Witton Albion JFC

The twelfth league game of the season was a home game against Tytherington Juniors U12 AFC. Tytherington have been winning consistently recently and were on the top of the Division 4 form league with our Warriors.

The corresponding fixture back in September was won by the Warriors 7:5. We were aware of the goal treat that they possessed and the need for a disciplined team performance and that was exactly what we got.

Within a minute of the kick off the Warriors found themselves a goal behind. A corner by Tytherington wasn’t defended too well and the ball found its way through a crowd of players before a deflection off Oli and into the back of the net. 0:1.

The early set back didn’t worry the team too much and they set about playing their own pressing and possession football in the first half.

It took until the 6th minute for the Warriors to create their first attempt on goal. A shot from Robbie was comfortably saved by the Tytherington keeper but Witton were generally controlling the ball possession and the lion’s share of the game was in the Tytherington half of the pitch.

The equaliser came after 15 minutes. A good passing move paved the way for Ewean to run down the right wing and he crossed into the box. Robbie received the cross in the centre of the area and passed to Harry at the far post to score with a tap in. 1:1.

Witton took the lead just two minutes later. A persistent run by down the left wing towards the goal line allowed Ciaran to cut the ball back to Robbie. Robbie scored with a looping shot from distance over the goal keepers head. 2:1.

The lead was further extended in the 27th minute. Good pressing by Callum forced an error from the Tytherington defender and a corner was won. Ewean took the corner and dropped a perfect cross onto Callum’s head in the centre of the goal to score. 3:1.

Half time 3:1.

The half time team talk centred around how well the team had played and the need to keep up the pressing to stop Tytherington getting a foothold in the game.

Tytherington certainly upped their game and dominated the ball possession in the second half. They pulled a goal back in the 35th minute with a cross come shot dropping into the Witton goal at the far post.

The second half continued with few goal scoring opportunities for either team. The Tytherington team played very well and pushed the Witton team back, with long periods played in the Witton half of the pitch. That said, the Witton defenders played extremely well too and looked comfortable despite the anguish of our team manager.

The pattern of play allowed Witton to play on the counter attack but either a poor pass or good defending prevented scoring opportunities to materialise. However late in the game Witton countered with a run and angled low shot by Ewean beating the Tytherington goalkeeper to give Witton a 4:2 victory.

Tytherington certainly put up a tenacious display and Witton were forced to work hard for their victory today. It was pleasing to see that despite being under pressure in the second half the Witton team as a whole kept their formation and defended well.

Man of the match went to Callum who epitomised the sheer graft required for Witton to come out on top in this game.

The next game sees us commence our cup campaign with an away tie against Davenham Juniors at Sir Johns Deans College.