Match Report- v Kirkburton (Home) 13/09/2009

Wyke Wanderers 4-4 Kirkburton.

Wyke started off life in the second division with a very encouraging and positive
performance against a strong Kirkburton side.

The first five minutes of the game were a little uneasy for Wyke, and Kirkburton looked
extremely strong in attack. Kirkburton opened the scoring with a goal which was
well struck and left Joe Couble no chance of saving it. Kirkburton could have
extended their lead a minute later, but Keeper Joe Couble came to the rescue
with a goal line clearance.


Wyke almost instantly replied, a well delivered corner from Jack Lamch was deflected out,
and Connor Rhodes slotted the ball into the back of the net.


The game was very even, with Wyke and Kirkburton both have their fair share of chances.
Kirkburton were again rewarded with a goal, which gave them a 2-1 lead.


However Wyke remained very positive, and continued to attack. Connor Rhodes was proving
to be a massive danger for the Kirkburton defence and they couldn’t really
handle him. He made a great through-ball into Joe McLoughlin who scored from
close range to equalise. 2-2


Half Time- 2-2


Wyke’s 2^nd half performance was a joy to behold. Wyke were having problems dealing with
the very talented Kirkburton Number 18, but they made a much better effort at
it in the second half. The key to the fantastic footballing display in the 2^nd
half was the defence. Louis, Tai, Joe Mac and Matty were excellent at the back,
and really did well to keep the Kirkburton attack at bay. Matty was brilliant
at left back and really had the Kirkburton right winger in his pocket, nothing got through.


Kirkburton added a third goal to their tally early on in the 2^nd half. Wyke
were a little unfortunate to go behind, after they had a couple of chances to
take the lead themselves. Joe Mac narrowly missed from close range, and Scott
Morris had a couple of chances. Connor was unlucky not to get an equaliser, and
forced a good save from the Kirkburton Keeper.


Wyke’s continued attacking was eventually rewarded when Connor Rhodes made a fantastic
through-run and calmly put the ball into the back of the net, for his 2^nd
and Wyke’s 3^rd goal.


Wyke were defending well, with Tai and Joe Mac clearing all danger with ease. Matty and
Louis were protecting their flanks very well, and Kirkburton were struggling to
get the ball out of their own half.


Dominic and Nathan were linking up very well in the centre of midfield, and it meant Wyke
having much of the play. Dom did very well to drive the ball forwards on
several occasions. Nathan also made some wonderful through-balls through to
Connor Rhodes. And with Connor’s form, Wyke were looking strong to win the
game.


Wyke then took the lead, Connor Rhodes, who had been in excellent form today. It was
Connor’s second hatrick in 4 days. Connor was playing with so much confidence,
and it was brilliant to see him scoring goals.


The Wyke defence slipped up with 1 minute to go, and allowed the Kirkburton 18 to run
through and equalise. Although it was disappointing to concede, in all fairness
Kirkburton had matched Wyke throughout the match and it was a fair result for
both teams.


Full Time- 4-4

Goals: Connor Rhodes x3, Joe McLoughlin


Man of the Match

Connor Rhodes: Connor put in another awesome performance today, he now has 6 goals in
his last 2 games, and he really led the attack today. Not only is he a great
striker, he makes some brilliant crosses into the box, and Wyke really could
have scored more from his crosses.


Other Key Players

Matty Dignam: Matty was brilliant at left-back today. Nothing got past him, and with
his speed and tackling abilities he is such an important member of the team, he
also was quick to win the ball, and his clearances were great.


Tai Pedder: Tai put in his best performance for a long time. He commanded the defence, and
was hard into tackles and cleared his lines well.


Manager’s
Comments


I’m very happy with the performance today. If we play like this all season we will do
very well!! We played well as a team,
and our attacking abilities are getting better every match. Defensively
we were strong, especially in the second half. Even though we were unlucky to
concede in the last minute, a draw was very fair, and we should be really happy
with the result and performance because it was fantastic. I was especially
proud of how we responded when going 1-0, 2-1 and then 3-2 down. We kept coming
back in to the game, and remained positive.