AFC Blackpool v Kirkham Juniors
Our second fixture of the week saw us host to the mighty Kirkham. We all knew how good our opposition was today but we felt confident in ourselves to pull off a repeat shock result from two seasons ago when we stopped Kirkham's unbeaten run in the league. The game started and the battle was under way. Both teams were going at it very strongly and it was hard to tell which team had the edge as it was end to end stuff. The longer the game went on the more confident I felt we could thwart a good Kirkham team and I felt we could get something if we finished the half at 0-0. Ellis was having the time of his life in goal for us today, stopping everything Kirkham had in their arsenal but after all his hard work Kirkham finally managed to score against him as they were awarded a questionable penalty, and we ended the half 0-1 down. We were gutted to say the least but we still felt we could get something from this game.
The second half started and again it was end to end stuff but 10 mins in Kirkham created a super counter attack and scored once again 0-2. The next ten minutes saw our heads go completely down and the boys looked like they just wanted the game to end. Then something magical happened? We won the ball in midfield and sent a high ball out to the left wing to the advancing Kevin. He watched the ball come over his shoulder and for the very first time decided to use his left foot and volley the ball towards goal. The ball looped over the Kirkham defence and keeper straight into the far right top corner GOAL!! That goal instilled some new confidence into our play and for the final ten minutes we created some excellent chances. The clock ran down and we lost the game, but we came off slightly happy in how we took the game to Kirkham today. Maybe if that penalty had never been awarded it could have been a total different story. Man of the match went to Ellis who was awesome in goal today, not bad for a right back defender, well done mate you were great..
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AFC Blackpool v Lytham Juniors Today we hosted an evening game to Lytham Juniors. The wind had really picked up during the day and was threatening to spoil this fixture but we decide to go ahead with the game. We started the first half with the wind in our favour and from the off we dominated the game. Our passing and movement was great as the boys done a sterling job controlling the ball in such windy conditions. The only problem was the fact we couldn't put the ball in the back of the net. Our build up play was superb but every time the boys took a shot they forgot to lift their heads and our chances were being easily stopped by Lytham's goalkeeper. 20 minutes in and we should be at least five nil up as we kept bombarding Lytham with them only getting out of their half 3 times. Half time was fast approaching and James finally opened our scoring account with a superb goal and we finished the half a little disappointed we hadn't scored more.
We started the second half with the wind against us which saw Lytham enter our half a lot more now. We had to really pull together as Lytham's confidence grew stronger with the wind and they created a good counter attack which saw a ball crossed in from the left wing and their striker got the smallest of touches on it to score the equaliser. We upped our game after that goal and the midfield started to really impress us with they way they kept the ball down and passed to feet. Our defence stayed strong and caught Lytham offside quite a number of times as they tried to use the wind to their advantage by playing long ball tactics. We kept creating some good chances with us starting to lift our heads before we took a shot and Liam came close by twice hitting the post. The game ended and we came off gutted that we never killed the game off in the first half and only received a point from this game after all our hard work. But that's football for you and we can take a lot of good points into our next fixture. Man of the match goes to Sean for really getting stuck in today and worked his socks off, well done mate..
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AFC Blackpool v Poulton Youth
Today saw the opening day of our new season, not only was today our first game playing 11 a side football, but also our first game playing in the top division after successfully being promoted as champions last season. We were hosts to Poulton Youth and you could feel the excitement and positive energy from our boys as they geared themselves up ready for Ko.
The match started and our boys went straight in for the kill. We passed the ball with ease and looked dominant from the start. The boys looked like they had been playing this level of football for years as Poulton never really managed to get out of their own half. Then the first goal came after a lovely move in midfield from Liam and Lewis to force a corner. James whipped the ball in and as the ball was deflected away by a Poulton defender, Kevin was in the right place to smash it home, GOAL!!
You could sense the boys were really up for it now as we dominated the ball and attacked the Poulton Goalkeeper with shot after shot. Somehow the Poulton Keeper was pulling off some superb saves to stop his side suffering a stack of goals and it looked like he had done enough to keep his side in this game until Tom battled for the ball and sent Kevin a pin point pass to put him one on one with the keeper. You always know there's only one winner when that happens GOAL!!! Half Time 2-0.
The second half started and again we looked dominant but this time Poulton upped their game a little. The wind picked up and they started to use that to force us into our own half. The more they pushed up the pitch the more confident they became as they began to test our Ben who has been asked to come out of defence and step into goal as we look for a new goalkeeper. Ben was doing a fantastic job until a shot took a funny bounce in front of him and somehow ended up in the back of the net. Our boys continued to look dominant from the re start but again to their credit Poulton gained in confidence every time their keeper made a save or our efforts missed the target. They forced a good counter attack down the left wing and whipped the ball into the box only for their player to get a nick on it to end up in our net 2-2. It just didn't seem right that after two attempts on goal and a missed penalty that Poulton were level with us. The game eventually came to a close with the teams sharing the points, and you would've thought Poulton had won the cup as they looked Celebrated at pulling off a shock draw. Their assistant manager even said he thought they were going to lose at least ten - nil today.
Well even though it was disappointing to gift Poulton with a point today I think a huge round of applause and a massive pat on the back has to go to their keeper as without him the game would definitely have been a done deal. Man of the match goes to Lewis who covered every inch of the pitch today to make some superb tackles and excellent passes, well done mate.
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YMCA v AFC Blackpool
Today we travelled to YMCA today hoping to get something from this fixture being the underdogs. The weather was awful with a strong cross wind and blustery showers, but I suppose you come to expect that playing this time of year at Sea field Rd. And so the game started and it looked like we had picked up where we left last week. We were all over them and clearly they looked shocked at what we had brought to the table. We were playing some superb football with the defence clearing their lines well and doing a fantastic job of catching YMCA offside on a number of occasions. The midfield were somehow passing the ball around with ease in such a strong wind, and the strikers were battling hard upfront especially Tom who was taking a battering from their defence every time he got the ball. The Ref eventually gave Tom a deserved free kick from 20 yards out which James stepped up to take. I felt it in my blood that he could overcome the distance and wind with his right foot, and boy did he let rip! He composed himself, picked his spot, and smashed the ball with such power to end up in the far left bottom corner GOAL!! The game continued going back and forth and although Ben is not a goalkeeper he was doing a fantastic job at keeping us ahead. That changed as we know YMCA are a good team and they played some good football to squeeze through our defence to coolly slot the ball home. We lost concentration for a moment and again they scored to end the half in their favour 2-1.We had a good chat at half time about how good we actually looked against a YMCA team that has been a force to be reckoned with for the last two years in this division, and that if we kept playing this good we may well just get something from this game. We had to make a change though with Tom going in goal for the injured Ben (Hamstring). The second half started and again the game went back and forth. Their captain and central defender was doing a superb job at stopping our attacks as did their keeper pulling off some great saves. YMCA got an early third goal and even though the game looked out of our grasp now, the boys kept their heads up and continued to battle for everything. YMCA got a fourth goal to kill the game off for us but Vinny was extremely unlucky not to get at least one goal back for us as he moved up to striker for the injured Kevin coming off. Vinny certainly put the frighteners into them as battled his way through their defence on a number of occasions, but just couldn't get that final shot in the back of the net.
The game ended with a score line that didn't truly reflect on how we performed today, and even their manager text me after the game congratulating me on our performance and that the score line was not a true reflection on how we played. Disappointing to say the least but plenty of positives to take into our next game. Man of the match went to Ethan who played a great first half after being off such a long time due to injury, well done mate.
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