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WTFL Premier Cup SF at Shipley Town on April 24, 2008

Match Report to follow...

 

PC Sports Cup Final at Thackley FC on April 20, 2008

Having beaten Shipley Town 2-1 at home a couple of weeks earlier Crossflatts F.C. were expecting another tough game.  Over the last couple of seasons the derby games with Shipley with have tended to be decided by the odd goal or two.

We were really fired up for this game after the narrow and gutting defeat to Rawdon the previous week.  Neil Wojtas passed a pre-match fitness test to return alongside captain Joe Lunn in the defence after both missed the Rawdon game through injury.  With Neil Grayston declaring himself fit after playing 90 mins while injured against Rawdon as well we were almost at full strength with only Dave Donaldson (www.chocolate-thigh.com) missing.  Our pedigree in cup finals is second to none with five victories from five cup finals.

Straight from the off we got at Shipley and a silly foul on Damien Lee in the corner when no danger seemed apparent brought the games first free-kick.  “Damo” whipped a cracking ball in to the box where the fox in the box “Jordi” was lurking to despatch a cracking header past the helpless keeper.  To open the scoring after 1 minute is what dreams are made of.  The pressure in the following minutes was relentless, only a brief break by Shipley easing that.  Even that break was stopped by a thunderous challenge by Rocket Ronnie on Rob Bedford.  Our front two of Damien Lee and Michael Garnett were running the Shipley back four ragged.  Another reckless and unneeded challenge on “Garno”(www.tourettessyndrome.com) brought another free-kick 25 yards out after nearly 10 minutes.  “Damo”(www.anothertourettessyndrome.com) stepped up and curled an unstoppable shot into the top left corner giving the keeper no-chance.  It was a great shot and just showed that you don’t need to blast every shot into next year.  “Jordi” has been revelling in his new role down the left and has been taking on his markers for fun recently.  After 20 mins “Jordi” drifted in to the box from the left and was needlessly brought down 4/5 yards inside the box.  Some how the referee (www.areyouhavingalaughman.com) deemed it outside the box and awarded a freekick !!!!  You really never have seen anything like it in your life !!!  To be fair, Shipleys fans and players said it was inside the box after the game but the referee still wouldn’t admit it.  A rush of blood from the Shipley keeper saw him come flying out for a ball he was always struggling to get.  Good pressure from “Garno” meant the ball dropped free to “Damo” who had an open goal apart from two back-tracking defenders.  Unfortunately his attempted 25yrd lob sailed over the bar, an effort “Damo” himself will feel he should have done better with.  Before the 1st half drew to a close “Damo” had 2 more good chances to score which you would have expected at least one of them to have been put away.  Shipley also had a couple of efforts from Olly Metcalfe and Declan Corby, both of which were put over the bar.

The half-time team talk was a happy one due to the exellent performance so far but manager Shane “Kevin Keegan” Whitford warned his troops not to rest on their laurels.  Because we hadn’t finished the game off in the first half the next goal was going to be vital.  The gaffer expected more of the same and with Rocket Ronnie pounding his fists together in the background like tarzen, everyone knew what was expected of them.

Almost immediately the second half started shaping up like the first had finished.  50 minutes had gone when a Crossflatts corner was fizzed in.  Rocket Ron star jumped over the ball, stunning the keeper in the process with his level of athleticism and deflecting the ball into the net.  That was the goal that we were looking for, meaning we could relax a little and carry on playing expansive football.  The goal of the game came after 55 mins from Luke Richardson.  He carried the ball down the left hand side before playing 2 one-two’s to reach the edge of Shipley’s box.  A little bobble meant the ball fell to his right before he then struck it in the bottom left corner, as sweet as you like.  Great goal.  To be fair, Luke (www.loose-strands.com) did well to still have his mind on the game after the half-time revelations that he’s been enquiring about hair implants.  Joking a side he’s been a credit to himself in this second half of the season.  With the score at 4-0 Shane replaced captain Joe Lunn with Lee Bailey (www.whitelinfordchristie.com) who slotted into right back.  Once again, “Baileys” first touch was horrendous but he soon recovered to play a neat one-two with “Jordi” down the right, utilizing his pace before gliding past his marker with ease to swing the ball into the box for Carl Kernic to put away the fifth goal.  Shortly before the end “Garno” cutely played the ball around the goalkeeper to tap in goal number six.

Evaluation

It was a fantastic performance from Flatts’, although admitably Shipley weren’t at their best.  Some great football was played right from the back from start to finish.  The defenders and midfielders didn’t really get a mention in the report but Grayston (www.goingcrazy.com) and Rocket were superb in the middle, nullifying the threat of Metcalfe and Bedford.  Jordi had a field day down the left while Carl Kernic just did the right things all game long.  Bus-Stop had another sweet-sweet game keeping both Declan Corby and Cookey in his pocket all game.  A massive thanks should be said to all of the fans who travelled over as well.  Once again we had a terrific following.

 

WTFL Premier Division match at Yeadon Westfield on April 6, 2008

With 2 of the Premier Divisions tops goal-scorers missing in Michael Garnett and Michael Jordan and English Karate Champion Chris Rigg away in competition, manager Shane Whitford had some changes to make this week.

Dean Wagstaff got his second start on the trot as he works his way back to full fitness, partnering Damien Lee up front. Most teams would be happy to have this pair as their front two week-in week-out, not as a reserve strike force like Flatts.  Carl Kernic was also missing through injury meaning Luke pushing up to left wing to leave a completely different back four again. This would later change again when Neil Wojtas limped out of the game in the first half.

We know that it’s always a hard game when you play Westfield away and that we’d have to battle all the way to the end. As expected it was a scrappy start to the game with both teams failing to keep hold of the football. As the first half wore on we started to edge proceedings. In short 5 minute spells we were trying to get the ball down and play football, but it’s hard to maintain for any sustained amount of time on the small cramped pitches.  After wasting a couple of opportunities Damien Lee put Flatts 1-0 up, rifling in to the bottom corner with a cool finish after a cross from the right hand side. Shortly after, Luke Richardson (www.rankplimsoles.com) who’s never shy of getting forward put us 2-0 with a good run and shot from outside the area.  Just before half-time a mix-up between Ronnie and a Flatts defender ended up with the ball bobbling out to “Chip” who crossed to an unmarked Adolph who spooned his header past the helpless Harrison in the Flatts goal.

Although Westfield had a bit of possession in the first half, they never really looked like penetrating the Flatts defence. A steady Crossflatts performance in the second half would seal another victory. Peter Atkinson who was dropped after blobbing last Sunday replaced Neil Wojtas just before half-time, pushing Lee Bailey (www.notimportantanymore.com) out to the right to utilise his electrifying pace.

The second half started poorly with Flatts giving away too much ball too easily and rarely getting to a loose ball first. We were looking slow and inept. Not long had gone when a cross came in from the right and ended up on Adolphs unmarked head at the back post. He promptly despatched it past Harrison, who was still looking nice in pink, with another finish that looked like it had bounced off him. Shortly after the big number 8 for Westfield hit a rasping drive which was turned wide by Harrison. By this stage Crossflatts had reduced themselves to embarrassment by continuing to argue amongst themselves and the referee. The problem is that when you have 5 or 6 lads in the team who think they are better than what they are, that then qualifies them to be able to say whatever they want, whenever they want to whoever they want. It also then provides them with the protection that nobody is allowed to say anything uncomplimentary back to them either. Flatts weren’t playing well so Shane brought Neil Grayston on who was returning from injury for Craig Morris on the right. Flatts were starting to get some territorial advantage when Damien Lee forced a good save from the Westfield keeper with a well struck shot.  The keeper then saved well again when Luke Richardson was put through on goal.  Craig Donaldson who’d just come on for Waggy then fired in a tame effort on goal that was easily saved. Pressure was starting tell when Bus-Stop fired in sweet-sweet effort with his left foot in the top corner. It was a great finish from the ginger beer-breathed man-mountain. Almost immediately though, a seemingly harmless ball from a Westfield midfielder rolled under Joe Lunn’s foot to leave Adolph though on goal. He scuffed his shot past Spen to make it 3-3.  Fair play to Adolph, 3 pretty lucky finishes but he was in the right places at the right times. Almost straight from kick-off Neil Grayston was shot by a sniper and plunged to the floor. It turned out that he hadn’t been shot but had suffered a reoccurrence of the knee injury that has kept him sidelined since the semi-final victory over Fairweather. With all three subs used we had to play the last 15-20 mins with 10 men.  News had filtered through of Rawdon’s draw with Shipley, meaning a draw today would be o.k. Craig Donaldson could have sealed it after Bailey nipped in front of his man and nicked the ball, only for Donaldson to hit it straight at the keeper from 12 yards out. The game looked like it was heading for a draw when 5 minutes from the end, Luke Richardson fired a great ball in from the left to find the diving head of the resident senior citizen Ronnie Cartwright who duly despatched it in to the top corner, leading to ecstatic celebrations.

Evaluation

A poor second half performance could have cost us greatly today. Luckily we had the grit after going down to 10 men to pull a victory out of the bag. Once again there was far too much bickering and arguing that must be stopped for next weeks crunch title decider with Rawdon. There were also too many second balls not won by Flatts today. Fair play to Yeadon Westfield who put up a good fight all game. They never stopped working and could have got something out of the game on another day.

 

WTFL Premier Division match at home on March 30, 2008

Match Report to follow...

 

WTFL Premier Division match at home on March 23, 2008

Flatts v's Shipley is always a fiercely competitive local derby. At 8am on matchday the overnight blanket of snowfall was looking like it had put paid to any chance of the game being played. There was a 50/50 chance of the game getting started but we needed a definite decision by 8.30am as manager Shane Whitford was getting ready to prepare the post match meal of Corned Beef Hash (e-mail admin@crossflattsfc.co.uk for the menu). Shane took the risk of starting his eagerly anticipated cuisine meaning Lee, Joe and Bus-Stop had the task of clearing the lines using a brush and shovels. Ronnie also tipped up to add some artistic finishing touches. Due to the hard work of the ground staff, referee Ian Metcalf gave the game the go-ahead.

Flatts came out of the traps well and put Shipley under some immediate pressure. A great through ball from Michael Garnett put Michael Jordan through on goal only for the striker to be hauled down inside the penalty area. Somehow the referee turned down the penalty appeals which might have been irrelevant had Jordy not taken so long to get his shot in. Ten minutes after that, Carl Kernic latched on to another good through ball only to see his shot fly agonisingly wide of the post.  Flatts kept the pressure on and had several more attempts at goal but failed to hit the target with any. Despite dominating the opening 25 minutes the score remained 0-0 and signs of frustration was creeping into Flatts’ game. Constant bickering between themselves and at the referee weren’t helping and Shipley started to come back into the game. Ronnie Cartwright and Robert Bedford were having their usual ding-dong with each other, much to everybody elses amusement.  Ronnie was having a great game in the middle with Bedford seeming quite content in taking a piggy back off the mercurial ginger maestro for most of the first half.  Shipley’s pressure was starting to tell when Declan Corby forced a great save from Spencer Harrison with a dipping drive after rounding two Flatts’s players.  Moments later a corner was only cleared to the edge of the area and Olly Metcalfe fired a low shot back in through the cluster of players that forced Spen in to another good save.  Shipley were gaining more momentum when Shaun Coe found himself one-on-one with Spen. The keeper spread himself well to save with his right leg, obviously looking to impress in his new pink kit (www.gaykeeperkits.co.uk).  Just before the half-time whistle, a great cross from Garno found Damien Lee at the back post whose headed was well saved by the Shipley keeper. That attempt was Crossflatts first on target in the opening 45 mins, which is not acceptable.

Strong words were voiced at half-time by Shane, Ronnie and Joe in an attempt to produce a better quality of football and raise the tempo in the second half. Shane brought Waggy on for the ineffective Craig Morris to try and brighten things up. Flatts’ started well and the ball retention was better than in the first half.  We nearly went into the lead early on when Neil Wojtas sent in a cross from the right that sailed over the keepers head only for Garno to handle the ball on the line when a goal was looming. Although chances weren’t coming as readily as in the first half we soon went 1-0 up thanks to a penalty from captain Joe Lunn. For some reason Shipley’s right back pulled Rocket Ronnie down in the box when under no apparent pressure. Joe calmly stroked it down the middle of the goal when the keeper went to his right.  It wasn’t long before Shipley equalised though through Mathew Cooke. A headed clearance from Joe was returned straight back over the top to Declan Corby who raced through to knock the ball past the oncoming keeper.  With the ball not looking like it was going to have the legs to go in, Cookie stroked the ball home from an off-side position that wasn't spotted by the referee.  More or less straight away we went back in front 2-1 through a scrambled goal from the Rocket Man who keeps popping up with vital goals for the club. Within 5 minutes of going 2-1 up, Damien Lee was sent-off for dissent to the referee to complete a hectic first 20 minutes of the second half.  A tactical substitution was forced and Jordy was replaced by Lee Bailey. Within 5 minutes of coming Bailey almost put the game out of sight after a deft turn and swivel, defying his body weight, to get a shot in on goal only to see it cleared off the line by a Shipley defender. Despite playing for the last 20 minutes with 10 men, a superb team performance ensured Shipley didn’t have another attempt on goal, much to the annoyance of the ever vocal legend Roy Hammond (www.idioticomments.com). 

Evaluation

For the neutral it must have been a great game to watch. If we’d been more clinical in the first 25 minutes, the game would have been out of sight. Fair play to Shipley, they made a good game of it as they always do. Ronnie and Joe were brilliant today as was Spen in goal with some vital saves. It was also 4 games on the trot for Luke Richardson (www.ilovemyselfandmycardy.com) who continued his excellent form and is settling in nicely. The Crossflatts Spirit shone through today and the pressure is now on Rawdon.

 

WTFL Premier Division match at home on March 16, 2008

Match Report to follow...

 

PC Sports League Cup Semi-Final on March 2, 2008

Match Report to follow...

 

WTFL Premier Division match at Rawdon on February 10, 2008

Match Report to follow...

 

WTFL Premier Division match at home on January 27, 2008

Match Report to follow...