Garswood started the match playing against the wind, and re-shuffled the pack to start with a five man midfield, looking to keep things tight and hit the hosts on the counter attack. Ten minutes in Cameron Davies held the ball up well in the centre circle before playing in Ryan Eden who had made a fine overlapping run down the right wing.

Ryan collected the ball at pace before beating two defenders and firing in a low cross from the touch line that the hosts centre half could only deflect into his own net. Both sides continued to attack in an entertaining match, but half time soon arrived with the visitors 1-0 up.

Garswood made 3 changes at the break, and reverted to two up front, as they now had the initiative with the winds at their backs. They only had to wait ten minutes into the 2nd half before they extended their lead as Mattias Lokuta thumped the post from a tight angle before the ball ended up at Cameron Davies feet and the striker slotted home with great confidence from 10 yards out.

Five minutes later, Cameron McCall launched a long kick up field which cleared Appleton’s back line and found Cameron Davies who steadied himself before slotting the ball underneath the keepers despairing dive. Appleton kept pressing forward with some menace and only some solid defending and excellent saves from the Cat kept the hosts at bay.

Garswood then wrapped up the win after some excellent play from Liam Hilton in the middle of the park; he held the ball up superbly and played in Cameron Davies who chipped the keeper from 20 yards to complete a fabulous hat trick. The lads deserve a massive pat on the back, as Appleton is never an easy place to come and win; every member of the squad dug in and played their part in a great win.

Team: C McCall, M Marsh, L Dixon, C Guerin, B Wilson, M Lokuta, R Eden, J Haswell, N Moore, J A Williams, C Davies. Subs: O Roberts, L Hilton, J Aspey
Scorer’s – C Davies (3), Own Goal

Man of the Match: Cameron “the Cat” McCall –The Cat made a couple of fantastic stops and was as brave as a lion when throwing himself in front of the Appleton centre forward near the end of the match; improving week in week out.

The home side started slowly on a difficult playing service, but midway through the 1st half Mattias Lokuta scored with a screamer from the corner of the box that whistled into the top corner giving the keeper no chance. Garswood increased the tempo and were unlucky not to increase their lead after a scramble when the ball was poked goalwards and looked a yard over the line, but the referee waved play on after a clearance from a retreating Newton defender.

Chances in the second half were few and far between for both sides but massive credit must go out to Newton who battled until the final whistle with only 10 players, and Garswood had to battle for every ball to ensure they finished with the three points in the bag.

Team – C McCall, O Roberts, B Wilson, C Guerin, C Ashurst, L Dixon, N Moore (capt), M Lokuta, J Haswell, L Hilton, C Davies – Subs – J Aspey, M Marsh, J A Williams,
Scorer – M Lokuta
Man of the Match – B Wilson – Dominant display in a physical encounter from a player who is improving week in, week out.

The home side started with a quick tempo and took the the lead ten minutes in, but Garswood battled back bravely in tough conditions with a thunderbolt of a strike from James Haswell midway through the first half. Just before the break a goal mouth scramble led to the hosts increasing their lead, and in added on time the referee raised eyebrow’s on the vsitors line as he awarded a dubious penalty to give the home side a 3-1 advantage.

Garswood made a number of changes in the second half and kept battling away but ten minutes in Cameron McCall was beaten from 20 yards after a low shot took a vicious bounce. Three late scrappy goals gave the hosts a deserved win but the margin of defeat was tough on the visitors; good luck to Warrington in the cup, they are a really good team and played some great stuff at times.

Team – C McCall, L Dixon, O Roberts, C Guerin, B Wilson, M Lokuta, N Moore (capt), J Haswell, R Eden, L Hilton, C Davies – Subs – M Marsh, J Aspey, B Berry, C Ashurst, J A Williams
Scorers – J Haswell
Man of the Match – N Moore – Real captains display, lead the team by example and never let his head go down.

Ten minutes in, Nathan Moore set off on one of his trademark runs and beat three men before firing low with his right foot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box, and all seemed to be going to plan. Eagle however increased their tempo and made a number of sorties down their right hand side, Cameron McCall having to produce a couple of great saves to prevent the equaliser. On the counter attack, Liam Hilton then scored with a well taken finish against the run of play to send the hosts into the interval 2-0 up.

Garswood made a number of changes at half time and Ryan Eden scored with a fine finish a couple of minutes in as Garswood extended their lead, however Eagle were still in the match, and with the wind in their favour it took some stout defending from the hosts to keep the visitors at bay. Ten minutes into the 2nd half Nathan Moore slid a delightfull ball through for James Haswell to apply a fine first time finish past the keeper. Again Eagle came back, and got the goal that their display deserved 10 minutes before the end, but there was still time for Garswood to wrap up the win after a fine passing move from right to left saw Cameron Davies slot home with a cool finish. Massive credit must go out to both sets of players as the conditions made this a really tough match to play in.

Team – C McCall, B Berry, B Wilson, C Guerin, C Ashurst, J Aspey, N Moore (capt), M Marsh, R Eden, L Hilton, C Davies – Subs – O Roberts, M Lokuta, J Haswell, L Dixon
Scorers – N Moore, L Hilton, R Eden, J Haswell, C Davies
Man of the Match – B Wilson – Confident display at the back in conditions that made the game tricky for a centre half.

P.S. Thanks to all of the kids and parents who turned up on Friday night for their “dads v lads” game. We wont disclose the result on the world wide web but there was a few of the oldies limping today? It was a great game and we helped to raise a pot of money for worthy causes so thanks again for your valued support.

On a sadder note RIP Gary Speed; a true gentleman and great player and manager who will be sorely missed by all football fans.

The second half saw the away side looking to gain the initiative, and it wasn’t long before James Haswell beat the offside trap and was brought down by the keeper as he was about to stear the ball into an empty net. James saw his penalty well saved by the keeper but followed up and made no mistake with the rebound. Cameron Davies then chased a fantastic through ball from Nathan Moore and somehow managed to toe poke the ball past the opposition keeper to make it 3-1 to the visitors. To be fair to Parkdale Sidac they came back strongly and reduced the deficit 5 minutes from time, but Garswood held on (despite some nervous glances at the watches) to claim an important 3 points against a strong and determined home team.

Team – C McCall, B Wilson, C Guerin, J Aspey, M Marsh, M Lokuta, N Moore (capt), J Haswell, R Eden, C Ashurst, C Davies – Subs – O Roberts, L Hilton, L Dixon, J A Williams, B Berry
Scorers – R Eden, J Haswell, C Davies.
Man of the Match – C Ashurst – Excellent display on the right hand side of midfield and improving every week.

p.s. a goal was awarded to Connor Guerin a few weeks ago which was actually scored by Matias Lokuta, sorry Matias and family, the goal scoring charts have been amended and Connor why did you run off with your hand in the air, I’m sure you got a free hot chocolate after the game (only joking)??

The pitch was in superb condition and despite the time of year, the weather was more accustomed to a cup final day out at Wembley. The opening exchanges were cagey with both teams trying to establish a fluidity in their game, and chances were limited until just before half-time when Cameron Davies burst through the home defence before being clipped, and the refereee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Cameron picked himself up and dispatched the penalty with some style, firing into the keepers top right hand corner.

The second half saw the away side looking to add to their advantage, and James Haswell took off on one of his trademark runs down the left hand side, bamboozling three defenders before cutting inside and drilling a low shot underneath the keeper to make it 2-0 to the visitors. Penlake had brought a couple of decent subs on at half-time, and they were back in the game minutes later with a well taken finish. Penlake started to find gaps between Garswood’s back four and their midfield and Matias Lokuta was deployed in a deeper role to combat the threat, and cut off the supply lines. Garswood slowly started to take the initiative and with 10 minutes left Nathan Moore hit another screamer from 20 yards out to give the opposing keeper no chance at all. Despite a couple of late scares Garswood closed the game out and continued their unbeaten start to the season.

Team – C McCall, L Dixon, O Roberts, C Guerin, B Berry, M Lokuta, N Moore (capt), J Haswell, R Eden, L Hilton, C Davies – Subs – M Marsh, J Aspey, C Ashurst, B Wilson
Scorers – C Davies, J Haswell, N Moore.
Man of the Match – C Guerin – Tower of strength at the back with a determined and confident display.

Seneley & Garswood U17 Div 3 squad opened up the season with a fine 3-1 away win at Monks Fc on Sunday 11/9/11.
Following the minutes silence, S & G began slowly, struggling to hold possession and create any sort of momentum. This should not really have been a surprise to anyone, bearing in mind that 6 players were making their competitive debut’s for the team.
Once the lads settled, controlled their aggression and got hold of the football, the team produced some fine passing and opened up the Monks defence to create some good scoring chances.
The first goal came as the Monk’s keeper parried a difficult shot, and Kyran Mitchell tapped home the loose ball from close range.
With Paul Bathurst and Sam Jackson controlling play from the middle of the park, and good marauding runs from Nathan Roby and Ross Matthews, S & G pressed for a second before the break. The best opportunity falling to Matthews, who side-footed a great shot inches wide of the left-hand upright. The second goal proved elusive though, and the teams left the field with the score at 1-0 to Seneley and Garswood.

Monks began the second half in a much more determined mood, and pushed S & G back deep into their own half, creating a good deal of pressure and scoring chances. S & G were indebted to new keeper Ste Preston, who produced a couple of top drawer saves in this period.
The best move of the match saw the ball passed from back to front through five S & G players, with the final ball from Ross Matthews, playing in Nathan Roby, who calmly slotted the ball into the bottom right hand corner. A top quality goal, enjoyed by both sets of supporters.
The 2 goal margin though, did not last long, as Monks quickly responded, scoring inside 3 minutes due to some slack marking and a fine piece of opportunism by their centre midfielder. S & G substitutes Luke Broxton/Sam Gribbon and Adam Dickinson,(a welcome return from a 7 month injury lay-off) provided a fresh impetus from the bench, and the team quickly recovered from the setback.
The game seemed to open up in the final quarter as the two teams started to tire. S & G took a stranglehold on the match with Nathan Roby’s fine drive in to the top right hand corner of the net, on 70 minutes. From then on, S & G pressed and pressed, looking for more goals. Ross Matthews striking the top of the bar, Nathan Roby missing from close range as his hat-trick beckoned were the pick of these.

At the final whistle, player of the match awards were given to keeper Ste Preston and midfielder Paul Bathurst, for excellent all-round displays. Nathan Roby’s all round striking display on debut, well worth a mention.
From 1-14 the whole squad contributed to a fine, encouraging start to the season. The work-rate/commitment and quality football played was a joy to watch and was much appreciated by the touchlines.

Many thanks to Andy Riley and his Monks FC squad for their warm welcome and good sportsmanship on the day, always a pleasure to play these lads, never a chore.

Yours in sport
Gary Walsh Coach – U17 Division 1

Seneley & Garswood U17 Div 1 squad, recorded a fantastic 5-1 victory over Matthiola at Birch Grove on Sunday 31/10/11.

Just 4 weeks ago Matthiola defeated this same group of players 5-1 at Fiddlers Ferry. To turn that result completely around is an outstanding achievement.

S & G started like a house on fire – Andy Cahill’s vicious drive spilled by the keeper after just 50 seconds of play, and Kyran Mitchell heading home to give us an early lead.
The team were visibly lifted by this great start and set about pressurising Matthiola at every opportunity in all areas of the field.

On 8 minutes, a mazy run by Cahill took him to the edge of the penalty area, where he was up-ended by the Matthiola centre-half, penalty, no doubts!. Andy picking himself up to calmly send the keeper the wrong way. 2-0 Garswood after just 9 minutes play.

The first half followed much the same pattern of play, great pressure on the ball from front to back by S & G, really preventing Matthiola from getting into the match. Keeper Steve Preston with hardly a save of note to make. S & G created and spurned a couple of good chances, the best a looping, dipping drive from Adam Dickinson tipped onto the underside of the crossbar, just before the break.

Half-time Seneley & Garswood – 2 Matthiola – 0.

The expected surge of pressure from Matthiola never materialized in the second half. Indeed, S & G dominated their opponents to such an extent, that the only surprise was that it took so long for the lead to be extended. Again chances came and went begging, Danny Roberts with the best of them, striking the right hand upright from 12 yards on 55 minutes.

On 62 minutes a great through ball released Kyran Mitchell down the left hand channel. He took the ball on into the box and placed his shot beautifully into the bottom right hand corner of the net.

Within seconds though, a needless free kick was launched into the box and Matthiola scored to reduce the deficit back to 2 goals.

This just seemed to spur the boys on to even greater efforts. With confidence still sky-high S & G really cut loose and produced a fantastic last 30 minutes to the match. Passing was slick and fast – and, totally in control, S & G went on to dominate the remainder of the game.

A brilliant ball from Cahill sent Mitchell racing through once again, and he confidently placed the ball wide of the keeper to seal his hat-trick and kill the game off. One of the goals of the season this one – from full-back – to centre mid – to striker – length of the field – 3 passes – 1 shot – Goal! Unstoppable and brilliant.

With 10 minutes remaining, a carbon copy move of the 3rd goal, sent sub Ross Matthews racing through on goal to plant a precision shot across the keeper into the bottom right hand corner.

A magnificent performance from all players involved – Player of the Match awarded to each and every one.
From the coach’s point of view, the finest performance by this squad for many years, thoroughly enjoyed by an appreciative and vociferous support. Many thanks to all who played/watched.

Yours in sport
Gary Walsh Coach – U17 Division 1