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Peter Brown Craven Minor League
Match Reports Week Ending February 18
Under 8 Friendly
Southport 2 Burscough 1
With both teams
having no game in there respective leagues, it was a good
opportunity for a friendly. On a great Sunday morning for football
the Juniors were up for it. They fought hard for every ball and took
the lead on 10mins with Matt Howard doing some good work down the
right and putting in a good cross for Jack Hart to finish.
Burscough came out
for the 2nd half up for it more than the Juniors. Following some
pressure Burscough equlised with some very good passing and a good
finish. The Juniors came more into it as the game went on,
with both teams having chances and Luke Dempster making 2 great
saves. Then came the winner with a lovely finish from Lewis Harwood,
after a lot of hard work and another fine perfomance by captain Andy
Thorpe the Juniors had a much deserved 2-1 win.
Under 10
Town Green A 4 Rainford 0
Town Green started this game in fine form and quickly took the lead
from a throw-in by Jack McGregor from the left into the penalty area
which was played into Connor Tierney's path to score the first goal.
Rangers hit back with a couple of shots which kept Anthony Caunce
busy in the Town Green goal. Shortly after this, Town Green
scored again from some great 1 touch passing which ended with Nathan
Peet finding the net superbly with a 1st time shot. Town Green made
it 3 with a fine header from Nathan Peet direct from a corner kick.
Despite some heroic goal keeping and defending by Rainford, Town
Green made it 4-0 from a powerful shot from Kieron Turner which
rebounded off the bar for Connor Tierney to tap in.
George Newell was
pivotal in many of Town Green's moves and 2nd half substitute,
Jonathan Campbell, made some good runs down the left hand side and
was unlucky not to find himself on the scoresheet. This was a
great team performance by Town Green with some top class football
and accurate passing. A truly entertaining game for all who watched
it. Town Green's Man of the Match was George Newell.
Trinity 1 Southport A 2
This game was full of what is good in junior football, the players
from both teams have a great respect for each other and a great will
to win. Southport had Robson Baldwin back in his left wing role and
the early stages of the game he produced some outstanding runs and
linked up well with James Smith and Anthony Brown that let in Brown
who's shot was destined for the far post only for Mathew Gautry to
make an outstanding save by turning the ball wide and out for a
corner. The game was very tight and Trinity had a great chance to go
ahead when Nathan Thistlewaite and Christy Devlin worked an opening
that found Jack Baybutt who crashed an effort against the bar from
outside the box.
The 2nd half started
by Southport forcing numerous corners against Trinity who defended
them well but as the half reached the half way stage a move
involving James Smith who played a 1st time pass to Owen Drummond
who gave it back to Smith who then placed a pass that cut the
Trinity defence to peices for Drummond to run on to the ball and
place the ball beyond the advancing keeper and into the net. This
was a truly outstanding goal and the clinical passing between the 2
players was met with applause from both sets of fans. Trinity tried
to level the game but this left gaps at the back that Sam Johnson
was unlucky not to punish when he shot just wide with only the
keeper to beat.
The game reached the
last few minutes when a foul by Southport just outside their area
gave Trinity a chance to get back in the game, Christy Devlin rifled
a right foot shot that went through a group of players and into the
back of the net. Southport had only themselves to blame and should
have had kept it tight but from the kick off they pushed the ball
forward and a scramble on the egde of the Trinity box saw the ball
fall to Anthony Brown who lobbed the ball over the keeper and into
the net, Brown is the unsung hero of the side who week in week out
he gives 110% this week he got his just rewards and was by far the
best player on the pitch. This took the wind out of Trinity who ran
out of time to hit back when the final whistle ended a very
entertaining game played in a sporting manner.
Under 11 Trisconi
Cup Semi-Final
Town Green 4 v Southport Trinity 0
In a game switched at the last moment because of a waterlogged home
pitch Town Green and Trinity met for the third time this season with
honours even. Town Green started well from the kick off and
sharp passing saw the ball slotted though from Captain Will McKee to
AJ McGowan who let fly from fully 25 yards to make it 1-0 after only
2 minutes. Town Green continued to play controlled football and
Trinity found it hard to leave their own half. A corner won from a
fine save by Trinty keeper Jacque Verite was taken by AJ McGowan.
The keeper could only flap at the cross and the ball landed in the
net. |
As expected Trinity
tried to come on strong at the start of the 2nd half but a fine
defensive team performance by Jack Woodward, James Halpin, Luke
Dwyer and David Taylor dealt with anything Trinity could throw at
them. Town Green had soon soaked up the expected charge and
again found time to pass the ball. A sweet 1-2 between David
Wilkinson and Rob Welsh saw Welsh breeze though to slot the ball
round the keeper. Trinity could not muster a response and when John
Cain blasted in the 4th it was game over for Trinity. So Town
Green deservedly head for a final at Burscough FC’s ground in May.
Under 13
Forefield Rangers 1 West Tower 4 (Liverpool County Cup quarter
final)
West Tower made it through to the semi-final of the County Cup, with
a display as impressive as any they have managed all season. However
this was no easy game, against a Forefield side who matched West
Tower in most departments, and for periods in the game dominated
possession. Even so, thanks to some stout defending, the West Tower
goalkeeper was very rarely called upon, whereas, at the other end,
West Tower were creating good chances, but failing to convert.
It seemed only a matter of time before West Tower scored, and Ellis
Appleton duly obliged with a good run from centre midfield, into the
box, and then slotted the ball past the goalkeeper and into the net.
Two or three more good chances were missed by West Tower, and the
1st half ended 1-0.
An early goal in the
2nd half was important for both teams, and it was West Tower who got
it, with Bradley Sherwood scoring from close range just minutes
after the re-start, and it looked as though the game might now be up
for Forefield. However, Forefield had different ideas, and came at
West Tower again, and scored from a superbly taken free kick, giving
the keeper no chance. Now it was game on again, and for 10 minutes
West Tower were wobbling as the opposition camped in their half, yet
the keeper was hardly bothered, thanks to some impressive defending.
Finally, as the game neared conclusion, the quality of West Tower
came through, and they scored two further goals to kill the game.
Both came from Ellis Appleton, who capped a tremendous midfield
performance with a hat trick.
Counting the cost of poor maths and English skills
NEW research
reveals poor basic skills are costing people in the North West a
staggering £69 million every year - enough to pay the starting
salaries of over 3,429 new teachers - as people are regularly
short-changed or miscalculate the cost of purchases. The
research, commissioned by learndirect, the UK’s adult e-learning
network, reveals almost half of all adults in the UK (49%) feel
their basic maths and English skills let them down. It also
highlights the extent to which poor basic maths and English skills
can affect all aspects of everyday life.
1 in 5 find their holidays ‘costa’ plenty as they are unable
to convert local currency into pounds. Everyday shopping is also
problematic, as a further 1 in 5 cannot work out which retail offers
are better value when comparing packs containing different weight
measurements. More than a 3rd of adults admit to adding up on
their fingers when faced with a maths problem and no calculator. 40%
of us cannot calculate volume, whilst a 3rd finds converting
fractions to decimals and vice versa extremely taxing.
In response to the findings, learndirect is launching its ‘Spotlight
Challenge’ initiative, an interactive quiz featuring Eamonn
Holmes. This quiz explores people’s maths and English skills through
everyday examples – from calculating how much it costs to fill a car
with petrol to spelling words like ‘necessary.’ Adults across
the country will be encouraged to engage in this fun quiz in
shopping centres, helping them to assess whether they have a skills
gap.
Eamonn Holmes, the face of the learndirect Spotlight Challenge,
says:- “Sorting out your English and maths skills is hugely
important on both a personal and professional basis. Not having
these core skills can really hold you back and, as this research
shows, make your work or home life more costly. I know that maths
has always been my least favourite subject and things like working
out mortgage rates leave my head swimming. We are encouraging people
to come down and do the learndirect Spotlight Challenge as a way of
helping to identify if they have an issue with English and maths
and, if they do, then learndirect is there to help.”
Maths isn’t the only problem, as almost half of the population
struggles with the meaning of words. 1 in 5 does not know the
difference between words that sound the same but have different
meanings, such as ‘there’ and ‘their’.
Sally Coady from learndirect adds:- “Recent studies have shown
there are 26 million adults** across the UK who have a maths or
English need. However, many of these people may not realise their
basic skills are holding them back. This campaign is designed to
encourage people to brush up on their maths and English if they have
a skills gap. Our aim, via the support of learndirect centre staff
and the flexibility of our courses, is to overcome any barriers to
learning and equip people with the skills they need to get the most
out of their lives.”
For details of your nearest centre or information on courses that
could even lead to a maths or English qualification up to the same
level as a GCSE, call
Learn Direct on 0800 101 901 or log on to.
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