Match Report- 02/04/2010 v Batley Juniors (Away)

Wyke Wanderers Put aside their easter eggs to do battle
against Batley Juniors. Batley were already seeking revenge after Wyke
comfortably beat them 4-0 in their first encounter. Wyke were in irresistible form,
with three wins and a draw in their last four games, and Batley had been having
a very inconsistent season which left them nine points behind the visiting
Wanderers.


For Wyke Wanderers, Good Friday turned out to be an
understatement....Brilliant Friday more like as Wyke trounced their rivals 7-0
away from home, giving Wyke their eighth win of the season.





It was a scrappy start to the game from both teams. Wyke had
the advantage of a downhill start against a moderate wind, and the pitch was
churning up due to the heavy rain. The conditions were certainly not the best
for a football match, and to top it off it was very cold.


Scott had the best chance in the opening ten minutes when he
latched onto a loose ball, but shot just wide.


Wyke did have the breakthrough however, after only 8
minutes, Mikey Brooksbank floated a ball into the box from a corner and Quinn
Riley was there to chest it past the keeper. Wyke 1-0!!


Moments later Wyke were unlucky not to extend their lead
when Scott Morris saw another shot go wide of the post, and then a fantastic
clearance from Joe McLoughlin gave a throughball to Mikey Brooksbank who saw
his shot well saved by the Batley Keeper.


Mikey then had another chance, when he took on two players,
and showed huge strength to keep hold of the ball, he took it past the keeper
and from close range slid it over the bar! Hard Lines from the Wyke Striker.


Wyke’s inability to score was to be short-lived when Tai
Pedder cleared the ball from the half way line. Little did he know it would bag
him a goal. The Batley Keeper mis-caught the ball and it trickled past him into
the back of the net. Wyke had been gifted a second goal!


Two minutes later things got worse for Batley when another
well taken corner from Mikey was scrambled around in the penalty area, it hit
several player including Quinn Riley, who caught the ball on his foot and it
trickled into the net.


Wyke continued to remain solid, and their attacking plays
were sublime. Nathan Khan and Scott Morris were controlling the midfield and stopping
Batley getting the ball out of their own half.


The Wyke defence were having an easy start, with the Wyke
midfield keeping such tight control on the game, although Batley did create a
few chances, but Dom Pickersgill and Joe Mac were more than equal to the task.
Tai and Louis as the wing backs were quality, and Batley didn’t even create one
cross throughout the whole of the first half.


Half Time: Wyke 3-0 Batley


Mikey Brooksbank almost gave Wyke a 4-0 lead which would
have surely sealed the victory, however he took too long on the ball and again
had his shot saved by the keeper.


Batley now had control of the game, and started to play some
good football. They put a lot of pressure on Tai Pedder at right back, and Dom
Pickersgill and Joe Mac had to come to his aid a lot. The defence put up a very
good fight. Danny McGregor was very solid at left back and there wasn’t one
single attack made down the Batley right flank.


Wyke did have a couple of chances in the first ten of the
half, but Mikey and Scott’s shot were no match for the Batley Keeper.


Batley continued to press Wyke, but the Wyke defence held
strong, and Joe Couble had his eye on a clean sheet. He pulled of a brilliant
save pushing the ball wide, to deny Batley the chance of a comeback.


Batley failed to make their dominance count and then after
ten minutes Wyke punished them. A brilliant piece of build up play gave Wyke
their 4^th of the game. Scott Morris took the ball calmly from the
edge of the box and played it forward to Nathan Khan, Nathan played it out wide
onto the left to Jake Gilderdale who carried it forward a couple of yard and
slotted a perfectly timed throughball to Mikey Brooksbank. No way was he going
to miss this one, he rounded the keeper and slotted it into an empty net on his
left foot. A great team goal! Wyke 4-0


The floodgates then opened! Connor Rhodes whipped the ball
over the top to his Strike Partner Mikey who blasted the ball past the Keeper
to make it 5-0.


Then two minutes later Mikey Brooksbank returned the favour,
breaking down the left and floated in a cross which fell nicely into the feet
of unmarked Connor Rhodes who had the very simple task of scoring his first and
Wyke’s sixth of the match.


Batley resistance was crushed once again from a brilliant
defensive performance. Louis Muff was strong at right back, and so was Danny at
Left Back. Dom Pickersgill and Joe McLoughlin had also had a great game,
winning every ball in their own box, against a tough downhill disadvantage. Joe
Couble had had a reasonably quiet game, but he certainly wasn’t complaining!


Connor Rhodes put the final nail in the coffin for Batley,
breaking through the defence and curling the ball into the bottom corner beyond
the reach of the Keeper!


What a fantastic all round performance from Wyke Wanderers!!


Full Time- Wyke 7-0 Batley


Goals


Quinn Riley x2, Tai Pedder, Mikey Brooksbank x2, Connor
Rhodes x2.





Man of the Matches (2)


Quinn Riley: Quinn gave 100% today, he is so
tenacious and hard working, and he is very difficult to play against. He ran
the Batley defence ragged today, and he bagged two goals which proved to be
important.


Connor Rhodes: Connor gave the team a touch of class
today, he is as strong as an ox on the ball, and is fast and has a brilliant
finish. However it is his teamwork which earned him the MOM today, he is always
looking to play his team mates into the game, and he and Mikey play so well
together.





Gaffer Comments


I can’t believe how well we are playing at the moment, every
match I am so pleased with how much we have grown as a team. Today was very
special for me because it was the first time I could say that it was a
brilliant TEAM performance, the defence were outstanding and so were the
midfield and the attack. Joe Couble had a very quiet game, and the was because
of great defending. Lets build on the victory because we have a lot more winnable games coming up...


Remember the three aims we want:


1.
Finish on a Plus (+) goal difference (score more
than we let in).


2.
Win more games than we lose.


3.
Finish top half (7^th or above)


All these are achievable if we work together like we did
today


Well Done boys...