Garswood travelled to the lion’s den (well it is close to Knowsley Safari Park) for their Sunday afternoon kick off against 4th in the table Westgarth. The visitors knew that they were in for a tough match as Westgarth had produced a battling display during the reverse fixture earlier in the season. The hosts needed a win to give themselves a chance of promotion whilst Garswood needed to avoid defeat to go through the season unbeaten so the stakes were high for both teams.
After a bright opening the visitors forced a corner down the right flank and when James Haswell clipped the ball towards the penalty spot Captain Nathan Moore chested the ball down and swivelled to hit a first time volley into the roof of the net from 10 yards out. Less than 60 seconds later the hosts were back on level terms as some hesitant defending saw the ball fall to Westgarth’s centre forward who drilled home from 10 yards out. Five minutes later Garswood regained the lead when Cameron Davies raced onto a through ball and despite his first effort being parried by the keeper, he followed up to smash home the rebound. Again the visitors could not batten down the hatches after scoring as Westgarth went straight up the other end and equalised less than 60 seconds later. Although the entertainment being served up on the pitch was fantastic, the blood pressure of both coaches and managers was rising faster than Everton’s goal tally at Old Trafford.
The visitors started to find their passing rhythm and five minutes before half time James Haswell charged down an attempted clearance and raced through on goal to calmly stroke the ball beyond the keepers despairing dive. Garswood increased their lead just before half time after Nathan Moore went on a mazy run down the left channel beating three players before cutting in and shooting goal wards; the home keeper made another great stop but Ryan Eden was on hand to slot home from 6 yards out to send Garswood into the break with a 4-2 lead.
The visitors introduced Cameron Ashurst and Josh Aspey for the second half and both slotted into the back four immediately. Five minutes in the visitors produced a fine passing move as Mattias Lokuta played a fine ball into James Haswell on the overlap and he sprinted beyond the full back and played the ball across the box for Cameron Davies to prod home from six inches out. The visitors introduced Josh Aubrey Williams and Matty Marsh in an attempt to freshen things up but Westgarth continued to pour forward and were rewarded for their efforts with a well taken finish to make it 3-5. Tackles were flying in from both sides and the visitors tempo was affected and within the space of five minutes the hosts were level as two almost identical goals were scored from inside the box as the visitors struggled to clear their lines. With a couple of minutes left Westgarth had a man sent off, and Garswood seized the initiative as a counter attack saw Josh Albury Williams score what was to be the winner as he drove the ball across the keeper into the bottom left hand corner.
Credit to both teams for the way that neither refused to let their heads go down and for a game of football that had everything really, it had to be seen to be believed!
Team – C McCall, O Roberts, C Guerin, B Wilson, L Dixon, N Moore (capt), M Lokuta, J Haswell, L Hilton, R Eden, C Davies- Subs – J A Williams, M Marsh, J Aspey, C Ashurst
Scorers – C Davies (2), N Moore, J Haswell, R Eden, J A Williams
Man of the Match – Mattias Lokuta – won tackles and headers all day long against much bigger opposition; inspires other lads around him with his work rate and determination.
Garswood travelled to the lion’s den (well it is close to Knowsley Safari Park) for their Sunday afternoon kick off against 4th in the table Westgarth. Read More »
