MATCH REPORTS

02/05/10 - Appley Bridge 4-5 Hesketh Bank

Our final fixture of this season was away against Appley Bridge who along with Lancon and ourselves were the only teams that could finish in fourth place, the maths were simple win and fourth would be ours, draw or lose and it would be a sixth place finish, the tactics were all put into place and then we had the news our goalkeeper Joe Hall would be unavailable to play.

Frankie Skofic who came on as a substitute striker a few weeks ago replaced Joe as goalkeeper in a management decision (nothing too this management lark really, it's because he was our tallest substitute if the truth be known) the substitutes for the day were Danny Ball, Ashley Burns, Danny Grimsley and James Ball, all again being told before kick-off that they would be going on at some point in the game.

From the kick off Hesketh Bank had a couple of decent attacks up field with a Ben Melling header and a disallowed goal for offside by Luke Drummond showing our intentions, at the other end Frankie comfortably dealt with anything that Appley Bridge had to offer.

A great sweeping move between Jamie Pratt and Ben Melling released a ball into the 18 yard box which Ben McDonald ran on to and thundered the ball against the crossbar, a great effort from a lad full of confidence (thankyou Dave Melling).

At the other end the defence were always on the back foot with the Appley Bridge midfielders and attackers and a cross whipped into our box resulted in a cool finish from the home teams striker to make the score 1-0.

An equaliser was almost immediate after great individual play by Macca gave Captain Ben Melling his 14 th goal of the season to even things up, the game was now real end to end stuff.

Luke continued to have chances and was unlucky not to score on several occasions, his persistence in chasing after lost causes kept the pressure on the home team's defence, defender Maciek Augustynowvicz made a crunching tackle in our half to win the ball and he had the vision to play Ben Melling through to score our second of the day, a great individual effort by Ben.

An equaliser soon came when hesitant defending between Ben Pomeroy and James Poulton resulted in a mix up, Frank having to pick the ball out of the back of the net.

A third goal came from Appley Bridge from a corner, midfielder Cameron Evans jumping out the way from his post and the ball going straight inn to make it 3-2 to Appley Bridge.

Just to keep all the parents on their toes Macca whipped in a cross from the right and Luke finished in his usual stylish fashion to make it 3-3 at half time.

The management kept to their word in giving all players a taste of the action in this final game and it was Macca and Maciek who made way for Ashley Burns and Danny Ball, it's nice when the management can bring off lads who gave great first half performances and who encouraged the two players going on.

Captain Ben Melling gave another sterling performance today and was soon rewarded with his hat-trick, Jamie Pratt with great persistence played Ben in for goal number 16 of the season, a great return from his midfield role which put us 4-3 up.

Luke was unlucky with a header over the bar from Danny Ball, at the other end the Hesketh Bank defence battled with the attackers and Ben Pomeroy unluckily gave away a penalty, with Head in his hands Ben struggled to accept his challenge.The Appley Bridge striker powered the ball towards the top right hand corner past Frank and it cannoned off the cross bar and out for a goal kick.

Danny Grimsley came on for Luke who finished with 24 goals for the Season, a great effort and it really puts him in contention for the Golden Boot prize for most goals scored at junior level this season at this year's presentation day.

Appley Bridge never gave up and it was only the fierce tackling in midfield particularly Johnny Read and Full back Tom Wilson who kept things at bay.

The scores were even soon after when an unchallenged header made it 4-4; this was a great game to watch but was a proper emotional rollercoaster.

James Ball came on as our final substitute for Johnny Read and we battled to get the winning goal with only 10 minutes of play left, a long ball in from James Poulton troubled the Appley Bridge keeper into pushing the ball onto the crossbar and it was the little man Jamie Pratt who overhead volleyed the ball into the roof of the net to make the score 5-4 to Hesketh Bank.

As the clocked ticked down and the nerves on the sideline were in danger of spilling over the final whistle went, this was our own little cup final it meant so much to the management and players to get the fourth place, our best ever achievement.

The Management of John, Dave and Gibbo congratulated the players on their achievement and we as parents had witnessed a truly great game by everyone of the players, the 15 lads used today were all men of the match.

As mentioned this was our best ever finish in the Central Lancs league and the stats showed what a great improvement we have made all round. We won 3 more games than last year, the same number drawn and lost 3 games less. We scored 14 goals more, gave away 17 goals less and finished 9 points higher.

A great effort all the way through the team.I have tried to bring a bit of humour and mention everyone at some points in the match reports I have done this season, I hope you all have enjoyed reading about the lads endeavours as much as I have about writing about them, we hope to see you all at the Junior presentation day which is at the Locker room at 3G on Sunday June 13 th with a 3.00pm start

Darren

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25th April 2010 - Lostock Hall 0-7 Hesketh Bank

15 Lads available again for this weekend's game against Lostock Hall, a great commitment from all the lads showing the desire and will to play.

The Management were aware but cautious of Lostock Halls position in the league table and made 2 changes to the starting line up Danny Grimsley and Ben McDonald starting and the four substitutes for the day who were told from the start that they would be going on after half time Ashley Burns, James Ball, Maciek Augustynowic and Captain Ben Melling.

The first 15 minutes were stalemate with several chances not being taken by Danny Grimsley and Johnny Read, Johnny in particular created several chances for others with his Mazy runs down the left wing.

The deadlock was broken when a great long ball over the top of the home team's defence by James Poulton who found goal machine Luke Drummond to calmly place the ball past the advancing keeper to make the score 1-0 to Hesketh Bank.

With nerves now settled the score soon became 2-0 when Johnny beat two players for a great individual goal, centre half Ben Pomeroy again this weekend ran the full length of the pitch after collecting a ball from our goalkeeper Joe Hall and was unlucky not to get his name on the scoresheet, this boy takes some stopping when he is in full flight.

With the ball being played out on the wings Johnny and Macca continued to put quality balls into the box for the strikers and several chances went wide, Jamie Pratt as instrumental as ever decided to run at goal and proceeded to volley over the keeper from outside the 18 yard box, a class finish from a class player to make the score 3-0 to the visitors

Several more chances were created including great corners from Danny Ball and James Poulton which found the heads of Luke and Grimbo but would not go in, with instructions to keep getting the ball in Macca played his best half of the season and tormented the Lostock Hall defence and was unlucky not to score with a long range effort which dropped just over the bar.

With the score at Half time 3-0 to Hesketh Bank great encouragement was made from the management to carry on our great performance into the second half, as promised Danny Grimsley made way for Ashley Burns and Cameron Evans came off for Ben Melling.

Pressure was soon put on the Lostock Hall team by our midfield with great interplay by Jamie, Macca and Ben Melling resulting in several good saves pulled off by their goalkeeper, Ashley Burns made it goal number 4 after neat play by Ben Melling.

Ben Pomeroy made way for substitute Maciek after another solid performance at the back and we were soon celebrating goal number 5, a great long ball from James Poulton allowed Luke to drive forward and score his second of the game to make his tally 23 for the season, he was then sportingly applauded as he made his way for our final substitute James Ball to come on.

With Johnny and Macca creating the space and having freedom to attack the Lostock Hall defence it was no surprise to see more goals coming, on days like this the boys are full of confidence and need little coaching from the sidelines.

Johnny missed goal scoring opportunities twice with one in particular an open goal which he hit the post and Ashley also came close twice with follow up shots, goal number six was the pick of the day for the parents, even the Lostock Hall management applauded the quality of the finish as it came out of nothing and surprised us all, Macca on the right wing challenged and won the ball from the home teams defender, he then proceeded to control the ball in the air on his thigh, bring the ball to the ground, go past the defender and shoot over the keeper from 25yards just under the crossbar and into the net.

With Supersub James Ball looking to get in on the action it was great to see everyone working for each other, the home team were in awe of the way we kept running and putting attacks in, our final goal of the day came from a James Poulton corner and was headed in by James Ball to the delight of all around, 7-0 to Hesketh Bank.

As the final whistle blew we knew that you have to take your chances and even though we won comfortably and created a lot more than we scored we must enjoy our performance as we do face stronger opposition most weeks, the goals were spread about today which was great for all the parents to see.

I would say to the boys that even when we win or lose we have a great support from most of the parents each week, today the Lostock Hall boys got beat as they have done most games this season with only a couple of parents watching them, yet they still raised a team and turned up so don't ever moan about getting only half a game as a substitute.

The management's team talk at the end was rightly full of praise for all the players and also with a bit of banter for Johnny's open goal miss which everyone took in the right spirit, two standout performances noted by the management today Johnny Read and Ben McDonald.

Our last game of this season is away to Appley Bridge on Sunday 2 nd May kick off 10.30am.

18th April 2010 - Hesketh Bank 1-2 Ripon Reds

Our final home fixture of this season at Shore road was against the league leaders Ripon Reds, last time out we matched them for a 3-3 draw and it was a great game by both teams, we have now beaten our points total for last season and are still in with a chance of making second place if other results go are way, today would have all the makings for a promotion decider for both teams.

With 15 lads turning up in various stages of fitness the management had the affordable luxury of going with the strongest team whilst having the option of using 4 substitutes, the guys who were subs Danny Grimsley, Ashley Burns, James Ball and Ben McDonald all were unhappy not to be in the starting eleven but as usual would get an opportunity to play a part in today's proceedings.

From the start Ripon Reds were quicker out of the blocks than Hesketh Bank and an early disallowed goal by the visitors was an early warning, our boys were very unlucky when Ben Melling latched onto a through ball and was unlucky to see his initial shot saved by the keeper and then his follow up go over the bar.

With Ripon Reds being given the freedom by the referee to use their stronger physical ability without being penalised most challenges seemed to go the way of the visitors and not many chances were created for the Hesketh Bank strikers Ben Melling and Luke Drummond.

The defence of Tom Wilson, Maciek Augustynowic, James Poulton and Ben Pomeroy were in a real battle today and kept the game scoreless until a long ball through to the Ripon Reds striker caught the lads napping and he coolly lobed the advancing keeper Joe Hall to make it 1-0 just before half time to the visitors.

By no means a stern talking to the lad's after there first half performance but simple advice was given by the management to make every effort to win the ball back when it was lost particularly in our midfield.

The second half started with great optimism from the sidelines but this was soon to be dashed when sloppy defending and hesitant play by our goalkeeper allowed Ripon Reds to get goal number two, the visiting parents sensing this was the goal that would take them a step closer to promotion, 2-0 to Ripon Reds.

James Poulton who had a really god game today was struggling with an injury and had to be replaced by Ashley Burns, as usual Ben Pomeroy never gave up in attempting to win every Ball in James absence, up front Luke made way for Danny Grimsley.

Johnny Read and Jamie Pratt were our two players who could create opportunities and were both unlucky with their attempts on target, several times the ball troubled the visitors defence but no one was able to follow it up.

A through ball split the visitors defence and Johnny Read was up-ended in the penalty box, Jamie Pratt as cool as you like scored from the penalty spot to make the score 2-1.

Never out the game and sensing fresh legs were needed Ben McDonald came on For Cameron Evans and James Ball on for Danny Ball and the Hesketh Bank boys continued to attack to the end, and the visitors flashing a header wide which looked to be going in, Macca had a final long range shot which the keeper saved well.

The final whistle blew with the score 2-1 to the visitors and a great game of football came to an end, on days like this we are not that far off competing with the leaders in all areas but that does not get you a win in the league table.

A stand out performance today by centre back Ben Pomeroy made the defeat more easier to take, even though he played half the game without James Poulton at the side of him who offers greater game experience he really did show what having the heart and desire to attempt to win every ball can achieve, a true man of the match performance today well done.

I would like personally to say thanks to all the parents who have supported all our games at Shore Road this season, one way or another you have always been entertained by the lads, a big thank you to the management of John, Dave and Gibbo and the players for their endeavours on Sunday mornings and finally to Derek Burns, Neil Poulton, Steve Gibson and Vaughan Birkby for their hours of hard graft they put in pre-season in making the playing surface as good as it could be for the lads.

Two away games to finish the season off now with the first being at Lostock Hall.

Sunday 25 th April kick off 11.00am.

Darren

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11th April 2010 - Walton-le-dale 1-7 Hesketh Bank

An afternoon fixture this week away at Walton-Le-Dale in sunshine for a change and on a pitch that was to be the biggest we played on ever and which resembled meerkat manor in places, the un-predictable bounce off the surface would have an effect on our passing game and our ability to defend from high balls and from goal kicks.

Frankie Skofic was able to join us as our only substitute this weekend now his rugby matches had finished and it would be interesting to see if he could still find the back of the net with his power and pace.

With the game only just started a Hesketh Bank through ball found Captain Ben Melling up front and great interplay with Jamie Pratt resulted in our first goal being scored by Jamie to make the score 1-0 to Hesketh Bank, no sooner had the restart taken place a long clearance up field by the Walton-Le-Dale goalkeeper resulted in a challenge between their striker and our goalkeeper Joe Hall, we thought the referee had given a foul on Joe but a penalty was awarded against us and the score was soon level 1-1.

From the kick-off Ben Melling gave a true captains performance for the rest of the day, in quick succession we soon made the score 3-1 with a great solo effort running from halfway to score himself and then showing great persistence to make a goal out of nothing for Jamie to get his second.

Walton- Le-Dale were still in the game and our defence expertly marshalled by James Poulton cleared at ease every bouncing ball coming into them, Ben Pomeroy intercepted an attack and proceeded to run the full length of the field to attack and only a last ditch tackle by the Walton-Le-Dale defence stopped what would have been an amazing solo effort.

Johnny Read and Ben McDonald continued to attack down the wings and created chances again for our forwards, Macca played in an in swinging cross which the keeper could not hold and Ben Melling was in the right place to get his second off the day to make the score 4-1 at half time.

The second half started as the first had finished with Jamie Pratt and Cameron Evans controlling the central midfield role Johnny and Macca continued to provide the chances for our forwards to latch on to, one of these through balls gave Ben Melling his Hat trick to make the score 5-1.

Frankie Skofic came on to replace Danny Grimsley and instantly used his physical presence to get himself into the action and it was no surprise to soon see Frankie get on the scoresheet, a well placed pass by Ben Melling giving him the opportunity to make it 6-1

Danny Ball and Macca working well on the right and Maciek Augutynowicz and Johnny on the left continued to work as a team to attack up field, Ben Melling still looking for more goals was unlucky to hit the side net after a great flick on from Macca, confident play was the order of the day.

Our final goal of the day came from great work by Johnny down the left and his cross in was met by the head of Frankie for his second of the day to make the score 7-1

A great team performance all round today considering the state and size of the pitch, and the lads fitness showed as they coped with the warm conditions.

Considering our regular goal poacher Luke Drummond was out today it was very pleasing to see goals scored by people in different team positions than normal, a man of the match performance by Captain Ben Melling today who rightly deserves the plaudits for his efforts but was greatly assisted by the rest of his team mates.

Next week's game is against the current league leaders Ripon Reds who we held to a 3-3 draw last time at Moor Park

Our final Home game of the season Sunday 18 th April at our Shore Road ground 11.00am kick off, this should be a cracker of a game to watch

Darren

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28th March 2010 - Ribble Wanderers 0-4 Hesketh Bank

A new venue for us this weekend as we travelled to Bamber Bridge leisure centre to play our away fixture against Ribble Wanderers, if the game was to be anything like our home fixture against them in October last year when we won 6-3 it would be great entertainment for all the parents.

Injuries to Key players including our solid performing centre back James Poulton resulted in a change of position in our normal starting line up Danny Ball again played at right back and Maciek Augustynowicz moved to centre back to partner the ever improving Ben Pomeroy, Johnny Read returned from his week away on holiday and Jamie Pratt was our only substitute.

On a very small pitch which was especially narrow Hesketh Bank kicked off against a very strong wind towards our goal, several early throw inns from their centre back soon cause problems in our goal area, we were playing against a lad with style of Rory Delap and our goalkeeper Joe Hall was going to have a very busy day.

Early attacks by Hesketh Bank were encouraging with Ben Melling letting fly from range and Ben McDonald under instruction to whip the ball in from the right wing, one of these long range efforts from Macca beat the keeper and just go over the crossbar.

Catching our opponents flat footed on the break seemed to be our tactic of the day and after several missed chances by Danny Grimsley and Luke Drummond we finally made ammends with a great individual goal by Luke to make the score 1-0.

Captain Ben Melling continued to play great through balls to our striking partnership but either offside or point blank saves from their keeper kept the score the same till half time, a stern team talk like last weekend was not required and it would be to our advantage playing the second half with the wind behind us.

Back from his 2 week holiday Jamie Pratt was introduced to the game on the right wing and several chances were again created for our forwards, finally after several missed attempts Jamie beat the defence and played the ball across the box for Ben Melling to shoot high into the roof of the net to make the score 2-0.

Johnny Read and Tom Wilson made several great runs down the left hand side of the pitch and Luke was soon to get his second of the day, another good finish to make the score 3-0 to Hesketh Bank.

Safe in the hands that Goalkeeper Joe and centre backs Maciek and Pommers were controlling the game at the back Ben Melling continued to drive forward and played a through ball for Macca to beat the advancing keeper with a well taken goal into the corner to make the score 4-0.

At the final whistle a good team performance was applauded all round and particular praise was given by the management to Goalkeeper Joe Hall for a man of the match performance closely followed by centre back for the day Maciek Augustynowicz.

A lot better all round performance this week and it was nice to see Luke pass the 20 goal barrier to make it 21 for the season and also to see Macca on the scoresheet, his mum would have loved to see the smile on his face as it has been a rare occurrence now he is in his teenage years.

No games next weekend due to the Easter break so we next play again on Sunday 11 th April away at Walton-le-Dale with a 2.00pm kick off.

Darren

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21st March 2010 - Hesketh Bank 2-2 Deepdale Juniors

Back on to Shore Road for this week's game, unfortunately the A teams heroic cup run on the Saturday afternoon cut the pitch up badly for us in places but it still looks and plays well compared to this time last year.

Due to injuries and players not available due to holidays we were down to the bare bones of available players again for the third weekend on the run, thank goodness the lads that were regular subs at the start of the season stuck with us, let's hope the management remember this long term.

Deepdale came to us today a few places below us in the table but what they lacked in footballing ability they made up for with a desire to cause us an upset both on and off the pitch as reported later on, the Hesketh Bank team included Danny Ball as left winger for the day even though he clearly was struggling and it's to his credit that he was willing to play the full game for us.

From the start the visitors were more up for it than us in all areas of the park, the lack of desire to beat teams lower than us in the league was coming back to haunt us again and it was no surprise to see us 1-0 down so early in the game, Encouragement from the sidelines from assistant manager Dave Melling and Birthday Boy Coach Steve Gibson was needed right from the start to get the boys back on track.

Our only notable chance was a cross in from Ben Melling which Danny Grimsley hit against the crossbar, Deepdale thoroughly deserved another goal and proceeded to get another from midfield play all the way through past our defence to make the score 2-0 at Half time the referee had to go with his decision to acknowledge the visitors linesman at every opportunity, though it was getting frustrating to all, we have to play to the whistle and except the decisions against us at this level of football right or wrong, leave the coaches to question the referee and concentrate on the game in hand.

Having the privilege this week in listening to Dave and Gibbos team talk at half time it was clear the first half performance was not acceptable and attitudes needed to change on the pitch for the second half, in my opinion if this causes the players an issue they should address this with the coaches at training, I thought Dave and Gibbo were fair in their assessment.

The second half started better for Hesketh Bank and we were soon back in the game after a foul was committed by the visitors defender just on the edge of the 18yard box, although it was hotly disputed by our opponents the referee ignored the protests and awarded a free kick.

Danny Grimsley hit the free kick against the wall and in the follow up Luke Drummond volleyed in to get us a goal back.

Sensing we were back in with a shout the Hesketh Bank players continued to attack as we know they can and soon gained another opportunity when Luke Drummond was tripped in the box, not even the fantastic view and vocal opinion every single Deepdale player and parents had could convince the referee that our player was outside the box (on days like this I really do enjoy marking out white lines round the penalty box) Ben Melling took the penalty and made the score 2-2.

Several chances were created by Hesketh Bank and we were unlucky not to score, beating the offside trap was always going to be a problem for the rest of the game as the linesman's opinions to the referee and his flag waiving was in full motion, any chances that were created were Ben McDonald putting one against the post, Cameron Evans with a speculative shot over the bar, Ben Melling with a long range shot from a great run and through ball from Tom Wilson and finally Macca who beat the defender and goal keeper to shoot at an open net only for the flag to go up again.

A 2-2 draw was the final score and it was obvious that if the team talk at half time by Dave and Gibbo had not been so stern we would not have even got a point, sad to discuss gamesmanship to the degree in today's report but sometimes you just can't win on and off the field.

Even though we may not have maintained our footballing standards on the pitch today we did not let ourselves and our parents down when the game finished.

Next week's fixture 28 th March is away at Ribble Wanderers kick off 11.00am.

Darren

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14th March 2010 - Hesketh Bank 4-0 Bamber Bridge

Hesketh bank under 14's were away this weekend playing at Worden Park against Bamber Bridge on a pitch that was terribly uneven, a big difference to the extremely good playing surface the boys are used to playing on at Shore Road.

All fears about the pitch were put to bed almost instantaneously when a couple of good one two's straight from the kick off lead to captain Ben Melling driving into the box and sliding home the opener with his left foot, possibly the quickest goal we have ever scored.

The half continued with some extremely good football in the opposing half with Danny Grimsley largely directing play with some great football continuing his impressive run of form from the past 2 or 3 games.

As previously mentioned the pitch really wasn't in good condition however this didn't seem to bother the team and they played possibly their best football of the season with some fantastic two touch football, with a real desire to win back the ball whenever they lost it. They also seemed to be communicating with each other non stop from back to front which is something we have failed to do since they started at under 8's.

We created a number of chances and continued to play some excellent football however we went in at half time only one nil up.

As the second half started the Bamber Bridge players had obviously had some stern words told to them at half time as they came out for the second half looking to get on the front foot. For the first twenty minutes of the second half Bamber Bridge did improve however they didn't really look like causing us any problems largely due to our very strong and powerful back four who have been an extremely tight unit all season long.

We just needed to get that second goal to kill the game off which finally came fifteen minutes from time. As we had been doing for the majority of the game we worked the ball with some tidy two touch football down the left channel with Ben Melling releasing Jonny Read into the box and Jonny gladly accepted his chance and slid the ball past the oncoming goalkeeper into the bottom right hand corner. The third goal came almost immediately after the second and it was a carbon copy of the second only this time it was Danny Grimsley who released Jonny into the box who again coolly slotted home into the bottom Right hand corner.

At this point it was a case of how many we could get as the Bamber Bridge players had finally given up, but we were only to score one more goal however we were saving the best till last.

After a bit of a scramble in the box the ball finally popped into the air where quick thinking from our top goal scorer Luke Drummond saw him acrobatically overhead kick the ball from 10 yards into the Bamber Bridge goal, one of the best Luke has scored from a number of goals he has got for us this season.

The game came to an end with a very satisfying four nil win and possibly one of the best performances of the season. Well done lads.

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28th February 2010 - Lancon 2-1 Hesketh Bank

Hesketh bank under 14's were due to be playing away at Lancon at 2 o'clock this Sunday however this would have conflicted with the cup final between Man Utd and Aston Villa and as a number of players and management are Man Utd fans we asked Lancon if they would be happy to rearrange the fixture to the morning. Due to other teams playing in the morning we were unable to do this however as a number of the Lancon team also wanted to watch the final they were more than happy to play the game at shore road at 11 o'clock so that everyone could watch the final which we were all very grateful for.

As for the match Hesketh Bank started extremely slowly conceded a goal in the first couple of minutes from a well delivered free kick into the box which was headed over Joe the out coming goalkeeper. The early setback knocked the lads and it took them a while to get into the game, however after a scrappy 15 minutes they started to knock the ball around on a very sticky pitch creating a few decent chances.

Midway through the first half Luke Drummond was denied a stone wall penalty after being through on goal and being tripped from behind just before he was about to pull the trigger however things did even themselves up in the end as Lancon were also denied a penalty in the second half all be it not as concrete.

We finally got the equaliser 10 minutes before the break when the ball came into the box and Danny Ball looked to have put the ball into the top corner of the net only for the keeper to scoop it out from behind the line, however Jamie Pratt made sure by smashing the re bound into the goal making the net ripple.

After getting the goal I thought this would settle the lads and we would be able to build on it and create more chances and eventually goals however we were pegged back again right before half time with a rocket goal from one of the Lancon players which no goalkeeper would have been able to save.

There wasn't much to say at half time as the lads weren't playing badly it was a case of being patient and hoping they would create some more chances and be able to put them away in the second half.

If the truth be told the majority of the second half was played in Lancon's half however we were unable to carve out any real opportunities and as the clock ticked down we didn't look like getting the equalising goal.

As time ran down a couple of half chances fell to both Luke Drummond and Danny Grimsley but neither were able to work the Lancon goalkeeper. The game finished 2 – 1 to Lancon.

As mentioned at half time the lads didn't play particularly badly today it was just one of those games where we didn't have the necessary luck.

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14th February 2010 - Hesketh Bank 1-5 Ribchester

Today's fixture was finally played after several cancellations over the winter period, the Shore road pitch still had a slight frost in the ground but was safe and in generally good condition for this time of year.

Both teams came into this game challenging for promotion and hoping that their opponents dropped valuable points, Ribchester the league leaders and Hesketh Bank in fourth place with a couple of games in hand.

Hesketh Bank had only 12 players available for today's game which gave the management no choice but to alter our starting line up With long term injured.

James Ball, Johnny Read away on holiday and Ashley Burns injured, our single substitute for today was Danny Grimsley. On the field Captain Ben Melling partnered Luke Drummond up front and Ben McDonald took the left midfield role, all the other players in their usual formations.

From the start both teams played strong competitive football with end to end attacking being the theme for the day, Ribchester controlled the winning of the ball in midfield but struggled to break down the central defence of James Poulton and Ben Pomeroy.

The Ribchester defence kept our forward line at bay and their keeper caused us problems all day with his long goal kicks down field, one of these was to open the scoring, a fine piece of play by their central midfield player who evaded two of our defenders and slotted the ball past a stranded goalkeeper Joe Hall to make it 1-0.

Against the run of play, not dealing with their attacking midfielders had cost us a goal, the Hesketh Bank response was to attack through Ben Melling who played a great through ball to Luke Drummond to calmly lob the ball over the Ribchester keeper for his Seventeenth goal of the season to make it 1-1.

Again not winning the first challenge and not stepping up to the mark to win the second soon cost us another goal, unfortunate defending and hesitant goalkeeping gave Ribchester an easy second goal against us to make it 2-1 to the visitors.

Ribchester continued to attack and another close call came when full back. Maciek Augustynowicz sliced a defensive clearance which forced keeper Joe Hall into an acrobatic save, the League leaders were not in the position they are with Defensive football.

The Hesketh Bank team continued to give time and space to the Ribchester players and were punished again just before half time with a brilliant piece of individual play from the Ribchester central midfielder who dribbled past three of our players before shooting past our keeper to make the score at Half time 3-1 to the visitors.

Although Steve Gibson and Dave Melling were the only management present at the half time team talk it was clear to all the players and parents on the sideline that the first half performance was not acceptable, good honest talking by Gibbo and Dave was needed and was delivered in hope that the players would respond in the second half.

Danny Grimsley came on as a substitute in a tactical swap for Ben McDonald to partner Luke up front and Ben Melling moved back into his normal midfield role hopefully to get a grip of a game which was still there for the taking, the next goal would play a major part in the result for either side.

Several chances were missed by the forwards from Hesketh Bank with Luke and Danny putting the ball wide or over the bar, on the counter attack Ribchester were still running the show and it was no surprise to see them score their fourth of the day.

Tom Wilson took an injury to his knee and had to leave the field with Ben McDonald going back on into the midfield, Captain Ben Melling was asked to make his third positional change of the day to Left full back.

Several last ditch tackles by Ben Pomeroy and James Poulton who at least can be said battled for every ball right to the end kept the score the same until ten minutes from the end.

With one of Ribchesters final attacks the hesitation in clearing a ball or being first to the challenge cost us another goal, Keeper Joe Hall again being beaten by the ball being lobbed over his head into an empty net to make the score 5-1 to Ribchester.

Plenty of teams will have been beaten by Ribchester this season which happens when you play gifted individual players of a high standard, but there are still only eleven of the opposition on the pitch at any time.

What is not acceptable to the management is the attitude of our team today when individuals “go missing or don't show character and belief when playing the better teams”.

The players need to use the training sessions previous to the game with the same effort they are expected to put in a Sunday match regardless of the opposition.

This has not been the case this week with certain individuals, and I am sure the management will want to address this starting this Tuesday evening.

Next week's game 21 st February Away against Lostock Hall juniors kick off 11.00am.

Darren

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7th February 2010 - Hesketh Bank A-A Gregson Lane

The pitch was very heavy for this weekend's game due to the senior side playing on it 24 hours earlier and was going to provide a fitness test for both teams, our visitors this week were High flying Gregson lane who are in second place in the table and would provide a good test if we want to know what standard we need to reach if we aim to be challenging for promotion at the end of the season.

Last time the teams met each other in September it was Gregson Lane who won the game 3-0 and our strongest team was put out by the management in the usual line up and with only two substitutes available for consideration this week it was left to Ben McDonald and Danny Grimsley to keep the bench warm.

Even play was the theme for the first 20 minutes with both teams squandering chances and failing to master the offside trap, good firm tackling was the order of the day with no team wanting to give any advantage to their opponents.

After several missed chances by regular goal scorer Luke Drummond Gregson Lane played good passing football down the right wing finishing with a cross into our 18 yard box, hesitant play by our goalkeeper Joe Hall in coming off his line resulted in their striker finishing easily to make the score 1-0 to the visitors.

Hesketh Bank nearly made amends before half time with a great individual attack by Johnny Read, after beating three players it was only a last ditch tackle although slightly dubious that saved Gregson Lane. Just before half time from a Danny Ball corner the ball was played back from.

Jamie Pratt to defender James Poulton who smashed the ball just over the bar, the teams went into half time with the score the same 1-0 to Gregson lane.

Both teams attacked straight from the start with pitch now cutting up in the middle, tackles continued to be made in defence and midfield that were fully committed, several attacks from both teams resulted in shots just wide or over the bar.

Gregson Lane tested our goal with a long range shot that just went over the crossbar and we knew it would not be the last, soon another speculative shot was fired from long range and Goalkeeper Joe Hall was unable to deal with it, the ball dropping to Gregson Lane player to make it 2-0.

Danny Grimsley came on for Cameron Evans in a tactical change by the management but was unable to find time and space, this is what we will face when we player higher standard teams, their defenders and Midfielders using their physical presence in every challenge.

Too many challenges on the ground and in the air were not won today, the ability is not in question from the lads but sometimes the desire to battle when required

Sadly one of these challenges was to change the game with 15 minutes to go when an innocuous tackle involving two Hesketh Bank and one Gregson Lane player caused concern for all around, the Gregson Lane player was clearly hurt with a serious back injury

Both Darren McDonald and the management from Gregson Lane tried to assist and comfort the player hoping that he would be able to recover, but it was clearly not going to be the case and an ambulance was called for as the player could not be moved for fear of further damage.

Referee John Davies consulted both managers and quite rightly abandoned the game.

It was a sad sight for any parent or young player to see someone being taken off a football field on a spinal board and also quite distressing, I have since this evening had messages of thanks form both Gregson Lane and the Ambulance services thanking us for the correct action taken, Anthony the player involved from Gregson lane was later released with Ligament and muscle damage around his spine area and will make a full recovery in due course.

All at Hesketh Bank football club wish him well with his recovery

Next week's game 14 th February home against the leaders in our league Ribchester Juniors kick off 11.00am at Shore Road

Darren

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31st January 2010 - Hesketh Bank 5-2 Bamber Bridge

This was to be our first home game played this year and the first match played at Shore road since 18 th October 2009.

The pitch itself during the week was kindly mowed and rolled by Hesketh Banks Station road groundsman Morgan Dodgson and after it was lined out on Friday afternoon by Steve Gibson and Darren McDonald it looked as good as pre-season.

Unfortunately the cold snap of weather came over the weekend and on Sunday morning at 9.30am we were faced with a scene likeable to Polar Express, the pitch being covered in a light dusting of snow and hailstones.

The pitch was soft underneath its white blanket but lines would have to be visible for the referee to allow play commence.

A spirited effort by Dave Melling, Neil Poulton, Dave Pomeroy, and Darren in Brushing the pitch clear resulted in the kick off being delayed for half an hour but the game being playable (well done you guys for your hard work in enabling the game to be played, I know our manager John Read really appreciated our efforts).

The Hesketh Bank team kept its familiar shape from the previous weekends fixture with the three substitutes for this game being Danny Ball, Danny Grimsley and Cameron Evans who was carrying an injury and who would only be used in an emergency, it was also good to see our long term injured player James Ball who came to support his teammates.

From the start Hesketh Bank continued their attacking play from the previous week and Luke Drummond was unlucky several times after good play from our creative midfielders Jamie Pratt and Captain Ben Melling,over exuberance in the tackle by Jamie in trying to win the ball resulted in the Bamber Bridge centre half retaliating and receiving a booking by the referee.

Great first time passing between Jamie Pratt and Ben McDonald resulted in Luke Drummond being faced with only the goalkeeper to beat and he duly scored to make the score 1-0, within the next 10 minutes the same move on the right between Jamie and Macca resulted in a mirror image of the first and now Luke had claimed another goal to make it 2-0 to Hesketh Bank.

As we found in our previous LFA cup match with Bamber Bridge earlier in the season we knew we would be under pressure even though we were in the lead, not closing the midfield down and winning challenges in the middle of the park soon cost us a goal when the midfielder from Bamber Bridge scored a great long range effort to make the score 2-1, the score was soon to be level with a sloppy goal conceded almost immediately due to us not being able to close down the attackers and then deal with the danger to make the score 2-2.

Captain Ben Melling rallied his team for a final push before half time and a great solo effort culminating with a long range shot which the Bamber Bridge keeper could not hold, the score now 3-2 to Hesketh Bank, Ashley Burns injured himself and was replaced by Danny Ball just before the referee blew his whistle.

The Hesketh Bank team started the second half with the stern words of the management in their ears and responded by coming out attacking again, Luke putting a couple of chances wide and Danny Grimsley coming on for Ben McDonald so we could change things up front.

Johnny Read made a great run down the left from his midfield role and played a wonderful ball across the box for Jamie Pratt to rifle into the back of the net score now 4-2

Great deliveries all day long from corners and free kicks by James Poulton added to the confusion in the Bamber Bridge defence, Luke heading wide and unlucky not to score, it was not long before Luke got his Hat trick turning the defender and finding the corner off the net to make it 5-2 to Hesketh Bank and 6 goals in 2 games for Luke.

Even with the scoreline well in our favour we had to rely on excellent last ditch tackling by Tom Wilson and Maciek Augustynowicz, and with Bamber Bridge playing the high ball into our defence James Poulton and Ben Pomeroy used their heads several times to clear the defensive line.

The final score being 5-2 to Hesketh Bank in a thoroughly entertaining game to view, standout performances this week of mention were Jamie Pratt in Midfield and Maciek Augustynowicz in defence.

Next week's game 31 st January home against second place in our league Gregson Lane kick off 11.00am at Shore Road

Darren

24th January 2010 - Deepdale Juniors 2-7 Hesketh Bank

Without a game played since the 25 th October last year this afternoons fixture was always going to be a difficult game on a pitch that was soft but in good condition despite the weather of the previous weeks,

A shortage of competitive match practice and sharpness would be evident today and with this in mind a good start to the game was important and our management decided to go with our regular starting players with Jamie Pratt, Ashley Burns and Ben McDonald as substitutes to bring on when the game needed fresh legs and ideas

From the start the play was in both teams' 18 yard boxes and after good interlinking passes between the forwards Captain Ben Melling skilfully beat several players to open the scoring to make it 1-0 to Hesketh Bank

From the restart Deepdale pressed forwards for an equaliser and came very close after we gave a direct free kick away on the edge of our box, the Deepdale full back making a tremendous strike against our keeper Joe Hall which came off the post.

Another Deepdale attack against us almost straight away resulted in the equaliser, our midfield guilty of not picking up players on the edge of the box and their striker being allowed time to shoot past our stranded keeper

With the score now 1-1 the game was evenly matched until a brilliant piece of vision by Centre half James Poulton changed the game, on collecting the ball from our keeper and taking it to the edge of his 18 yard box he played a fantastic 40 yard ball over the Deepdale defence for Luke Drummond to latch on to, Luke still with work to do calmly slotted the ball past the advancing keeper to make it 2-1

A corner on the right gave Hesketh Bank another opportunity and our other centre half Ben Pomeroy headed against the post, the ball rebounding for Luke Drummond to get his second of the day the score now 3-1

With half time looming Hesketh Bank put pressure on the Deepdale defence and a ball played back to their keeper fell short, Luke Drummond again the first of our strikers to react and he slotted the ball in off the post for his hat trick, again persistence and effort paid off (Note to Leslie his Mum this lad is going to need one hell of a large trophy cabinet with all these Hat trick match balls)

With the score now 4-1 to Hesketh Bank the half time whistle blew and the management decided to bring on two of our three substitutes Jamie Pratt on for Danny Grimsley who worked hard up front and Ashley Burns on for Cameron Evans in midfield

The second half started as we finished the first with a great attack from the left, the ball being crossed over for Danny Ball who was unlucky not to get a first time shot on goal, several attempts by the midfielders and Strikers to go one on one through the middle of the Deepdale defence proved unlucky, finally Danny Ball was rewarded with his effort today with a through ball to Ben Melling for his second of the day the score now 5-1, with 25 minutes to go Danny Ball made way for our last substitute Ben McDonald.

Credit to Deepdale who still kept attacking but met a defence marshalled By James Poulton in outstanding form and several opportunities were broken down.

Finally a direct free kick was awarded to Deepdale from just outside the 18 yard box and the Deepdale full back scored a fantastic goal applauded by both sets of parents, the score now 5-2 with 15 minutes to go from the re-start Hesketh Bank continued to attack outnumbering the Deepdale defence on several occasions with our attacking play, only the lack of vision and willingness to play a better choice of pass instead of trying to walk the ball into the back of the net kept the score the same.

Finally the ball was played out onto the right wing for Ben McDonald in space to run at the Deepdale defence, a lovely inside pass played to Jamie Pratt secured goal number six for Hesketh Bank, nice to see Luke Drummond run and applaud “Macca” for his unselfish play.

With the game now almost over goal number seven came with a determined solo effort from Johnny Read a great central run at the Deepdale defence with the goalkeeper saving his first attempt and the second shot being smashed into the corner, a just reward for his effort today.

As the full time whistle blew with a scoreline 7-2 to Hesketh Bank both sets of players shook hands, special mention must also be given to John Read and Steve Gibson for remaining calm and professional on behalf of Hesketh Bank football club whilst suffering a foul mouthed altercation from the Deepdale linesman in the first half.

Good performance to start our 2010 year with with everyone involved playing their part in the win, two outstanding performances today in James Poulton and Luke Drummond who inspired the rest of the team with their confident play, well done to both of you.

Next week's game 31 st January home against Bamber Bridge kick off 11.00am.

Darren

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25th October 2009 - Ripon Reds 3-3 Hesketh Bank

Ripon Reds the current league leaders were our away opponents today with an afternoon kick off at Moor Park, the game was deemed fit to play despite torrential wind and rain which started half an hour before kick off.

Team selection was an easy option for the management this weekend as we had several players including Goalkeeper Joe Hall, central defender James Poulton and Forward Danny Grimsley all missing.

Changes were made with midfielder Cameron Evans going in nets,Majiec Augustonoyvic going into defence and Ashley Burns going into midfield, James Ball carrying an injury moved up to right wing for the first half with Danny Ball again moving to right back and Ben McDonald the only substitute.

With the wind behind us at the kick off it was important we made the early play and use the wind to our advantage, as per usual we went a goal behind, good interlinking play between the Ripon forwards and the ball was in the back of the net before we could get into our rhythm.

Never ones to sit back and look at defeat the two central defenders of Ben Pomeroy and Majiec played really well in stopping any Ripon Attacks and protecting Stand in goalkeeper Cameron, the midfielders started to play the ball around the park and two quick goals for Hesketh Bank came before half time, Ben Melling and Luke Drummond the scorers.

With the wind and rain still playing a major part in this fixture it was important to go into half time maintaining the lead and increasing it if possible, this was not to be and we went in still 2-1 up.

The second half brought our only Substitution of Ben McDonald on for James Ball in a straight positional swap, with the wind now against us we endeavoured to attack at every opportunity and after several attempts on goal by Ben McDonald, Ben Melling and Luke Drummond the ball broke wide on the right for Ben McDonald to beat the defence and cross the ball in, the ball ending up above the Ripon Defenders heads and when it dropped a fantastic controlled volley was scored by Ashley Burns.

To see a goal scored like that by Ashley made standing in the rain worthwhile for all the parents, well done “Ashy”.

With the score now 3-1 to Hesketh Bank it was credit now to Ripon Reds who took the next 20 minutes of play to shoot at our stand in goalkeeper Cameron, one shot too many caused the ball to be spilled in our box and the Ripon Reds got a goal back.

Hesketh Bank did not give up and a cross come shot by Ben Melling hit the bar, it was real end to end stuff. With the bit between their teeth the league leaders could sense a draw was there for the taking and continued to pressure us right to the end, last ditch tackles by the defence and in particularly Tom Wilson were keeping them at bay, could we hold on for a fantastic win?

With 2 minutes to go the ball was played from the Ripon Reds midfield up front, stand in keeper Cameron deciding the best option was to charge out of his 18 yard box and clear the ball, sadly he didn't get their quick enough and the Ripon Players and parents were jubilant as the ball was put in the back of the net by their forward.

With the score now 3-3 the referee only had time to restart the game and the league leaders were still celebrating as the final whistle went, a great game of football played sportingly by both teams in really difficult weather conditions.

Today we came close to beating the league leaders and it is clear we are able to do so which is a measurement of how far we have progressed as a team, no one can influence a result like this stood on the sideline, the lads did their best and individual mistakes can contribute to the score line not going our way, we win as a team and we lose as a team all together no matter how upset we are at the time.

Again a great all round performance this week with Majiec in particular tackling like a Trojan, well done to all the lads for putting up a valiant effort. Next week's game 1 st November home against Ribchester kick off 11.00am

Darren

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18th October 2009 - Hesketh Bank 6-3 Ribble Wanderers

Another home game at Shore road this week on a pitch that is still looking good condition wise so far, all the pre-season pitch renovation work by Steve Gibson, Vaughan Birkby, Neil Poulton, Derek Burns and Darren McDonald is paying off.

Ribble Wanderers were the visitors today bringing a good supporting crowd of parents as well as a team of boys, some who had the physique of adults but whose play was physical but fair.

Ribble started off from the kick off first to the ball in most challenges and taking a direct route at goal with every opportunity, things did not look good for Hesketh Bank from the start, soon direct play left us a goal down.

Tom Wilson imposed himself going forward at every opportunity and a great run down the left wing resulting in a cross for Luke Drummond to get himself onto levelled the score. Another Hesketh Bank attack saw Luke Drummond get his second from a goalmouth scramble, hardly a classic goal but we were now well and truly back in the game

Tireless defending by James Poulton and Ben Pomeroy was a pleasing aspect again. With the play going our way more it was a shock to see Ribble score again before half time, the Ribble player being given time in midfield to attack our goal, Joe Hall our keeper decided to deal with the shot by letting it go wide whilst unaware of his position in goal, the ball ending up in the back of the net.

A poor goal to give away by Hesketh but 2-2 at half time gave the management the opportunity at half time to address the issues of the first half. Jamie Pratt returned from injury to replace Danny Grimsley and Majiec Augustonyovic replaced James Ball who still looked to be carrying an injury. Captain Ben Melling who looked quiet in the first half had the opportunity to express himself more by supporting Luke Drummond.

Jamie Pratt made an instant impact on the match and with great composure on the ball played a great pass through for Johnny Read to finish. Our forwards kept pressing to beat the Ribble offside trap and eventually after getting caught several times on the run Jamie Pratt managed to get his name on the score sheet on his return to the team, we know had a 4-2 lead.

Cameron Evans doing the simple things well in Midfield whilst Jamie was looking to attack and give our forwards a chance, Ribble came back at us and a rash challenge by our defence on the 18 yard box gave Ribble a free kick.

The midfield player form Ribble who had scored the previous 2 goals stepped up and scored a fantastic free kick over our keeper, credit to the lad it was a great goal for his hat trick.

At 4-3 up the Hesketh bank team made a substitution Ashley Burns coming on for Cameron Evans and after several chances by Johnny Read, Luke Drummond and Ben Melling it was that man Jamie Pratt who was to get his second of the game through great team play.

Our final substitution Ben McDonald came on for the hard working Danny Ball in midfield and after being stood on the sidelines for 45 minutes gave it his all for the last part of the game creating chances for our forwards only for them to put the ball wide or over the bar.

Finally goal number six came for Hesketh from a corner and it was Luke Drummond who was in the right place at the right time to complete his hat trick.

With the score now 6-3 to Hesketh Bank the final whistle blew. It was a thoroughly entertaining game to watch and not a score you could have predicted at the beginning of the game, credit to both teams who worked really hard on this bitterly cold morning

A good team performance this week with 4 lads who made the differenceJohnny Read, James Poulton, Tom Wilson and Luke Drummond all having a fantastic game.

Next week's game 25 th October away against the league leaders Ripon Reds with a 2pm kick off .

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11th October 2009 - Hesketh Bank 4-0 Walton-le-dale

Once again thanks to Steve Gibson for this week's match report due in my absence as I was away on my Final exam day on my FA coaching course in Leyland

Another fantastic performance and result for Hesketh Bank under 14's this week starting where they left off from last week with another home win beating Walton Le Dale 4 – 0. That makes it four wins from four at Shore Road in the league scoring twenty goals and only conceding one, we are really starting to turn that place into our own little fortress.

Like last week we started off very well and were immediately on the front foot playing some lovely two touch football and having the majority of possession in their half. It was Danny Grimsley who created the first chance for the team with some excellent hold up play in the box which lead to one of the opposing defenders getting frustrated and hacking him from behind to which the referee awarded us a penalty. Danny Grimsley continued to hold the ball up for the team all game long as well as playing some lovely through balls for his team mates to run onto and generally linking the play between midfield and attack. Danny has really been listening to what the coaches have been telling him at training and week after week is putting it into practice in the games and there has been a marked improvement in his performances.

With Jamie Pratt our usual penalty taker on the sidelines due to injury our number two spot kick taker Ben Melling stepped up and coolly slotted the ball into the bottom right hand corner to give us a deserved lead.

The second goal of the game came shortly after the first and was quite simply the best goal this team has ever produced. It started all the way back in the hands of our own goalkeeper Joe Hall who showed quick thinking to throw the ball wide to Ben McDonald, who in turn slipped the ball forward to Danny Grimsley who looped the ball over the defence for Luke Drummond to run onto and smash a volley into the roof of the net! A real sublime goal which went down extremely well with all the supporters.

After the second goal we continued to keep good possession and play some nice two touch football but couldn't find that third goal to really put the game to bed and we came in at half time two nil up.

Half time was very similar to last week where we just needed to talk through a couple of things and check up on one or two injury concerns that we had from Luke Drummond and James Ball. There was one personnel change to be made at half time and Danny Ball came on for Ben McDonald, who knew he would be re entering the game at a later stage as James Ball would not be able to complete the game due to a long standing injury problem.

As the second half started we seemed to take even more control of the game keeping more possession and creating more chances. Another mention again this week for the defence who were all fantastic with a specific mention to the partnership that has formed between our two giants at the back James Poulton and Ben Pomeroy who really give us a solid platform to go forward and perform.

It wasn't long after the break that we scored our third goal with Luke Drummond running onto a lovely through ball and clipping it past the keeper into the far corner. Once we scored the third goal the game went a bit flat with Walton le Dale clearly beaten and our lads taking their foot off the pedal slightly. This could not be said however for our captain and man of the match Ben Melling who gave a sensational performance in the middle of the park, covered every blade of grass and didn't stop for one minute. A number of the parents and supporters came up to me at the end and made it very clear that they thought Ben was excellent today.

With around fifteen minutes to go we got our fourth and final goal of the game which came from Ashley Burns who showed great tenacity down the left wing, took on the full back and had a venomous shot saved by the keeper but as all good forward players do he followed his shot up scoring the re bound off the keeper.

Another good performance from the lads this week who seem to be playing with some real confidence and belief. Hopefully we can keep this team spirit and form up for the remainder of the season.

Next week's game 18 th October home against Ribble Wanderers 11.00am kick off

Darren

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4th October 2009 - Hesketh Bank 1-0 Appley Bridge

Firstly thanks to Steve Gibson for this week's match report due in my absence as I was away on my FA coaching course exams

After a really disappointing game last week it was back to our best for the visit of Appley Bridge with a performance that management, team and supporters were extremely pleased with.

From the first whistle we looked switched on and focused and dominated in every area of the field in every position. The winning result was built on a fantastic defensive foundation with a man of the match performance from Majiec Augustonyovic, who seems to get better and better with every performance closely followed by his fellow defenders James Poulten, Ben Pomeroy and Tom Wilson.

Not only did we defend solidly and resolutely but we were very creative in midfield and created a number of chances in the first half some of which we should have converted.

We have done a lot of work in training in the past weeks and pre season on attacking corners and free kicks, which seemed to pay dividend eventually as there was a marked improvement in the movement off the ball and attacking the ball in the air. It was from a free kick that was whipped in from Danny ball, who put a number of fantastic balls in from corners and free kicks that we won a penalty with one of the Appley Bridge players handling in the area.

Our usually very reliable penalty taker Jamie Pratt stepped up to take the penalty which was saved by the goalkeeper. Don't worry Jamie you will put the next one away, we all have every confidence in you.

We continued to play well right throughout the first half and were unlucky to go in at half time level. The team talk this week was very easy, after going over a couple of tactical issues the lads were told to go out and perform in the second half the same way they did in the first.

Although Appley Bridge 's performance in the second half improved and they saw a little more possession than I would have liked we still never looked like conceding and I was confident that if we scored a goal we would be able to hold onto the advantage and take all 3 points.

At various points in the second half the four substitutions were introduced into the game and it was obvious for everyone to see that they wanted to come on and influence the game especially Ben McDonald who really seemed to have the bit between his teeth and at one point in the dyeing seconds hit the post.

The goal finally came with around 20 minutes remaining and from the managements point of view it was extremely pleasing to see that it came from a corner. A lovely floated ball into the box was attacked in the air from a number of our players and after a bit of scramble the ball finally landed at the feet of Luke Drummond, exactly the person you would want the ball to fall to in that situation and he smashed the ball into the back of the net.

The game got a little tense towards the end with our boys still looking to attack and go for goal when I was screaming at them to go into the corners and run down the clock but the final whistle eventually went to the delight of everyone involved.

As you can see from the report Steve has written this week he couldn't be happier with lads fantastic performance and incredible team spirit, bring on next week!

Next week's game 11 th October home against Walton –le-dale 11.oo am kick off

Darren

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28th September 2009 - Gregson Lane 3-0 Hesketh Bank

Back to league action this week with an away game against league leaders Gregson Lane, playing on a narrow pitch here last season caused us problems with the ball being launched into the 18 yard box from throw -ins and corners, will the boys have listened to Gibbo and his tactics pre-match?.

Team changes for the starting eleven included the welcome return from injury of James Poulton and Ashley Burns and Captain Ben Melling moving up front to partner Luke Drummond.

Making way to the subs bench for the changes were Ben McDonald, Danny Grimsley and Majiec Augustonovic. The game started with early activity in and around each teams box with evenly matched attacking football, Jamie Pratt with a long range volley and Ben Melling and Luke Drummond with one on one efforts but shooting wide.

Still struggling to master the offside trap Hesketh Bank gave away a free kick and after a long ball through our defence the Gregson Lane striker scored.

Hesketh Bank on the back foot created two more chances in the first half, again Ben Melling one on one with the keeper and Ben Pomeroy with a header over the bar. Gregson Lane playing the better passing game were unlucky not to score again as the ball flashed across the box from a left wing cross, our defence now struggling to deal with the attacking play

Half time 1-0 down

Ashley Burns came off at half time and was replaced by Majiec who moved to right back giving Danny Ball the opportunity to get forward in the right midfield role, we needed to get our foot on the ball and pass rather than clearing the ball without focus for it to come straight back at us.

The second half was all about Gregson Lane controlling the play, too many times we missed the first challenge and did not attempt the second, from the sidelines we did not “Rise to the challenge” in any areas.

2-0 to the home team was achieved with a speculative corner that went straight in over our goalkeepers and defenders heads. Danny Ball tried to put some life into the game with some direct running at their defence but with no support from his teammates the ball was lost and Gregson Lane were always quick away on the attack.

Johnny Read was substituted half way through the second half, his replacement Danny Grimsley moving up front with Luke, and Ben Melling moved back into his usual midfield role. Again the Hesketh Bank midfield struggled to contain Gregson Lane and it was no surprise to see their striker score a great goal lofting the ball over our goalkeeper Joe Hall

Ben McDonald came on as a late sub for Danny Ball but struggled to make any impact in a team that had lost its focus at this point, Tom Wilson battled for every ball taking a nose bleed for his efforts but carrying on regardless.

The final score was 3-0 to Gregson Lane a thoroughly disappointing scoreline for the management of John, Dave and Gibbo to take in, I would be doing the boys no favor in criticizing individuals, likewise if we play poor the players must accept it,” we win as a team and we lose as a team” has always been my view when writing match reports.

Collectively it was a poor performance and no one stood out for a man of the match mention, the coaches are there to help you in training but on match day you need to look at yourselves boys and get back to winning ways quick.

Sorry to all the parents who watched this weekends performance and hopefully we will see you at our next game this weekend

4 th October home against Appley Bridge kick off 11.00am

Darren McDonald

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20th September 2009 - LFA Cup - Hesketh Bank 2-4 Bamber Bridge

A break from the league this week as we entertained Bamber Bridge in the first round of the LFA cup at Shore road, the game brought referee Neil Wareing back to Hesketh Bank, a familiar and welcome face.

With only 11 fit players to start the game a bit of re-positioning of places in the team was required, most notable the movement of regular right winger Danny Ball who went to the right back position, with only Ashley Burns as a sub who was clearly injured it was decided the starting 11 would also finish the game

Hesketh Bank started the game with early activity in and around the visitor's box with several penetrating crosses causing the defence problems,Ben Melling, Luke Drummond and Danny Grimsley all putting the ball wide or over the bar.

The Bamber Bridge defence mastered the offside trap and caught us out on more than a few occasions, Forwards we have to be aware of this in future games

The visitors ability to put accurate crosses into the Hesketh Bank 18 yard seemed to cause our defenders a problem every time and it was no surprise after several goal line clearances by Majiec Augustonovic and Ben Pomeroy that the ball was not dealt with and Bamber bridge scored.

Johnny Read on the left wing worked hard to get himself into a good scoring position before half time but failed to find the back of the net.

Half time - Hesketh Bank 0 Bamber Bridge 1

Stern words at half time by the management were maybe not required but had the effect that the lads started off with the belief they could win, after 10 mins of open play between both teams Johnny Read equalized for Hesketh Bank and the game was well and truly on.

Bamber Bridge made use of their quota of subs with no less than six changes as the players tired in the sunny and warm conditions, Hesketh Bank kept going for goal with Luke Drummond running for every through ball that came his way, at the other end the midfield and defence made challenge after challenge to stop the visitors scoring.

Full time was up with the score at 1-1 and we now had extra time with the Hesketh Bank players faced with another two halves of trying to score the winning goal to take us into round two, both teams were not for giving the result up and penalties were now looming.

The score remained even at the end of extra time and the crowd's anticipation was in danger of spilling onto the pitch, only the enforcement of the Respect barriers kept the excitement at bay.

Bamber Bridge won the toss for penalties and elected to go first in the best of five taken, unfortunately for Hesketh Bank the visitors won 4-2 and a dejected group of lads trudged off, sadly we still need to master the art of getting past round one.

Not one of our best performances this week all round considering certain areas we struggled to cope with we had emphasized in the previous training session, two particular pleasing aspects were the rising emergence of Ben Pomeroy in the centre of defence who continues to improve every game and Stand in right back Danny Ball who gave a man of the match performance

One final point from the Opposing team and our Parents to the management please use your coaching methods in the game to support the lads at all time, the children are always trying their best and will naturally make mistakes at this age group, let's make sure are “wanting to win attitude” does not take away their confidence and the enjoyment of playing football for Hesketh Bank.

Thanks to all the parents and non starting players who supported the team this weekend and hopefully we will be back to winning ways next weekend.

27 th September away at Gregson Lane.

Darren McDonald

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13th September 2009 - Ribchester 2-1 Hesketh Bank

As away fixtures go an away game at Ribchester always provides one of the most competitive and equally matched games of the season, in previous seasons they have been between both teams challenging for the promotion places this looks again to be the case this season.

Hesketh Bank arrived at Ribchester with only 12 players available including our substitute for the day James Ball who was carrying an injury, every credit for James and his parents for making the long trip knowing his condition

A changed team due to injuries to Goalkeeper Joe Hall, Defender James Poulton and Winger Danny Ball gave opportunities for Ashley Burns, Danny Grimsley, Ben McDonald and Majiec Augustonovic all to play a full game and show what valuable squad players they are as part of the team.

Ribchester started off the team that looked most comfortable on the ball and deservedly took an early lead, strong play by their midfield and a lack of Composure by our lads when we had the ball resulted in a second goal.

Only the excellent goalkeeping of stand in midfielder Cameron Evans and the tenacious battling of Captain Ben Melling, Jamie Pratt and vice captain Tom Wilson kept the score respectable

Luke Drummond worked hard for the ball up front and his desire to rescue the game eventually paid off with a well taken goal leaving us 2-1 down at half time

The management team talk at half time put fresh drive and ideas into our lads and a draw and even a win was possible at this stage.

Unfortunately for us we could not break down the Ribchester team who as the game went on used their physical advantage to their benefit, injuries during challenges to Ashley Burns and Johnny Read seemed unfair but the referee deemed acceptable.

Ben Melling had a great chance to level the game near the end with a run that showed his never give up attitude but was unlucky not to score. This is the marker our lads will have to get used to and match against teams who are challenging for promotion and we had to except our defeat at full time graciously by Applauding Ribchester

Lots of positive from this week's game as this fixture showed all the parents and management how important it is team mates rely on each other when regular players are not available.

A great team effort by all with particular mention to Cameron Evans goalkeeping performance and for my view Tom Wilson with another man of the match performance

Next Sunday 20 th September we have a break from the league and play in

LFA 1 st round cup action at Shore Road against Bamber Bridge

Darren McDonald

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10th September 2009 - Hesketh Bank 3-1 Lancon Juniors

Hesketh Bank Under 14's evening game against Lancon at Shore road gave the management the opportunity to play the substitutes from the last game in a starting role. Two goals from Captain Ben Melling and a Jamie Pratt penalty put the pressure on the visitors who responded with a well planned free kick before half time. With the score 3-1 at the interval the second half was a tense affair with most of the play through the middle of the park, both teams not wanting to give the other the opportunity to get a grip on the game.

Finally the ball broke through the Lancon defence and an excellent finish by Danny Grimsley put the game beyond doubt, both teams battled in a good natured way to the final whistle the good start to the season continued in front of a large turnout of supporting parents, well done to the lads as a team again Darren 

6th September 2009 - Hesketh Bank 11-0 Lostock Hall

The lads got off to a fantastic start in the first game of the season winning 11-0. Luke Drummond, Jamie Pratt, James Poulton, Joe Hall and Danny Grimsley all scoring a brace of goals with Ashley Burns also getting on the score sheet.

It was a great start for the team who will be looking to challenge for the title this year in a very competitive league. It was very pleasing how the lads controlled the game from the very first whislte and we all hope that the lads can keep this level of performance up for the rest of the season.

A hard pre-season training so far has paid dividends, well done from the parents to all players involved.

Darren