Match Report 07/03/2010 v Kirkburton (Away)

Dave Turner Sun Mar 07, 2010 9:03 am

After a tough game yesterday, Wyke faced another huge test against top of the league Kirkburton. Wyke had managed to draw against them back in September, however Kirkburton seemed to have found form against other teams, with a huge scoring record. The Wyke defence knew they were going to have a tough time out there.

Wyke had a very positive start to the game, and had all the attacking play. Kirkburton struggled at the back, and within 5 minutes Mikey Brooksbank gave Wyke a well deserved lead, with a cheeky flick past the keeper into the back of the net.

Wyke continued to have much of the attacking play. All credit to the Wyke defence, with Tai Pedder leading from the front. Wyke were coping well with a very strong Kirkburton attack and getting the ball back up to Wyke’s attacking players.

Wyke caused another shock by taking a 2-0 lead. The keeper spilled the ball and Nathan Khan was there to slide the ball into the net.

Connor Rhodes came painfully close to making it 3-0, however it just whistled past the post. Connor was having a very good game, and he really deserved a goal.

Kirkburton now started to turn the game on its head, and although they had a couple of good chances saved by Joe Couble, they continued to attack. The Wyke defence continued to battle, however inevitably they scored, and then scored again before half time.

Going into the half time break, Wyke looked the more disappointed team having lost a two goal lead, and Kirkburton were buoyed by equalising just before half time.

The second half started with a ten minute stalemate, where neither team could score, and it was a good defensive performance from both teams. However Kirkburton looked stronger, and they did take the lead.

Wyke did have some attacking moves, mainly from Mikey and Connor Rhodes, however Wyke had started to leave a gap in the middle, and Nathan Khan had too much of a big job on his hands to boss the midfield even though he was having a good game and giving his all.

Tai Pedder’s shot from 30 yards almost put Wyke back in the game, but the keeper managed to parry, and Quinn Riley didn’t manage to get a shot in from very close range.

Wyke’s defence began to crumble, as heads went down. Kirkburton continued their attack and slotted another three goals in late on in the game to give them a flattering 6-2 victory.

Goals: Mikey Brooksbank, Nathan Khan.

Man of the Match: Jake Gilderdale. Jake gave 100% today, he had the difficult task of filling in at left back, and did a great job. He put in some key tackles, and held the offside line very well.

Manager’s Comments

I don’t think the result was very fair on us, because we were much better than the result would suggest. I thought we were the better team for large amounts of the game, however we were always going to have a difficult half in the second half uphill. Kirkburton are top of the league for a reason, and they have scored loads of goals, so letting 6 goals in is not a disaster. I was pretty pleased with the performance today, and I think we showed a lot of attractive football, and also we are a real threat when attacking. I think our defence played well in patches, but we need to be more attacking at the back, and not let the opposition play football. At least now we don't have to play the two best teams in the league again now...and we have a lot of winnable games coming up! Keep your chins up, because I think we can do really well now..