Thorner 2 - 2 Bardsey 23/8/09
Bardsey travelled to Thorner on Sunday for the first match of the season and came away with a creditable 2-2 draw. With several players missing due to work commitments it was a very young team which took to the field. After early Thorner pressure Chris Franklin broke away from the Thorner defenders to strike a superb goal from 25 yards leaving the Thorner goalkeeper clutching at thin air. A scrappy goal at the other end gave Thorner a leveller before half-time which they didn't really deserve.
At the start of the second half Bardsey pushed forward and eventually scored again through Chris Franklin and was no more than the team deserved. Akthough Thorner had a lot of posession they tended to rely on the long ball. The sterling defensive work of the three 'senior 'members of the side Gary Hopton,Mick Mills and Johnathan Ripton,gave the Bardsey goalkeeper Colm Cullen a very quiet debut and it was with some suprise thet Thorner managed to equalise with ten minutes remaining. Bardsey pushed forward and could have scored again but the Thorner keeper pulled off a superb save from Ripton whose long range shot was pushed over the bar.
Overall it was a very satisfactory performace from what is, a very young team which includes 9 of the squad on Sunday having an average age of just 17. Special mentions must go to Colm Cullen,Chris Franklin,Adam Dalby and the M.O.M Matt Riley who gave nothing away at right-back. Tom Franklin and Adam Dalby made their senior debuts for the club at just 16 years old and look good prospects for the future. We will have harder games to come but we've started well and will be looking to build on this performance.
M.O.M Matthew Riley
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Bardsey (Sunday) FC - Match report Archive
Scholes 2 v 1 Bardsey 26/8/09
After the fine point gained at Thorner on Sunday Bardsey travelled to Scholes on Wednesday hoping to achieve their first win of the season. Unfortunately with players being unavailable through work ,delays and other commitments we were only able to field 11 players. However the players who did play acquitted themselves superbly against a much physically larger and more experienced side and could have come away with more to show from what was a very spirited performance.
Scholes started brightly and could have scored almost from the kick off as the Bardsey defence tried to organise .After ten minutes they had the ball in our net when the left winger ran onto a good through ball inside our full back and left Cullen with no chance. The game went from end to end without any serious threat to the Bardsey goal after Riley got the measure of his opponent. Hopton and Rawnsley, who was making his debut for the club, were rock solid in defence and Deacy at left back never really looked troubled,but then again he rarely does!
After half time Bardsey looked the more likely to score but a series of failed clearances gave the opposition centre forward the opportunity to score and make it 2-0.
Many young teams would have buckled at this point but Bardsey continued to attack and a great interplay in midfield and a pass by Franklin (Chris) inside the full back left Goldie clear and he made no mistake slotting it low to the goalkeepers right. A few 'agricultural' challenges on Goldie and Franklin (Tom) ended with the opposition center forward leaving the field for treatment after tangling with Dalby. A superb stop from Cullen kept us in the game and a curving shot from Goldie went narrowly wide at the other end but for all the pressure we exerted we just couldn't find the goal that was needed and the final whistle came too soon. Dalby Ripton Clayton and Tom Franklin put in their normal hardworking stint and competed on physical terms and more than competed technically. Any good football in the match was played by Bardsey. The opposition management players and the referee were very complimentary about our style of play and if we continue to play in this spirit the first win is only a matter of time.
M.O.M Oliver Rawnsley
Bardsey 0 v 3 Leeds City 26-9-09
A much improved performance against a bigger and more experienced side was the best aspect of what was ultimately a dissapointing result.
Three goals conceded does not really tell the story as Bardsey were in this match right up to the end,and but for the width of the crossbar and post the game could have gone to extra time.
The defence could do nothing about the first goal and the player scoring it will probably never do it again combined with one or two slightly bizarre refereeing decisions left both sides scratching their heads on more than one occasion.
The second goal was a result of a mix-up and was really the only mistake in a much improved defence.
At two down new signing MORRISROE made his entrance and played very confidently on his debut in open age football. HARDWICK dropped back into midfield and immediately took control and suddenly Bardsey started to come alive. A tremendous ball over the back four was latched onto by GOLDIE and his shot crashed against the cross-bar and post before the defence scrambled it to safety. With Bardsey pushing forward it was inevitable that we would leave gaps at the back and Leeds scored with a breakaway goal just before the final whistle to make the game safe.
Special mentions must go to CLAYTON who worked tireslessly at left back and STANSFIELD who put in a great shift up front,but man of the match by a long way was HARDWICK for his amount of work and leadership.
M.O.T.M HARDWICK
BARDSEY 5 v 3 THE SHIP 4/10/09
After previous weeks when we had shown plenty of attitude and spirit and not got any reward,it was hard to approach this game in a confident frame of mind.
However with The Ships forward line in a generous mood and the combination of STANSFIELD and GOLDIE restored to the attack we looked very capable of scoring goals and during a frenetic first half we scored FOUR with GOLDIE scoring a first half hat trick and Tom LARNER contributing a fourth to send us in at half time with a 4-0 lead. The management, unused to this luxury found it hard to take in and it was perhaps inevitable that The Ship would not take it lying down. We became slightly complacent and as one or two of Bardseys mid-field players tired The Ship came more into the game and a combination of slack defending ( two deflected goals and a penalty) started to ring alarm bells. It would have been a cruel twist of fate to have played so well and not won but the victory was assured when GOLDIE latched onto a long ball,outpaced the defence and slammed in a great strike past the opposition keeper who has previously been slagging the ball-boy.
It was his fourth and Bardseys fifth goal and finally sealed the match. After a few handbags at dawn Milf Gaddas finally brought the proceedings to and end and resulted in the management undertaking a lager frenzy.
It was difficult to pick a man of the match as everyone had played hard and contributed to a great team performance.
If we show this attitude every week we will start to pick up more points in the coming weeks.Special mention must go to Curt LARNER who but for two cruel deflections handled everything that was thrown at him.
Team Larner(C),Bulley,Rawnsley,Dalby,Clayton,Franklin(T),Deacey,Snook,Franklin(C)Goldie,Stansfield,Larner(T)