Match Report- 28/03/2010 v Howden Clough B (Away)

After Wyke Wanderers’ fantastic run of late, which was
continued by a brilliant win yesterday, they were going into a very tough game
full of confidence. Howden Clough were a very strong team, with eight wins in
twelve matches, and the last time the two sides met, Wyke were hammered 7-1.


However the Wanderers pulled out another performance of top quality,
and managed to pick up a very good 4-4 draw.


Wyke started the game with the advantage of playing downhill
with a strong wind in their favour. However it was Howden Clough who started
the livelier of the two teams. A fantastic through ball was met by the Clough
striker who ran through the defence, took it past the Keeper and slotted the
ball into the net giving the home team an early goal after only three minutes.


Howden nearly doubled their lead moments later, but Joe Couble
made a good save to deny Clough a
second.


The Goal seemed to have been just the thing Wyke Wanderers
needed to kick them up the backsides and wake them up, because for the
remainder of the half, Wyke dominated. Kevin Fajfer and Nathan Khan were camped
in their opponents half, and made sure they were winning every ball. Clough couldn’t really get rid of the ball,
and Mikey Brooksbank was punishing them down the right wing.


Wyke had several chances to level the game, but couldn’t get
a good enough shot in, Mikey had a shot wide, and the Howden Clough goalkeeper
made easy work of several other efforts.


Wyke’s continued dominance eventually paid off, when Mikey
Brooksbank shot from the edge of the area hitting a defending and ricocheted
into the top corner. Wyke were back in the game!


Three minutes later Wyke then took the lead. A Tai Pedder
clearance was flicked on fantastically by Kevin Fajfer, and it landed perfectly
for Connor Rhodes to bury the ball in the back of the net, he made it look so
easy.


Just before half
time, things got even better for the Wanderers. Nathan Khan took the ball
forward 10 yards and his dribbling was fantastic as he took it past two players
and smashed it into the net. A fantastic goal for the Skipper.


Half Time- Wyke 3-1


Wyke literally now had an uphill struggle for the remainder
of the game, however they managed to bag another goal less than a minute into
the half. A huge goal line scramble which involved quite a few clearances off
the line, somehow managed to fall to Kevin Fajfer who squeezed the ball into
the net. Kevin has been brilliant since joining and fully deserved his first
goal for the club.


For the next ten minutes it was backs against the wall for
Wyke, as Howden Clough took the game to Wyke, they remained positive and were
very unlucky not to have put themselves back in the game. Nathan and Kevin were back doing a lot of defending,
as the defence tried its best to get the ball away. However every time they did
Wyke looked strong attacking, Mikey Brooksbank and Connor Rhodes proved to be a
massive handful for the Clough defence, but they couldn’t create a chance.


Scott Morris and Quinn Riley were working very hard down the
wings, and managed to keep the ball away from the Wyke back line.


Inevitably, Howden pulled a goal back with fifteen minutes
to go. They had created a lot of chances and had deserved a goal. Joe Mac and Dom
Pickersgill had had a very tough game in defence for the last 15 and Clough
gave themselves a chance to get back into the game.


Two minutes later, disaster struck as Wyke let in another
goal, Joe Couble made a good save from a shot, but spilled the ball and left an
easy tap in for the Clough striker. Wyke were looking very shaky now, and
Clough were full of confidence.


With 5 minutes to go, Howden Clough scored the equaliser, it
had been a tough half for Wyke and Howden had deserved to get back into the
game.


Wyke continued to battle for the draw for the last five
minutes which felt like an eternity. Clough had a couple of chances to win it,
but much to the relief of the Wanderers the full time whilst went meaning the
final score was 4-4.


Full Time: Howden Clough 4-4 Wyke Wanderers


Goals


Mikey Brooksbank, Connor Rhodes, Nathan Khan, Kevin Fajfer





Man of the Match: Kevin has had a fantastic impact
upon the team since joining, with two wins and a draw in his first three games.
Kevin works so hard in the middle of the pitch and he is extremely good at
winning the ball, and bringing it under control. His performance today was
class, and it was great to see him bag his first goal.


Manager Comments


Although we were winning 4-1, we all knew it would be a very
hard second half, and I’m very pleased by how we performed today. It shows how
much we are progressing as a team, when you look at us early season, losing 7-1
and now we have drawn against one of the best teams in the league. We are
working our way up the table, and have a lot of very winnable games coming up
so lets continue to play how we are doing because you are all great!!