U12s:Radcliffe Borough Colts 2-1 Thornton WanderersThe Wanderers travelled away to Radcliffe full of confidence after recent results. Small nets were sure to limit scoring opportunities but this did not deter Emily H who shot just wide in the first 2 minutes. Radcliffe are known to be strong opponents and tested defenders Lottie W, Chloe H and Stephanie M on several occasions. Captain Lauren F once again proved her worth in midfield constantly intercepting and regaining possession. Emily H broke free on the right running the length of the pitch but her cross was not converted. Megan B did the same a minute later but again the Wanderers failed to penetrate the Radcliffe defence. A stunning free kick from deep in the Wanderers half taken by Stephanie M fell perfectly to Emily M but she was instantly closed down by the Radcliffe defenders. The Wanderers narrowly conceded a goal despite a box full of defenders in the 16th minute. Spurred on by being behind Emily H provided a perfect pass onto Emily M to score the equaliser just 2 minutes later. Attempts to take the lead then flowed with Megan B, Saffron H and Emily H all having a go at goal. Keeper Bethany L provided a vital save in the 22nd minute leaving both teams with equal chance. Excellent goalkeeping from Radcliffe denied the Wanderers a goal from three shots in quick succession. Unfortunately just on the brink of half time Radcliffe found a gap and took the lead once again. The second half saw the introduction of Megan L, Rebecca L, Victoria L, Sarah F and Catherine R to the Wanderers side. Rebecca L took early advantage from a strong throw in by Megan L and beat several Radcliffe players but yet again her cross was wasted. Lauren F shot over the bar and Megan L shot wide all within the first 2 minutes of the second half. Stephanie M defended well squeezing out a Radcliffe player to prevent a definite scoring opportunity. The Wanderers had a couple of opportunities from corners in the second half but did not seize the advantage well. Victoria L and Sarah F kept the Wanderers defence strong and the keeper only had one more save to make in the 51st minute. After this most of the action was in the Radcliffe end as the Wanderers battled to take at least a point from the game. Catherine R had an excellent run on goal on the 53rd minute but her shot was saved. The rebound fell to Rebecca L who placed her shot just wide. The Wanderers final opportunity fell to Emily M but she was denied by the admirable Radcliffe Keeper. Radcliffe named the Wanderers player of the match as Emily M. The Wanderers failed to take advantage of their chances in this match despite some good individual performances which was reflected in the final score. Let’s hope they can return to good form next week. ------ West Lancashire Girls LeagueBurscough Girls U15s 0-5 TCFC U15s:Top against second - Thornton v BurscoughA tough first half against a very well organised Burscough side. Thornton had plenty of chances but found it very difficult to score. Early efforts from Leah H and Sally P both failing with there efforts. Thornton did not have it there own way and had to be on their toes at the back Chloe S standing out both first and second half with a match winning defensive performance. Rachel S pulled of some fine saves in the first half, going into half time the score was level at 0-0. It has to be said the last 10 minutes Thornton looked like the team which they did before along lay off, playing some great two touch footy. Thornton started off the second half as they did the end of the first. A couple of changes bringing Leanne B into midfield holding role allowed Thornton’s attacking players more space to attack. Leanne breaks up play very well and shines in this role sometimes just playing the easy ball affective never the less. Thornton scored their first goal not long into the second half, a throw in on the right to Tamara F who was in very good form in the second half all over the pitch and only just missing out on the player of the match great performance Tam. Tam crossed the ball over to Thornton's leading goal scorer Sally P to bang the ball home. Thornton's next goal this time came down the left handside a ball down the line from Chloe S was latched onto by Chelsea W to score her first of three goals. Thornton’s fitness I think started to show and Burscough seemed to run out of steam, attacking minded right back Natasha I was in her element the second half linking up with Tamara F and running at the heart of the defence on a number of occasions. Chelsea scored the third goal for Thornton starting with a corner taken short before been crossed back into the area for Chelsea to finish. The next goal was scored by Rachel W who also had a great second half playing some great cross field passes, Rachel is one of the best passers in the side, always look to pass the the ball Wazza play to your strengths there is not many who have your range. Chelsea scored the final goal for Thornton her third of the game to complete a great second half of football. All the girls played there part Jade T again at her best tackling hard and playing the ball out from the back. Phillipa R on the left also played her part and after missing the last few match’s fitted straight back into the side like she had not been away. A good result girls and a great performance lets build on this going into the final stages of the season! Thornton's Man of the Match:Chloe S ---- Blackpool & District League:TCFC U12s 3-1 FC Rangers U12sThornton ran out 3–1 winners against FC Rangers but put on an under par performance particularly in the 1st half. The 1st 20 minutes were played almost entirely in FC Rangers half but Thornton seemed reluctant to play football, resorting instead to long ball tactics which were handled comfortably by a packed FC Rangers defence. When the forwards did get the ball a lack of inventiveness coupled with uncompromising defending kept Thornton at bay and it was no surprise when after 25 minutes FC Rangers broke. Not for the 1st time but this time the FC Rangers forward beat Ben C and placed the ball into the net. This woke Thornton up and a minute before half time after some good football, Loz M won his 4th free kick on the right of the FC Ranger’s area and Tom D duly obliged and struck the ball home. In the 2nd half, Thornton started to play football and after 10 minutes took the lead. Good movement through the middle involving several passes saw Callum M put through and he struck home from 12 yards. Five minutes later Mark B was put through and his pressure on the goalkeeper and defender resulted in the goalkeepers attempted clearance rebounding back off the defender into the net. FC Rangers decided enough was enough. They spent the last quarter of the game satisfied in denying Thornton any more goal scoring opportunities whilst at the other end apart from one or two self inflicted panics Thornton contained any FC Rangers sorties into their half. Hard to pick a man of the match from this performance. Substitutes Stevie S, Josh R, Jon F, Danny W and Reece H all livened the game up with their 2nd half appearances Tom Smith worked hard on the right throughout the game, but Mark B was awarded man of the match as he troubled the FC defence for the whole game. Thornton's Man of the Match:Mark B ---- Poulton & District League:Coulton Cup PlateWarton Typhoons U9s A Team 0-5 TCFC U9s RedNew territory for the U9s, away at Warton in the Preliminary round of the Plate Competition, and on a pitch we’ll never see the kind of again this season. Surely this would favour The Reds who have become renown for their slick passing? change around this week and the blues became the reds meaning they started first. They took the game to Warton right from the whistle, some excellent passing between Dan E, Liam S and Brandon L carved the Warton defence open time after time. Tom B, back into the starting line up after shaking off a virus showed no signs of fatigue, flying down the left flank to good effect. Brandon L got the first goal which was thoroughly deserved for some outstanding recent performances. The ball was flying around the Warton defence and it fell to Brandon who calmly slotted home. Surely it wouldn’t stay 1-0 for long with the way TCFC were going but a lot of credit must go to Warton for their persistence in going for the equaliser. Unfortunately for them, Charlie S and Jack S were in determined mood at the back and neither lost a tackle all game. Particularly impressive today was Charlie S. Charlie timed his tackles to perfection and his finest moment was when Warton’s number 9 was put through on goal, Charlie caught him up and then nonchalantly did a drag back, turning with the ball and setting up an attack for The Reds. Half Time and it remained 0 - 1. The score remained the same for the early part of the second half and eventually Warton tired of trying to get past Charlie and Jack. A through ball put Liam S through on goal, but still with a lot of ground to cover, and the keeper to beat. Liam carried the ball nearer goal and unleashed an unstoppable, accurate drive into the bottom right hand corner. The third came soon after, an attack down the right moved infield and towards Jack S in an advanced position. With his first touch he wrapped his foot around the ball and bent it high and far into the left corner of the goal. Beckham would have been proud of this one. Great goal Jack! Goal of the two games, for sure. A bit of breathing space at last and Matt G and Josh M went on to provide some fresh legs. Another goal for Liam S, playing as centre forward today, and Dan E added to his six goals for the season, shooting high, over the keeper’s head and into the roof of the net. The standard had been set. A thoroughly convincing performance. Excellent team play today, the Reds stuck to their task and even though the score remained 0 - 1 for a big part of this game, they belief that the their passing would eventually undo Warton proved to be right. Well done EVERYONE! Thornton's Man of the Match:Charles S Warton Typhoons U9s B 1-11 Team TCFC U9s BlueSome minor changes to the line up this week, Harry R went into midfield, Rhys K filled in at the back and Lewis W went up front. They started in storming fashion and Harry R got the first and set up Lewis W for the second with a calm side footed finish from a cross from the right. The Blues never gave Warton a chance to claim something from this game, everything they did was positive. They passed the ball beautifully. Rhys K was particularly impressive again. Playing at the back but with the confidence to push forward, he set some great moves with his clever distribution. Harry R, normally in defence, saw that any danger from Warton was swept away, and provided cover when the defence needed it. The goals came thick and fast! Too many to describe in fact. Lewis W grabbing FOUR! Harry R getting his first hat trick for TCFC. Credit to John C, often alone at the back, but giving his bosses a disciplined performance by not charging forward at every opportunity. He did, however, manage to rattle the crossbar in the second half with a rasping drive from 12 yards. A goal would have been a fair reward for John’s efforts. George M and Jacob W got a goal a piece. Ethan R, a lonely figure for most of the game, made a great save when he bravely blocked a firm shot and pounced on the ball to save an obvious goal. Rhys K claimed two and very nearly got three when he nearly took the goals out of the ground with a pile driver which hit the left post. Josh P came on and looked lively. One run down the right saw him go past one defender and fire in a super cross. Frazer B replaced Harry R and Rhys moved into midfield. Frazer let nothing go past him, won every challenge and harried Warton into mistakes. Patrick C replaced George M and but for the referee blowing up ten minutes before time, would have had a good chance to show his outfield qualities. So TCFC march on to the first round in style! Aggregate score 1 - 16----- The views expressed on this page are those of the contributor and the opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the BBC. | 
