiktors disgust who in his own goal at the other end of the pitch was convinced the referee had got it wrong.

The referee blew the final whistle and we had lost 2-1, as in the previous game between both teams Croston couldn't finish their chances and today a combination of our team only finishing one and two soft goals given away gave Croston the win.

Effort and commitment were there in abundance today in all areas of the park but we must not forget the basics of our play, if we don't defend from midfield back to the goalkeeper you are solely relying on your strikers scoring and sometimes through good goalkeeping and bad luck that doesn't happen.

Well done to Neil and his Croston team for a fantastic game of football today played in a competitive but fair manner, sometimes the result doesn't go the way you would have liked and I am disappointed as a manager but not upset with the result it's all part of our really good season so far.

Next week we are at Home to the league leaders Gregson Lane kick off 11.00am at Shore Road

Darren

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13/11/11 - Ripon Reds 1-5 Hesketh Bank

With no game last week due to a postponement we returned to league action against Ripon Reds at Moor Park, with only Oliver out due to illness and David away on holiday we had 15 players available for this afternoons kick off.

Today's fixture inspired us to play a more attacking formation of 4-4-2 using Edward and Ben up front and Thomas, Joel, Morgan and Dominik in midfield, Aiden returned at left back and John, Nathan and Joe completed the back four in front of Wiktor.

The four substitutes of Arran, Luke, Lewis and Jonathan would all be used to change the play at various stages of the game.

The first 15 minutes were a tense affair and there was nothing between both teams in commitment and effort, Ripon came closest to scoring when they hit the post after a defensive mix up and were unlucky not to get the first goal, at the other end Ben and Edward tried to open the defence up but were restricted to a long range shot which was dealt comfortably by the keeper.

Luke came on to replace the injured Joe with Dominik moving to centre back and Nathan pushing across to right back, this early change was forced on us but we seemed to then control the play more particularly in midfield with Thomas and Luke providing the creativity for the strikers.

The first goal of the game came when a great challenge by Joel in the centre was played through to Luke who ran at goal and beat the keeper with a great side foot finish to make the score 1-0.

The goal seemed to take the pressure out of the game and goal number two soon followed, a corner from Aiden was lofted into the box were Joel was there to head the ball in over the keeper into the roof of the net, a rare headed goal for the team but a great finish to make it 2-0.

With the pressure now off our defence for the time being the ball was backwards and forwards in the midfield in quite a scrappy affair, no real passing from either team being played just lots of challenges and breaking down of play.

Finally Thomas created a goal for himself with a great solo run from the half way line and with only the goalkeeper to beat slotted the ball home to make it 3-0, taking us into the half time break with a good lead.

The half time talk focussed on the positives in our goals from the first half but we did look likely to concede through the midfield and at the back, in this league games can soon turnaround very quickly and it would be important for us to retain our focus right throughout the team, sensing a bit of stability required we switched to 4-5-1 to strengthen the midfield with Lewis going on up front on his own and Arran moving into the midfield.

The second half started with two quick attacks by Hesketh Bank with Morgan shooting from long range over the bar and Arran having a good save made by the keeper, the Ripon Reds team likewise coming out for the second half with a more attacking attitude and causing us problems right through the middle.

With Lewis as the holding player up front the next ten minutes of the game saw him being man marked by two Ripon defenders who followed him everywhere, this freed up space on the right hand sided for Arran to drive forwards his resulting shot saved by the keeper but finished by Thomas with a well taken shot to make it 4-0.

Some great work in the midfield under pressure created several more opportunities with Lewis, Joel and Morgan unlucky with several efforts only for the keeper to save well or the ball go over the bar, all this attacking play did result in the home team having space to attack us on the counter and we were very lucky not to get caught out at the back, only last ditch tackles saving the day.

Goal five soon followed with another run on goal started by a great piece of interplay between our midfield, Luke calmly finishing past the advancing keeper to make it 5-0.

With the score line out of reach and ten minutes to go Jonathan replaced the hard working Joel and Ripon Reds really turned their game around and put us under pressure in all areas of the park, it looked inevitable that they would score.

Several strong challenges won in midfield and our team struggling to get the ball cleared gave them the belief they could score and it was a great finish by their midfielder who ran half the length of the pitch to outpace our defence and beat Wiktor with the best goal of the game to make the score 5-1, well done to the Hesketh Bank parents for appreciating this goal with their applause.

The last 5 minutes was real ding dong stuff at both ends with Ripon Reds playing for pride and the Hesketh Bank boys showing the effort and commitment that had put them into the lead Thomas unlucky not to get a third with a long range effort that hit the post, and Dominik and John clearing the ball up field at every opportunity, not pretty but effective and needed.

The referee blew his whistle and it was another win and three points to our Hesketh Bank team, a hard working performance again as we maintain our third place position in the league, a team performance again today with the rolling on and off subs so everyone needs to remember we are a team and the game is won by all who played not just the names of the goal scorers.

Well done to the boys today and particularly their standard of behaviour during the minutes silence for Remembrance Sunday.

Next week we are at home to Croston at Shore Road kick off 11.00am.

Darren

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30/10/11 - Hesketh Bank 5-0 Croston Juniors

Today's fixture was down to be an away game at local rivals Croston juniors but due to a waterlogged pitch the game was re-arranged to Shore Road for an afternoon kick off, Only Aiden and Luke away this week so we had 15 players available including the return of Thomas, Oliver, Joe and Ben.

After last week's valiant performance in our 2-2 draw with Fishwick Rangers everyone from that game kept their starting places with the lads returning Thomas, Ben and Joe down as substitutes, Oliver going straight in at left back whilst Aiden was away.

With the welcome handshakes between the management and players over it was down to football and early play showed not a lot of difference between the two sides, Croston probably starting the game with more vigour particularly down the wings.

Early chances were created from both sides but any chances of goals were blocked out by good defensive work from both teams, Croston were unlucky on several attacks with Wiktor having to be alert to keep the score at bay, Thomas in a tactical change replaced Morgan to try and offer some extra creativity in the midfield.

After 20 minutes of play the breakthrough goal came with our first attempt at playing Lewis through on goal, with two defenders to beat he shot from the edge of the 18 yard box and the keeper dived pushing the shot out for Arran to follow the ball in to make it 1-0 against the run of play.

Croston for the remainder of the second half continued to attack and were the better performing team having several chances which on other days would have put them in the lead, Hesketh Bank were no way in a commanding position and we looked out of sorts in all areas of the pitch, half time could not come quick enough to address these issues.

The half time team talk was a blunt and a straight talking five minutes, I explained to the boys that I really wasn't happy being 1-0 up and emphasised how lucky we were to be in that position, all areas on the pitch had issues that needed dealing with in the second half if we wanted to get anything out of the game, Joe went on for David at right back, Ben Stafford went on for Nathan with Dominik moving back into the back four to partner John and Edward came off for Morgan to go back on.

With the team talk ringing in their ears the boys instantly responded and we looked more of a team that wanted to push on and score more, Dominik and John working really hard to protect Wiktor whilst the midfield continued to create opportunities

A free kick taken by John was not dealt with in the Croston defence and with the ball on its way out for a corner Lewis volleyed the ball back over at goal, the ball looping over the Croston keeper and coming off the underside of the crossbar and heading in, Ben standing on the goal line did the right thing in making sure it went in to make it 2-0, we explained after the game to Lewis that the ball was going in but Ben quite rightly had to make sure, Lewis was having none of it but had to accept that I was putting Bens name down on the score sheet.

Two more long range shots from both teams worried the goalkeepers at either end as both teams resorted to long range efforts, the solid central defence of Hesketh Bank was now providing the team with a safety net for the midfield attack, Thomas driving forwards at Croston unleashed a fantastic long range effort over the keeper into the roof of the net to make it 3-0.

Morgan fancied his chances with a long range shot which looked to have the keeper beaten only for the ball to canon back off the crossbar whilst Wiktor at the other end had to make great shot stopping saves along with defensive mix ups to keep his goal safe, the next goal would either put Croston back in it or secure a win for Hesketh Bank. The turning point of the game was goal number four for Hesketh Bank, great interplay in the midfield from a Wiktor goal kick gave the chance for Thomas to race onto a through ball whilst Lewis took the defenders out of play to put past the advancing Croston goalkeeper for his second of the game to make it 4-0 with 10 minutes to go.

Edward and Jonathan replaced Arran and Lewis as their job had been done for the day and to use the rolling substitute option we have, Croston deflated at the score line gave us time on the ball for goal number five,Thomas again creating the play and finishing with a long range shot which the keeper pushed out for Ben in space on his own to finish at the near post to make it 5-0

In the last five minutes both teams still gave it a go and it was Croston who were unlucky not to score with several goal-line clearances in the Hesketh Bank box, Ben had one final chance to get his hat trick but great work by the Croston defender put paid to his shot with a great challenge, Joe at the other end had two really strong challenges to deal with and showed to all that we have to match our opponents on Sundays with the physical side not just with skill.

As the whistle blew for full time it was pleasing particularly for Wiktor to get the clean sheet that he so desperately wanted and also to see how well as a team we responded in the second half, the straightness of the talk at half time was needed today as in honesty we were no way 5 goals better than Croston, we had not played as well as I would have liked today particularly first half but had finished the game winning well and collected another 3 points to take us up to 3rd in the league.

Crostons manager Neil accepted our win today against his team and welcomed our return game in a couple of weeks as it had been a great game for parents to watch, Croston had lots of chances but didn't finish them today and we will have to be aware of that next time we play them.

Onwards and upwards for the Hesketh Bank team as we now have the same amount of points so far that we finished up with at the end of last season's fixtures so a target has been met already, well done to the boys and lets enjoy the result.

Next week we have a home game against unbeaten Penwortham St Theresa's at Shore Road kick off 11.00am

Darren

23/10/11 - Hesketh Bank 2-2 Fishwick Rnagers

After last week's eventful exit in the cup we returned to Shore Road this weekend for a league game against Fishwick Rangers who were fourth in the league.

Due to the half term holidays we lost the services of Joe, Thomas, Oliver, Luke, and Ben and Edward was only able to play a half as he had a pre-planned trip to the Manchester Utd/City game to go to, this meant quite a change in our starting line-up and hopefully the chance for others to put in a performance to stake a place in the team next week.

As usual with a lot of the teams we play in our league we came up against a strong and physical Fishwick Rangers team and early play in midfield showed that the physical side of the game can unsettle our play if we let it, after settling down after the first ten minutes it was clear to all the spectators that there was not a lot of difference between both teams in effort and ability.

Some early attacks by the visitors were comfortably dealt with by John at the back whilst breaking from our own half Aiden continued his terrific fitness levels driving forwards at every opportunity, the first opportunity on goal came with a long ball up to Lewis who played on his own again up front to chase onto, after beating a couple of challenges he forced the keeper to push the ball past the post with a long range shot.

At the other end Wiktor managed to keep things at bay with a couple of well saved shots after Nathan and David struggled with the pace of Fishwicks strikers, Edward in particular was creating good play on the right with his skill and releasing the ball rather than running into trouble which is what we discussed in training.

The first goal nearly came from a Hesketh Bank corner which failed to be cleared, the ball ricocheting between Arran and Morgan eventually being looped onto the crossbar by Joel, encouraged from the side-line by great support from the parents the first goal went to Hesketh Bank following great passing play between Dominik and Morgan who had the vision to play the ball through for Lewis to race onto and slide the ball under the oncoming keeper racing out of his box.

With the mentality of our midfield to go forward at every opportunity in numbers we always looked like we could score but likewise concede through not picking up and tracking back, Dominik was outnumbered as the holding player and the score was soon level at 1-1 when they went right through the middle of us

Morgan was unlucky not to put us back in front with a great long range effort after great attacking play down the left wing form Aiden and Fishwick responded also with a long range effort over the bar from there midfielder who was given too much time on the ball unchallenged.

The next goal in the game also went to the visiting team after we misjudged the flight of the ball in midfield and Nathan was caught out by the bounce on the edge of our 18 yard box, the Fishwick attacker having a free run on goal and finishing past the annoyed Wiktor just before half time, strong tactical talking was given to the players to stop the floodgates opening and we saw the last five minutes to half time unchallenged in our box.

At half time we emphasised that we were still in the game at 2-1 down and that the next goal for either team would change the game, we could get back in the game with our attacking play but we could quite easily lose it if we kept making basic mistakes not tracking back in midfield and not clearing the ball from defence, Johns fitness was still holding up and he continued to carry on whist Edward made way for Jonathan.

With no subs available for the second half we required the lads to give it their all for the cause and they did not let anyone down, straight from the kick off we battled in midfield for challenges and cleared every attack from the back with conviction.

The score soon became 2-2 with a free kick given on the left side of the pitch due to a challenge made to stop us playing and Aiden was instructed to put a ball in to cause confusion in the box, the resulting clearance fell to Arran who scored a great goal lobbing the keeper.

With the wind behind us and a sense of opportunity at every attack we were hardly troubled in our half as the awareness of John cut out every opportunity for the visitors to trouble us whilst at the other end corners into the Fishwick Rangers box seemed to get under our feet and we couldn't get a shot on goal.

The last 15 minutes gave us two great scoring opportunities with a well taken free kick from Lewis which just went wide of the post and Arran shooting over the bar from great play by Joel, other than that we could not create any worthwhile chances on goal when the game was there for the taking, too many times we didn't support the play up front from the midfield positions towards the end of the game and give ourselves the chance to create on goal electing to run into trouble instead of releasing the ball.

We have to accept a 2-2 draw today which I would have taken before the match even with the missing key players that were not here today, but it was a measure of the effort and the steps forwards we are taking with the team that we think we could have won, a fantastic all round work ethic from every player today.

An outstanding centre half performance today from John as he battles back to match fitness from his illness and an all-round super effort from everyone to get a draw, also a big thank you to the parents for their continuing support on Sunday mornings.

Next week we are away at Local team Croston Juniors away with a 2.00pm kick off

Darren

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16/10/11 - Charnock Richard 6-1 Hesketh Bank

With last week's league game against Penwortham St Theresa's cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch we managed to fit in a fitness game at 3G in preparation for this weeks under 13s cup match away against Charnock Richard.

Having played the same team last year in the cup and losing 6-3 we knew looking at the league tables that they were now unbeaten in two leagues higher than us and that on paper it would be a stern test for us to get any result our way.

With this in mind and the non- availability of Arran and Jonathan we gave thought to trying some new positions out for our regular players so that we could prepare for next week's fixture when we only have 12 players available due to the half term holiday.

Dominik and Joe moved forwards into midfield and John and Oliver moved to defence, Aiden also swapped from left full back to right and Edward started up front on his own.

From the kick off it was clear to see that the Charnock Richard players were very skilful and quick players particularly up front as they soon caused early problems in our defensive area, unfortunately Wiktor sustained an injury to his leg in training on Thursday and he was not his mobile self in coming for the ball around his goal area.

With John and Nathan having to cope centrally with their quick forwards it was inevitable that the deadlock would be broken and after 10 minutes a through ball was latched onto by the home team and slotted into the corner to make the score 1-0.

At the other end of the pitch a long range effort from Morgan was saved by the keeper and a free kick from Thomas was kept at bay, Luke and Dominik in particular spent most of the first 15 minutes defending the 1-0 score line with very little chance for our midfield of Morgan, Joe and Thomas to create anything for Edward up front.

Wiktor was under constant pressure in his goal and made four point blank saves in goalmouth scrambles to keep the score down, but finally being beaten at his far post to make the score 2-0 to the home team.

With 10 minutes to go to half time it was important we tried to keep the score down so that we could re-group at half time and the boys tried hard to contain the midfield of the home team who seemed to have more hunger to win any loose balls, Oliver and Aiden were always having to be on their guard as Charnock Richard were very good on the attack down the wings.

A corner ball was cleared form our defence and we proceeded to attack up field and it was only the sight of Nathan holding his head in his hands in his 18 yard box that alarm bells rang, after several shouts to Nathan to see if he was alright I made the decision to race onto the pitch to find him in a very distressed state with a serious head injury, he had clashed his forehead onto the back of the home teams player and was in a lot of trouble, thanks goes to the Charnock Richard team and the Referee for letting me deal with the incident straight away whilst the game was still in play.

With Nathan now on his way to hospital Joel went into midfield and Dominik dropped back from midfield into the centre back position with John, unfortunately Dominik raced forwards from defence to clear a loose ball and the home teams striker cleverly nipped in for a free run on goal to make the score 3-0 and it stayed that way till half time.

At half time we had to take John off due to feeling unwell and move Joe to centre back with Dominik, Edward and Aiden came off also and Lewis went on up front on his own, Ben went into right midfield and David went to right full back.

Obviously the concern on Nathans team mates about his injury were addressed but it was important we re-grouped for the second half with a bit more fight and passion in our play, Charnock Richard were quite capable of putting a double figure score past us but we agreed as a team we should not let this happen.

The second half showed what we are capable of straight away with Joel and Luke tackling like Trojans to win the ball in midfield from the whistle, giving good players time on the ball we will always stand a chance of getting punished but these two players in particular had listened to my call for greater commitment.

We were never going to stop Charnock Richard scoring more goals on the day due to their class across the park but we really did defend with more conviction and we were unfortunate after a couple of great saves from Wiktor to get caught out for speed at the back again with a well taken goal by the home team to make it 4-0.

With Thomas and Luke offering our attacking options in the team it was left to Joel and Morgan to try and protect the defence constantly, tired legs were taking their toll and the home teams midfield sensed a more direct route of play was now an option, Dominik was unlucky to get caught diving in and goal 5 was on the score sheet for the home team, Wiktor with a little more concentration may have been able to close the striker down.

With the pressure on us Aiden came back onto the pitch for David and he immediately added some speed at the back both in attacking and defensive duties, Joe moved to right back and Oliver to centre back and we tried our best to keep attacking through Luke, Thomas and Ben.

Aiden received the ball off Wiktor at the back and proceeded to press forward with confidence, Thomas made himself available on the half way line to receive the ball and to look at what options were available to him and decided to play the ball through for Lewis to run onto, most parents of both teams expected the ball to be marshalled out of play by the two Charnock Richard defenders but Lewis had other ideas.

Without any support available to him he cut across the full back to go inside and on reaching the 18 yard box with the centre back ready to tackle him hit a looping shot over the top of the keeper off the underside of the crossbar to stun everyone, feeling it was not right to celebrate over the top being 5-0 down Lewis kept the celebrations to a minimum and left it for both sets of parents to show their applause.

With 5 minutes to go the reality was we were never going to rescue the result but we really had showed a different second half performance right through the team and we continued to attack, this left us exposed at the back and a final goal went against us to make the final score 6-1 to the home team.

No complaints with the score line and we won't use excuses for injured players and people playing in unfamiliar positions, Charnock Richard were well worth their win but I am very happy with our overall play today particularly second half.

After being taken to hospital to be checked over Nathan was released at 6.00pm and will have a lovely set of black eyes for his trouble today, his teammates and the parents are pleased to hear he is going to be ok.

Those that did play out of position gave us another option for league games and did not let myself down, although struggling Wiktor could have quite easily stayed at home today but did his best for the team, Aiden, Joel and Luke really worked hard for their teammates and deserve a notable mention.

One final point from a personal point of view as a manager it's fantastic to witness a superb goal from any of your team regardless of the score line and seeing Lewis be congratulated by the Charnock Richard parents as well as our own is great to see, I sometimes forget I am a parent as well and maybe don't go over the top in my applause as I should do, its just I'm focussing on us getting back in the game and Lewis is another player on the day as part of my team.

Next week we have another tough challenge Home to fourth place in the league Fishwick Rangers kick off 11.00am

Darren

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02/10/11 - Chorley Wanderers 7-1 Hesketh Bank

After last week's heavy defeat, today's game against second place in the league Chorley Wanderers was not the ideal opportunity meeting a team who had won their last game 13-0.

On arrival at the ground it was clear to all that two major problems faced us today before we had even kicked a ball, the Chorley Wanderers team had six lads in their team that would not have looked out of place in a higher age group and the boys from Hesketh Bank recognised that they would struggle to compete on the physical side.

The bigger problem we faced today was due to our team being made up of smaller sized players it would be an important part of our game to pass the ball around our creative midfield, this was never going to be the case when we got onto the pitch, the Astley park pitch being used today had not been cut for a long time and was an absolute disgrace, Steve their manager was highly embarrassed about it but explained it was out of his hands as it was council maintained.

The young referee didn't seem that bothered about the pitch as it was the same for both teams in his mind, either way junior football for both teams should be given a chance to play on a reasonable state of pitch not subjected to a shambles like this, please take note Central Lancs League management I will be raising this at the next mangers meeting.

On to the game itself Luke made his first full start of the season and Lewis was brought back in to play the lone striker up front, our midfield had five across the park hopefully to protect the defence more than previous games.

Early play showed that the home team used their physical presence to win the ball from our boys and that they looked dangerous every time they attacked, our boys struggled to clear the ball from our own 18 yard box and did well to keep the score at 0-0 for the first twenty minutes even though the crossbar was rattled by their right winger, Wiktor felt he had it covered anyway according to him after the game.

The opening goal of the game came from a lost ball on the right hand side of our midfield and the home team proceeded to go straight through our midfield without a challenge to make the score 1-0, three of our midfield still jogging back after the ball was in the net.

The second goal of the game came almost straight away when failure to clear the ball for a throw in or a corner resulted in the ball being played in a panic across the box for the home team's striker to score to make it 2-0.

We had created very little in midfield to give us an opportunity to attack and with the talent we have we should have produced more, our only chance in the first half was a ball battled for by Joel who then set Lewis on his way at goal, the defenders forced him wide but he still beat two before he was scythed down, due to the state of the pitch we don't think the referee could see Lewis in the long grass and that the incident had taken place in the box and so awarded a free kick instead of a penalty.

Credit to the assistant from Chorley Wanderers who came to me and admitted it was inside the box but he referee was sticking to his decision, Thomas took the free kick and unfortunately put the ball wide of the post.

With the score 2-0 to the home team at half time we were given the opportunity to re-group and re-focus, Arran coming on for Edward, John coming on for Nathan and Oliver replacing Joel who again had put in a great workrate for little reward.

As the rain came down the boys were instructed to encourage each other and work harder as a team, our downfall in second half performances is our heads go down and we lose focus on the basic rule of marking players and challenging, all was not lost their was only two goals in it.

Unfortunately a long ball was played up front and Dominik slipped as he went to clear the ball, the home teams forward racing through to slot the ball home to make it 3-0.

Again an unfortunate incident resulted in goal four with an own goal under pressure from our central defence from a speculative long ball that should have been dealt with.

Sensing heads were naturally starting drop motivation and encouragement was given again by the great support from parents and grandparents on the side-line, and from my point of view you just want to get on the pitch and help them not to give up.

Lewis was always going to struggle against the back four and used his skill to hold up play whilst the midfield joined the attack, sensibly finding the right ball for Arran to run onto to score high into the roof of the net to make the score 4-1.

With fifteen minutes to go we unfortunately ran out of steam in most areas and struggled to keep the home team at bay, goal line clearances were not dealt with and with constant pressure through the midfield we let another two quick goals go past us to make the score 6-1.

Joe and Lewis made way for substitutes David and Jonathon to get some match experience with the game now past us, and they tried their best with the time they had, the visitors showed why they had scored so many goals in previous games and finished off with goal number seven in a well worked move to make the final score Chorley Wanderers 7 Hesketh Bank 1.

Quite a long talk after the game with the coaches and players as there are things that needed to be addressed whilst it was fresh in everyone's minds, my initial after match thoughts was not to be too disappointed with the actual result as we had performed a whole lot better than last week and again there was positives too take, we can't match some of these other teams we play in the aerial part of the game but we do stand a chance when the ball is on the deck, todays farcical pitch was never going to allow us to do this.

I will address player's performances this week and will look at how I can influence particularly in training our positional play and our issues of challenging for the ball, the system we play is based on the available players we have and it's those boys I intend to go forwards with even if days like today hurt us all.

Next week we have another tough challenge Home to third place in the league Penwortham St Theresa's kick off 11.00am.

Darren

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25/09/11 - Gregson Lane 9-0 Hesketh Bank

After last week's win confidence and team spirit were now restored and today's game a trip to the league leaders Gregson Lane who had scored 27 goals in their last 2 games would be another real test of the measure were we need to be this season.

Unfortunately travel issues getting to Bamber Bridge resulted in the no show of two of our players and three others running late and we had to alter our team just before the start, not ideal preparation as our warm up gets us all in the right frame of mind for the kick off, Lewis through illness dropped down to the subs bench replaced by Edward with Morgan also coming into the midfield for his first start of the season.

Right from the start an uncertainty of who should be doing what in midfield cost us a goal within the first couple of minutes, and for the rest of the first half we struggled to contain the opposition, whilst always able to create attacking chances the philosophy of challenging for a ball and then clearing it deserts us against better teams.

With five of our players in midfield struggling to get a grip on the game it was left to some last ditch tackling and goal line clearances to keep the sore down ,ultimately we succumbed to the on-going pressure and a great free kick made it 2-0.

Three more goals were scored against us before half time with any chances created by Hesketh Bank restricted to speculative long shots from distance, only Joel managed to get near the goal with two shots over the bar, the home team used their bodies blatantly to block off any of our attackers running for the ball but ultimately the referee allowed this until my half time “discussion” with him.

No issues with the behaviour of the Gregson Lane players or management with this tactic as they were allowed to do this for 35 minutes by the referee and it could have been stopped early on, maybe Naivety on my behalf and my team for not being street wise enough to do the same, maybe in future games this is what we might have to do.

With some of our players using the half time result to blame others it was quickly “nipped in the bud” the detrimental effect this has on their teammates no matter how good they think they are was enforced with the clear message that they would not remain on the pitch no matter the scoreline if it didn't stop now, long range shots from individuals on the verge of being selfish was also an addressed problem.

Substitutions were made giving John Robinson his first start of the season and Luke, Lewis and Jonathan a chance to alter things on the pitch for the second half.

The second half started with a more positive note with some resilient defending around the middle of the park with the substitutes looking to make an impact, some great play by Lewis down the wing resulted in a shot well saved by the keeper and the resulting rebound headed against the crossbar by Ben Stafford.

For the first twenty minutes we looked a different team to the first half until relentless pressure form Gregson Lane resulted in two quick goals going past Wiktor from short range, the ball not cleared by the defence when it should have been.

The frustrated Wiktor managed to save a penalty from a dubious decision by the referee, Aiden chasing back caught the ankle of the striker in the box but carried on several yards into the box due to advantage being played only to put the ball wide, the referee when asked about his decision to give a penalty was of the opinion he was right and our appeals were wrong and the game carried on.

With the attacking midfield and forwards of the home team given time on the ball two more goals went in in the last five minutes unfortunately made very easy for them when we follow the ball instead of the man, frustrating but a learning curve for all.

The score finished 9-0 to the league leaders and they will be at the top of the league for most of the season based on their footballing skills, the scoreline today shows a thumping but does not show any positives from the game which I feel there was, the consistent performance of Joel again in midfield and the introduction of returning John Robinson were the only individual highlights, but I'm realistic to know at least six of the goals today were gifted opportunities due to lack of discipline in our play from goalkeeper all the way up to striker.

Next week we have another tough challenge away to second place in the league Chorley Wanderers kick off 11.00am, the players are under no illusion I expect more from them and that we will use Thursday nights training session to review today.

Darren

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18/09/11 - Hesketh Bank 6-1 Ripon Reds

After last week's defeat in the Lancashire FA youth cup we were back in league action this weekend against Ripon Reds, a good training session on Thursday and the opportunity for me to speak to each of the boys on a one-to-one basis to raise self-belief would hopefully raise their spirits and focus for today's match.

With four substitutes available this week we kicked off with the same starting eleven from the previous two games and set up with a 4-4-2 formation.

Good attacking play from both sides early in the game resulted in goal scoring opportunities at both ends, the defenders in each team under pressure constantly and some good goal keeping and goal line clearing to keep the score 0-0.

Lewis and Ben both having shots on goal from several corners which Thomas as usual caused confusion with, and Wiktor making two good saves at the other end.

Ripon Reds were the first team to score after we gave their midfield a free run at goal unchallenged and a good finish by the visitors striker made the score 1-0 to Ripon Reds, our boys have not yet mastered the art of delegating who gets forward and who sits in front of the back four.

After this initial set back it was pleasing to see the boys address my concerns from the sideline and soon take the game by the scruff of the neck, Joel and Thomas in particular won the first ball in midfield and were able to release the strikers on goal, Ben had two good efforts saved and with a bit more vision could have levelled the score with Arran, Lewis and Thomas screaming for the ball unmarked in the box.

Direct play from our next attack resulted in the scores becoming level, Lewis being encouraged to play off the last defender turned his man on the half way line and ran for goal, Ben eager to get in on the act supported Lewis by racing forwards but was not needed, whilst we thought Lewis would play the ball across for Ben he had the confidence to keep going and just outside the 18 yard box unleashed a fantastic long range shot over the visitors goalkeeper into the roof of the net to make it 1-1.

With our midfielders always looking to drive forwards at every opportunity the game remained in the balance and we still had to defend unnecessary at times as our midfield were at the wrong end of the pitch, Joel was instructed to tighten things up for the last ten minutes of the first half.

In a five minute spell before half time Lewis continued at every opportunity to run at the visitors defence and seeing a better option played Ben and Thomas in for their first goals of the game, both excellent long range shots to put us 3-1 up at half time.

At half time I could sense the boys felt they could create scoring chances but likewise we stood a good chance of conceding goals through our midfield, and decided we should change formation to strengthen our midfield and go 4-5-1, Morgan and Luke coming on in place of Oliver and Ben.

The second half tactical change gave our defenders a bit more protection but still gave us the chance for Thomas to support Lewis on his own up front if required; another goal would give us a comfortable lead which I felt we could hang on to.

From the kick off we looked to still go forwards and Arran was now able to get himself into the visitors half of the field more frequently to cause problems and was supported by Luke and Thomas at every opportunity with some great defending by the Ripon Reds team keeping us at bay.

Thomas continued to look for Lewis and soon we created another great scoring opportunity, a hit and hope ball played up front for Lewis to run onto against two defenders resulted in him beating both with pace and skill only for the ball to be whipped in which our boys couldn't convert.

Soon after another attack saw Arran in the right place and a great finish resulted in goal number four.

With confidence and great attacking play throughout the team on show it was soon Thomas chance to get his second goal of the game with another cracker from distance into the roof of the net to make the score 5-1.

Ripon Reds did not sit back and give in and Dominik, Joe, Aiden and the ever improving Nathan continued to throw themselves into every tackle to stop our visitors scoring, Wiktor to his credit remained focussed and his goal kicks and commanding nature in his 18 yard box showed a maturity beyond his years.

Our final substitutions were made with ten minutes to go as I felt we had a comfortable cushion of a scoreline, credit to the boys they never stopped going and as a result of a corner cleared in the visitors box Joe got on the score sheet with a fantastic long range effort over the keeper to make it 6-1, not sure about the cartwheel celebration to finish but who am I to stop our team celebrating together.

With the score finishing 6-1 to Hesketh Bank we had now taken maximum points from our first two games which has put us second in the league to Gregson Lane our opponents next week, a great result in front of great support from the boy's parents and the Hesketh Bank locals who witnessed a superb game of football which had banished the memories of last week's defeat.

Well done to all the boys and I am pleased to see a reaction to our one-to-one chat we had at training,

Next week Sunday 25 th September we face the league leaders Gregson Lane away 11.00am kick off

Darren

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11/09/11 - Westbury Sports Thunder 12-0 Hesketh Bank

Since last week's win at the start of our season we had our midweek game postponed at Croston juniors due to a waterlogged pitch, and today we travelled to Bury in the first round of the Lancashire FA youth cup.

Most of our juniors teams have struggled in this competition to get past the first round in previous seasons and todays draw against a premiership team was always on paper going to be a tall order, the lads were on a high still from last week and gave the impression they were up for it today.

Sadly straight from kick off it was evident that our opposition were gifted and talented footballers as well as being more physical in stature than our boys and that they were willing to inflict a heavy defeat on us straight away from the first whistle.

This came to fruition within the first 5 minutes with 2 goals put past us before we even had chance to create any passing football ourselves, a combination of great individual play and strong but fair challenges as well as our own naivety at the back resulted in another 3 goals going in before half time.

With the game a formality at Half time the basic fundamentals of being goal side of attackers when defending and closing down players in midfield was addressed and our best result in the second half would be to limit the amount of goals against us whilst showing some pride and passion in the Hesketh Bank jersey.

Unfortunately no matter how much you coach the children on their football ability and positional sense, you can't with the best will in the world lift their heads when every opposition attack results in another goal against you and they start to get upset.

7 goals went in past us in the second half and collectively as a team we had taken a footballing lesson today in the worst sense, we were guilty of lots of things on the park today that on another weekend will not result in half of the goals being scored against us but the facts don't lie we had taken a hammering.

Not many positives to take from today's game so my thoughts on individuals performances will be discussed one on one with the players at Thursday night's training, they know what I will say to them will be constructive and straight talking and im sure they will respond in the next game.

A big thank you to Neil the Westbury Sports manager and his team for their appreciation to our boys efforts and the hospitality given to us before and after the match, nice to see both sets of boys and parents having a bacon butty together after the game even though a 12-0 scoreline was against us everyone stayed behind.

Our next game is Home against Ripon Reds kick off 11.00am Sunday 18 th September

Darren

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After our last five games unbeaten at the end of last season and culminating in our team being presented with our fair play trophy at the Guild Hall our aim for this coming season was to keep all the boys together as a team and push onwards.

Pre-season training started twice a week in July and has been hard work for the boys but they have stuck to the task with a great attitude all the way through the last eight weeks, I have every confidence that our improved fitness levels and positional awareness on the pitch will set us up for the season.

Our first league game of the season at Shore Road is against Real Mahad and a particular welcome to Evergreen (our reserve team manager at Hesketh Bank) and his coaching team.

With 16 available boys for today's fixture the team had a balance of existing regular starters and players who were regular subs from last season that had stepped up a level in pre-season to make the starting line up.

Playing 4-4-2 from the start we took a bit of time to settle into the game and a few times in early play we stood off the visitor's midfield allowing them to gain confidence on the ball, only solid defending by Captain Dominik and his defence stopped any early attacks on Wiktors goal.

The midfield with hard working Joel and Thomas in the middle created several opportunities for the front two of Lewis and Ben to drive forwards with several attacks only stopped by good Real Mahad defending.

The opening goal of the game came from a clearance from our defence which Ben chased after from the half way line, his single minded approach saw him shoot from outside the 18 yard box over the advancing keeper to make the score 1-0.

Real Mahad soon made the scores level when a defensive foul gave them a free kick on the edge of our 18 yard box and Wiktor was well beaten with an excellent shot into the top corner to make the score 1-1.

The midfield and forward line continued to play great passing moves between them particularly Joel and Lewis which resulted in Lewis showing his great vision for a pass by playing Thomas through to score over the advancing keeper from distance to make the score 2-1

The rest of the half gave the Hesketh Bank boys several more opportunities from Arran, Ben and Thomas, although the shots were all from long range the build-up play was all passing and we looked confident to have a go at goal

At Half time we talked about cutting out the Real Mahad midfield play which always looked dangerous Morgan and debut boy Luke Aldersley would come into the centre of our midfield and Thomas would push up with Lewis

The new central defensive partnership of Nathan and Dominik looked comfortable and full backs Joe and Aiden just had to be aware of their defensive positions as a threat was always there from the visitors

The second half started with Ben moving the ball well on the right hand side and playing a ball over the midfield for Lewis to chase onto against the visitors defenders, after beating two players for the ball he looked up to see Thomas in a better position and played his pass to Thomas feet who launched a curling shot into the top corner to make the score 3-1.

Thomas was instructed form the side-lines to push on for more goals and his play down the middle created several opportunities only for the linesman's flag to go up, its hard work as coaches trying to make boys understand their position on the pitch in relation to offside when regular dubious decisions by the linesman are given, as I explained to Lewis if you've ran from your own half and going to score sometimes the flag will go up and only the referee can judge the linesman's view to make a decision, we have to get on with it although harsh it may seem.

The next goal came from a corner and was put away from a goaline clearance by new boy Luke who was in the right place at the right time to make it 4-1, Luke will be a great addition to our team after training with us all last season and will now take the available place in the squad with his skill and effort with both hands.

Further substitutions were made giving Full back David a chance and Edward the opportunity to use his skill up front, continued attacking play gave us another goal form a corner with Ben getting his second of the game with a tap-in to make it 5-1.

Real Mahad still caused scoring opportunities at our end and only a couple of great saves from Wiktor and superb defending from Dominik and Particularly Aiden who in my mind had his best ever game for the club kept the ball out of our goal

Jonathan Beevor completed our substitutions and gained some valuable game time up front with Edward and several chances went wide or over the bar, the final goal came from a great through ball from Morgan who put Thomas through to score his third of the game with a well taken finish for his Hat-trick

As the final whistle blew the Hesketh Bank parents gave a rapturous applause to the boys as this was a fantastic result that in my mind had been the culmination of our pre-season work, it was no coincidence that we continued to play great passing football, battle for every ball and have the willpower and desire to push on right to the final whistle, some great individual performances today but the team one was better in all departments.

Our next game is away against Croston Juniors on Tuesday evening 6 th September kick off 6.20pm

Darren

2010/2011 Match Reports

2009/2010 Match Reports