Match Report- 28/04/2010 v Batley Phoenix (Home)

It was Wyke’s third game in four days, and Batley Phoenix
had the potential to be a tough game for Wyke, especially after their brilliant
2-1 victory over Barugh Boys at the Weekend.


The last time the teams met, Wyke ran out 10-5 winners, so
this fixture was always going to have plenty of goals.


The Wanderers didn’t show any signs of being tired, and
pulled another high scoring 9-4 victory out of the bag.


A better start couldn’t have been wished for by Dave and
Andy. Literally ten seconds into the game Mikey Brooksbank had broken down the
right wing and whipped in a cross to Connor Rhodes who was totally unmarked,
and had the easy job of tapping the ball past the keeper to give Wyke a 1-0
lead.


Wyke continued to be the stronger team, but Batley Phoenix
took their opportunity and levelled the game, when the left midfielder broke
down the wing and coolly scored past Joe Couble. 7 minutes gone and the scores
were now level.


The Batley celebrations only lasted a couple of minutes,
when a Wyke corner was scrambled about and it fell to Tai Pedder who had the
easy job of a tap in. 2-1 Wyke.


Tai nearly had a
second moments later, Mikey Brooksbank crossed the ball in from the left and
Tai had acres of space to finish, but put the ball over the bar.


The Wyke defence were once again playing very well and
making it very hard for Phoenix to break through. The partnership of Joe McLoughlin
and Jake Gilderdale was once again proving to be a success. Joe Couble also was
doing well to come out of his goal and pick up any loose balls over the top. He
had a couple of first half saves to make, and did well to keep a safe goal.


Wyke then extended their lead further, 5 minutes after their
last goal, with 13 minutes to go until half time. Matty Dignam who had come
forward from left back put in a through-ball which took a deflection and landed
for Connor Rhodes. Connor, who was in fantastic form at the moment, certainly wasn’t
going to miss it, and he put it easily past the keeper.


With 21 minutes gone Connor’s day suddenly got even better,
he made a mazy run through the defence and his shot caught the boot of a
Phoenix defender and went in. It was Connor’s hatrick and Wyke’s 4 goal.


Not to be outdone by his striking partner, Mikey Brooksbank
then decided to join in on the goal scoring. Connor Rhodes slotted a ball over
to Mikey who muscles the defender and blasted the ball past the keeper. The Keeper
got a hand to the ball, but it wasn’t strong enough for a shot that powerful.


Nathan Khan then slotted a ball over the top and Mikey was
there again to pick the ball up, he then fired the ball past the keeper for his
second in 3 minutes. Wyke now led 6-1.


Mikey Brooksbank then sealed his hatrick in only five
minutes. His third was from close range and it was fired into the roof of the
net. What a performance from Mikey, and a well deserved hatrick. Going into the
second half, Wyke were now leading by an impressive 7-1.


The second half was a much quieter half for the Wanderers.
In fairness to Batley Phoenix, they came out and showed a much better display.
Wyke found it hard at times to deal with being swamped in midfield, however
when Nathan Khan returned to the pitch from the bench, the team settled down a
bit more.


The Wyke defence were starting to have a hard time dealing
with balls over the top, Batley scored after only 5 minutes to make it 7-2.


Tai Pedder fed a great through ball through to Connor
minutes later, and Connor placed it into the corner past the keeper. Wyke 8-2.


Batley played well for much of the second half, and Wyke had
very little attacking. Phoenix should have been back in the game but a shot
cannoned off the post, and then Wyke went and scored almost instantly at the other
end. Once again a scramble in the six yard box gave an opportunity for Nathan
Khan to bag a goal. Wyke 9-2.


Batley scored two goals in the last 5 minutes. They had
attacked well throughout the second half and did deserve a couple of goals. The
second was a belter. Joe McLoughlin scored one of the most interesting own goal
ever. He stopped the ball on the line and in an attempt to clear the ball he
hit the inside of the post, and the ball rebounded and hit him and went in....


However the game was over, and Wyke had been victorious..
9-4 to Wyke!


Goals


Connor Rhodes x4, Mikey Brooksbank x3, Tai Pedder, Nathan
Khan.


Man of the Match: Connor Rhodes: Connor was brilliant
today. Not only did he score four goals, he also assisted Mikey for one of his
goals and he created many attacking plays. Connor’s finishing was top draw
today! And he helped lift the confidence of the whole team. He also had some
great team work going on with Scott Morris and Mikey Brooksbank.





Manager Comments


Hey ! Great result today fellas! Another high scoring
game...so well done! J
We also defended quite well for most of the game, but Batley did attack very
strongly, so we did great to keep the result down. Our attacking was brilliant
today and we did well to bang in 9 goals. We have now crossed the 100 goal
barrier for the season which is a fantastic achievement. Well done boys