Birkdale United AFC

Birkdale made a good start to this game and were ahead after only two minutes when Regan ran down the left wing, cut into the penalty area and fired a shot into the top left hand corner, 0 – 1.

The game ebbed and flowed with neither side able to create any real chances until after 16 minutes, a through ball was latched on to by one of the Trinity strikers only for N. Knight to make a brave save rushing out and diving at his feet to grab the ball safely away.

The score remained 0 – 1 until half time.

The second half started the same way as the first half finished with end to end football but neither side creating any real chances.

Then after seven minutes, another through ball split the Birkdale defence and Trinity grabbed an equaliser with a well taken goal placed delicately just inside the left hand post, 1 – 1.

This goal seemed to jolt Birkdale back into action after a lacklustre spell and after 12 minutes, they were awarded a penalty for a clumsy challenge just inside the box.   L. Jackson stepped up and calmly blasted the ball into the roof of the net to the keeper’s right, 1 – 2.

Birkdale quickly had the ball in the net again when L. Jackson slid the ball past the advancing keeper and G. Rawsthorne knocked it into the back of the net only for it to be ruled out for offside.

With just over 10 minutes to go, Trinity were awarded a dubious penalty which N. Knight brilliantly saved high to his left hand side pushing the ball over the bar.

From the resulting corner, Trinity were given a free header which luckily hit the bar and went over.

Six minutes from time, Birkdale finished the game off with a goal scored by L. Jackson after G. Rawsthorne had done all the work with a great run and beating the keeper and sliding the ball towards the goal, 1 – 3.

Despite a frantic last few minutes, Birkdale held out to come away worthy winners.

This was a good cup tie, not the best game of football you will ever see, but Birkdale gritted their teeth to grind out a result which was not helped by the very blustery condition.  

Joint Man of the Match this week were J. Young for a great man marking job on Trinity’s star player and B. Pike for a solid hard working performance in midfield.

Birkdale United under 11’s North today booked themselves into their second final in two weeks after a thrilling 2-1 win over rivals Crosby Stuart today.

 

The two teams, who mainly consist of players who represent their counties are currently sitting first and second in the West Lancashire Girls League, and are to meet in March in the League cup final. So this game was poised to be a tight and technical game.

 

The girl’s didn’t disappoint as the game started at a lightening tempo, with neither side really getting their foot of the ball. Chances were rare in the opening 10-15 minutes and what saves were made, were from long range shots being easy pickings for both keepers.

 

Crosby Stuart had the first real effort at goal with the captain smashing the ball inches past the post from 20 yards. This gave Birkdale a wakeup call and they started to dominate the play and kept Crosby Stuart boxed in their own half. Birkdale failed to put away their chances with some poor finishing and resilient defending.

 

Crosby Stuart opened the scoring after a Birkdale attack was stopped by the Crosby Stuart defence, Crosby Stuart quickly counter attacked and forced a great save out of the Birkdale keeper. The corner was driven in by the Crosby captain and found its way to the back post and a Crosby Stuart leg bundled the ball over the line.

 

Birkdale knew that they would have to be more clinical in goal, and they started straight from the restart putting the Crosby defence under pressure.

 

Birkdale went into the half time break 1-0 down but still full of belief that they could win the game.

 

Birkdale started the second half the same as they finished the first half, with the ball constantly in the Crosby half, and five minutes into the second half Birkdale equalised with a tap in from H. Aitchison after a well worked move involving K. Singleton and E. Ormerod.

 

The early goal made the second half a better game as Crosby had to try and score again to stop the game from going into extra time and even penalties. But Birkdale had other things on their mind, they wanted to score the winner in normal time and keep their treble hopes alive.

 

The last fifteen minutes were tense with both sides having opportunities to win the game. Most notably was E. Ormerod’s half volley which cracked the cross bar after a H. Aitchison cross.

 

The winning goal came two minutes from the endand was scored by A. Young, it came after a number of long range shots from Birkdale were blocked by Crosby Stuart defenders with one of the shots landing to A. Young who drilled the ball along to floor from 25 yards with the ball creeping inbetween the the post and the goalkeepers foot.

 

The last two minutes were tense and Crosby nearly equalised when the striker went through one on one with the keeper only for S. Kelly making a great last ditch tackle and kicked the ball out for a throw-in. With that the full time whistle blew and Birkdale United under11’s North reached their 2^nd final in 7 days

Birkdale United vs. Skem Athletic, a cup semi final involving the first and second placed league sides, which was always going to be a tough game.

Birkdale weathered the early Skem Athletic waves of attack with some excellent defending and clearances.

Half time both sides went in at 0-0

In the second half Birkdale began to grow in confidence which was probably the main differenve between the two teams in the past. Goals came from Pring who went on one of her familiar pitch length runs and finished with a goal to the keepers left, which lifted the Birkdale girls. Ormerod added the second with a superb flick over her shoulder that, Skem kept trying untill the final whistle and contributed to a great cup game.

This was a great win for Birkdale against their toughest opponents. Keep it up girls.

Birkdale S travelled to Ainsdale, the lads have been playing well in the last few weeks and the same was to be said about today’s game. Birkdale S were on the ball from the kick off with Flatts in fine form and Welford holding the ball up, and spreading some fine balls around the pitch. After five minutes Welford held the ball on the left and waited for O’Neil who was bombing down the right side, he fed the ball inch perfect to is feet and he cooly slotted home 1-0.

Birkdales second came when Flatts made a great run on goal, and hit a sweet ball bottom corner 2-0.

The second half was a slow start as Birkdale had there backs to the wall, but the defence held on well with great tackles from the defenders and some fine saves by Huyton. Ainsdale got a goal back to make it 2-1. Things were getting a bit nerve racking but with 10 minutes left Birkdale turned the screw on Ainsdale. Casterton took command in midfield, Welford had 4 or 5 shots saved by the Ainsdale keeper.

Birkdale started to find their passing range again, and it wasn’t long before O’Neil got his second an third goals, 

Birkdale were 4-1 winners in the end, but Manager Shaun felt the team also should have had a penalty when it seemed that an Ainsdale player hand balled a good yard inside the box, but the referee pulled play back and awarded a free kick just outside the area. Ainsdale keeper was fantastic today and definately kept the score line down, so well done to him.

WELL DONE ALL YET AGAIN

Both teams made a bright start to this important end of season fixture with Birkdale needing to win to make certain of second place and to give themselves a chance of winning the league if Formby B fail to win their three remaining games.

Both teams played some good football but were unable to create any clear cut chances.   J. Grant was in the thick of the action early on taking charge of the Birkdale midfield.

After 20 minutes, Crosby Stuart had the best chance of the first half when a through ball was picked up by one of their players who ran on and shot only for N. Knight to make an excellent one handed save pushing the ball over the crossbar.

The score remained 0 – 0 until half time.

Birkdale started the second half with renewed purpose and after 2 minutes, following a great run by L. Jackson, unselfishly sliding the ball across the goal for M. Regan to slot the ball into the net, 1 – 0.

Birkdale continued to enjoy slightly the better of possession and were rewarded with a second goal after 12 minutes, again made by a L. Jackson jinking run, with L. Williams blasting the ball into the back of the net, 2 – 0.

The game continued to ebb and flow for the next 10 minutes with both teams having chances but neither side being able to gain any advantage.

After 22 minutes, Crosby Stuart were again denied a goal by N. Knight with a brave save rushing out and diving at the feet of the advancing striker.

Crosby Stuart continued to launch the ball forward at every opportunity but the Birkdale defence held firm and the midfield and forwards continued to pose their own threat at the other end.

On the whole a good performance from Birkdale doing enough to deserve the win, but Crosby Stuart played their part to make this an exciting match to watch.

Man of the Match this week was N. Knight for some great match winning saves.

Today saw the girls host Crosby Stuart at Carr Lane. Their previous meeting resulted in a 8-1 win to Crosby Stuart, so the team were expecting a tough game. It was a very blustery day and it became obvious that the wind would play a part in the game. With goal kicks frequently going out and the ball hard to control due to the conditions.

Crosby Stuart pressed from the start forcing Birkdale’s keeper E Harrison into a string of excellent saves. But with a combination of Birkdales’ new formation and some outstanding defensive play from A Sykes, C Mentha and E Core the game remained goalless after 10 minutes. At this stage the first substitution took place with C Molyneux coming on into midfield. A couple of minutes later T Elliot had to be substituted after a strong 50-50 tackle resulted in her getting studs in her head. Birkdale held their own and on occasion turned defence into counter attack with attempts on goal from M Price, T Elliot and L Smith the first half finished 0-0.

The second half saw Birkdale continue to fight showing great team spirit, but with the wind blowing against them the girls began to look tired. More rolling substitutions in the second half of A Welford and A Seddon gave Birkdale fresh legs and the girls looked like they might sneak a goal with some good forward play from A Welford and A Seddon putting Crosby Stuart under pressure with a shot just going wide of the post. With five minutes to go the game remained goalless. Crosby Stuart pushed harder for that elusive goal and after a period of concerted pressure resulting in a run of corners one was eventually converted. Birkdale girls never let their heads drop and from the restart the girls tried hard for a goal, putting Crosby Stuart under pressure. This resulted in Crosby Stuart taking advantage of this by getting a second. The final score was 0-2 to Crosby Stuart.

Birkdale played extremely well and it is a testament to the girls how much they have improved in such a short period. The Team spirit was there for all to see.

The management awarded their POM to E Harrison Birkdale goalkeeper for an outstanding display.

A slow start to the game by Birkdale taking a while to settle into their stride.

Birkdale’s first goal came after nine minutes from a free kick on the edge of the penalty area blasted into the top corner of the net by J. Frew, 0 – 1.

Two minutes later a corner taken by B. Pike dropped into the middle of the six yard box and S. Howard stabbed the ball into the net, 0 – 2.

Birkdale continued to apply pressure but squandered several chances to extend their lead.

Two minutes before half time Birkdale paid the price for not killing the game off when Redgate grabbed a breakaway goal, pretty much their first real chance of the game, 1 – 2.

The half time team talk had the desired effect and Birkdale started the second half with much more purpose.

After five minutes L. Jackson ran through on goal resisting some robust defending to slide the ball past the advancing keeper, 1 – 3.

The next chance fell to J. Grant who unluckily saw his great shot come back off the crossbar and Redgate were able to clear the danger.

Two minute later B. Pike grabbed a goal with fine run and great chip over the keepers head, 1 – 4.

Birkdale continued to apply pressure but squandered yet more chances until they were awarded a free kick on the edge of the penalty area.   Once again J. Frew stepped up to blast the ball into the top corner of the net, 1 – 5.

The final goal of the game was scored by J. Young with a header when the ball bounced back off the crossbar from a shot by L. Jackson, 1 – 6.

A comfortable win for Birkdale in the end, it could so easily have been in double figures with some more clinical finishing in front of goal.   The second half performance was much better than the first with some good performances from a number of players.

It was decided to award joint Man of the Match again this week to J. Grant for a commanding and assured performance in midfield and L. Williams for some surging runs down the right wing and regularly getting the ball into the danger area.

Crosby Stuart vs. Birkdale United, a much improved Crosby Stuart side made it very difficult for the visiting Birkdale side, the home team were doing very well getting their bodies behind the ball.

Birkdale were beginning to wonder if they ever going to get near the Crosby goal to keep the pressure on for a title. Thankfully Heron popped up and eased the visiting sided nerves with a vital goal. 

Birkdale stuck it out for a 1-0 win against a very tough team that never gave up. 

Dolan in defence was Girl of the Match

Allitt and McCollah also had great games.

A great day for football as the Diamonds played Burscough .After our recent up and down performances we didn’t no which team would turn up. With Sykes missing in defence the Diamonds made a change with Core stepping into defence.

A bright start by both teams on a well worn pitch that wasn’t particularly conducive to playing attractive football.

Birkdale’s first goal came after six minutes from a cross headed down by L. Jackson to L. Aindow who buried the ball in the top of the net, 0 – 1.

The game ebbed and flowed for the next 15 minutes with both teams having chances but neither side being able to gain any advantage.

The second goal finally came after 22 minutes from a corner which caused a goal mouth scramble with the ball falling to S. Howard just inside the six yard box and he blasted it into the net, 0 – 2.

The score remained the same until half time.

Just five minutes into the second half, L. Manwaring grabbed the third goal from another corner slotting the ball into the net, 0 – 3.

And only three minutes later L. Jackson kept his great goal scoring run going when he grabbed the fourth goal, 0 – 4.

The last goal of the game came eight minutes from time from another corner taken by M. Rimmer and fired into the net by C. Fitzgerald, 0 – 5.

Birkdale had a couple more chances to extend their lead further when a fierce shot from J. Grant was only parried by the keeper and L. Manwaring slid the ball just wide of the post and then L. Jackson made a great solo run and saw his shot come back off the crossbar.

On the whole a good performance from Birkdale. Hesketh Colts always looked dangerous on the break but thanks to good defending by Howard, Young and Hampson, they were not able to break through.

It was decided to award joint Man of the Match again this week to S. Howard for his solid defending and L. Manwaring for a solid contribution in midfield.

Dynamo Rangers were unable to field a team. Birkdale United awarded 1-0 win.

Town Green vs. Birkdale United. Slow starting Birkdale kept with tradition going a goal down early in the game, a good battling performance saw the girls wrestle three goals back with Pring, Ormerod and Armstrong grabbing them. This was a fantastic comeback with a difficult heavy, muddy pitch.

Girl of the Match was awarded to S. Kelly for an excellent performance.

Birkdale United Under 9′s went into the second Under 9′s Fun Day full of confidence. The girls have been working very hard with Manager Peter since the last Fun Day and have improved dramatically over the last months. (more…)