Westmorland County FA v Durham FA on Saturday 23 May 2009 at Hollins Lane, Burneside
Westmorland County FA Under 16s representative side played their second friendly fixture of the 2008/9 season against Durham FA following the 3-1 defeat at the hands of Cumberland FA in March.
The home side had much of the early pressure in the opening 15 minutes with a slick inter-change of passes on the edge of the visitor’s penalty area left Matthew Wilson with one defender and the goalkeeper to beat, he managed to get a shot away which the Durham ‘keeper managed to claw back and prevent crossing the line as it went beneath him.
Following this chance however, much of the remainder of the game was one-way traffic with Durham having several attacks which the Westmorland defence did well to cope with and keep the scores level. Jordan Davis pulled off two saves, firstly from a long-range effort which he tipped over the bar and secondly a header from a corner which was pushed around the post. The visitors then had a goal disallowed for offside and squandered 2 one-on-one opportunities before finally taking the lead in the 38th minute. A deep corner to the far post was knocked down into the 6 yard box and swept home to break the home sides resilience. Westmorland looked to get back into the game straight away, but a quick break from the visitors resulted in another corner which was played to the centre half who rose highest to head home and make it 2-0.
Half Time: Westmorland County FA 0 Durham FA 2
For the most part the second half continued in the same manner as the first, with the visitors enjoying much of the possession and chances. Two further goals in quick succession on 58 and 65 minutes put the game beyond any reasonable doubt. The third goal was a superb solo effort with the left winger picking the ball up, coming infield past 2 men and shooting low into the corner. The fourth and final goal was again crafted by the left winger who’s cross-field ball was chested down and fired into the far corner of the goal. Westmorland spirits did not drop despite being 4 goals down and they continued to have chances of their own in the final 15 minutes of the game, however, they were unable to breach the Durham defence.
Despite the disappointment of the defeat, the Westmorland coaching staff, Phil Graham and Mark Simpson, were pleased with the attitude that the players showed, particularly that they stuck to the task despite being overpowered by a stronger opposition.
The team will now have a break until the end of July when the squad will be brought back in for a regular training programme and a fixtures programme will be organised with the hope that these players will progress on to represent Westmorland at Under 18s level.
Full Time: Westmorland County FA 0 Durham FA 4
Westmorland Squad:
Rory Alderson, Callum Allardyce, Xavier Baines, Ben Bousfield, Matthew Bowler, Jack Campbell, Jordan Davis, Jordan Field, Jake Gill, Aaron Holland, Adam Kelly, Joel Law, Jack Leader, Keenan Quill, Joshua Sayle, Samuel Taylor, Ben Thompson, Matthew Wilson.