Junior Football

YMCA:

YMCA U10s 'A' 0 Clifton Rangers U10s 'A' 5

YMCA 'B' U10s 1 Clifton Rangers U10s 'B' 0

YMCA's Coulton Cup hopes ended in the first round with this 5-1 aggregate defeat. It was always going to be a stiff hurdle for them with three regulars all missing due to holidays. In the 'A' game the first half was evenly contested but Rangers snatched an interval lead. In the second half YMCA struggled to contain the visitors' two strong strikers and conceded a further four goals. Although it was a virtually impossible task for the YMCA 'B' team to save the tie they still put up a spirited display. They went ahead in the second half through Aiden Worral, who played in goals in the first half before switching to an outfield role at half time. YMCA continued to impress but Rangers comfortably held on to their aggregate lead.

Wyre Jun iors U11s 0 YMCA U11s 5

THE first half was a dour affair but YMCA broke the deadlock when Adam Whiteside's corner eluded the home keeper and the ball found its way into the net. In the second half, despite the defensive tactics of the home side, a difficult pitch and the unpleasant weather conditions, YMCA gradually took control. Substitute Kyle Hendry had a significant influence and netted twice with Rob Dickinson and Jordan Douthwaite both on target also.

YMCA U12s 7 Wyre Juniors 1

THIS was YMCA's last outing before their Lancashire FA Cup Final on February 25 and they signed off with a fine victory. Johnny Cundliffe and Luke Andrews gave them a 2-0 lead but a spirited Wyre side pulled one back to make it 2-1 at the interval. Both teams continued to play attractive football in thesecond half, but YMCA's overall strength eventually began to tell. The impressive Andrews netted twice more to complete his hat trick with twins Ric and Ben Seear plus Aaron Kitchin also finding the target.

YMCA U13s 1 Blackpool Rangers U13s 2

RANGERS just edged victory in this entertaining contest. YMCA almost took the lead in the first minute when Lee Culley intercepted a Rangers' pass and went clear on goal only for a brilliant tackle to deny him. However, Culley's disappointment didn't last long with him firing YMCA in front shortly afterwards. The remainder of the half swung from end to end and Rangers deservedly levelled before the break. The visitors gradually took the initiative after the restart but YMCA 'keeper Mark Wells was in outstanding form. He was finally beaten midway through the half and this goal proved sufficient to give Rangers all three points.

Blackpool Rangers Under 14s 3 YMCA U14s 2

THE referee failed to arrive for this top-of-the table clash and a Rangers official took the whistle. Danny Pickering gave YMCA the lead and although YMCA remained on top for the rest of the half the home side grabbed an equaliser to make it 1-1 at half time. Rangers then took the lead after the restart from a hotly-disputed penalty award, then added another goal to take a 3-1 lead. YMCA pulled a goal back through Chris Lawless and went close on a number of occasions.

YMCA Juniors U17s 3 Thornton Seniors U17s 3

THESE two teams fought out a 3-3 draw earlier in the campaign and this return encounter ended with an identical scoreline. After an even start YMCA striker Alex Taylor netted two stunning goals, both from 25yds inside a five- minute spell. The visitors reduced the score to 2-1 by half time in a controversial manner when the YMCA keeper appeared to have the ball kicked out of his hands before it was forced into the net. Fifteen minutes after the interval Thornton equalised, but YMCA regained the lead ten minutes from time after the visitors' keeper failed to hold on to a corner kick and Taylor was on hand to blast the loose ball home to complete his hat trick. A defensive error led to Thornton levelling again and YMCA almost snatched the game in the closing minutes when the ever-dangerous Taylor was sent clear on goal. His shot beat the advancing keeper but the ball went just wide of the post.

YMCA Seniors U17s 2 South Shore Youth U17s 2

DRIVING drizzle made conditions very unpleasant. Although YMCA faced the elements in the first half they performed admirably and a goal from the outstanding Marlon Bradley gave them a desereved 1-0 interval lead. YMCA continued to impress after the restart but they were forced into making two substitutions, after which they lost the initiative. Shore came back with two goals to take the lead but, after having a goal disallowed, YMCA grabbed an equaliser shortly afterwards through Eddie Taylor.

BJFF:

Wyre Villa U9s 'A' 0 BJFF U9s 'A' 1

A THOROUGHLY entertaining Coulton Cup second round match with plenty of effort from both teams, but few clear cut chances in an end-to-end first half. BJFF pushed hard after the interval and broke the deadlock with a sweetly-struck Ashley Bird free kick from just outside the box. Wyre came back strongly in the last five minutes but could not convert their chances and BJ held out for the win.

Wyre Villa U9s 'B' 1 BJFF U9s 'B' 5

BJFF took the game to Wyre from the start, but it was an opportunist goal from Josh de Rome that opened the scoring. Shortly after Bradley Atherton added a second with Wyre catching the BJ defence napping to reduce the arrears right on half time. In the second period BJFF's passing game really flowed, resulting in further goals from de Rome to complete his hat-trick and a well-deserved fifth from the hard-working Joseph Nicolson-Smith. Credit must go to the Wyre keeper for keeping the score down with some fine saves.

BJFF U11s 4 Fleetwood Gym U11s 3

AFTER failing to take some early chances BJFF led at half time with goals from M. Howard and M. Scobie. O. Kelly added a third goal after the interval but then Fleetwood equalised with three goals in 20 minutes. BJFF fought back and J. White grabbed the winner in the closing stages.

Our Lady U14s 0 BJFF U14s 1

A RUSTY BJFF returned to action after a two-week break and, while the home side defended valiantly in numbers with their keeper having an outstanding game, the BJFF defence was rarely troubled. A 20-yard free kick in the first half and a breakaway long range attempt in the second half were the only efforts to seriously trouble BJFF keeper James Smith. Craig Richardson tapped in BJFF's goal from a poorly defended corner mid-way through the first half.

THORNTON:

Thornton U11s 5 Wyre Villa U11s 0

THE Reds ground out a hard fought win against a Villa side that battled all the way. Joe Bowley got the Millers away when he side-footed in a Matty Roache cross.This was the way things stayed until after the oranges had been eaten. An own goal managed to open things up after the break and a Kieron Simmons goal two minutes later effectively stitched things up. Dane England added two more in the last two minutes to produce a scoreline that flattered the Reds.

FC Rangers U14s 4 Thornton U14s 7

AN erratic first half performance saw Thornton take the lead twice at1-0

and 2-1 with goals from Gareth Barton and Sean Clancy. But within ten minutes of scoring their second goal they were 4-2 down. This kicked off a revival and two further goals from Chris Bright and another from Clancy made the score 4-4 at half time. Thornton then dominated the second half with another two goals from Clancy and one from Jack Broadbent.

BJFF U15s 4 Thornton U15s 1

IN what was an evenly matched game that saw both sides create chances,

BJFF managed to capitalise on them and unlucky Thornton couldn't. This was a great team performance especially as injury-hit Thornton had to borrow three players from the Under 13s who didn't look out of place and who all deserve a special mention for their undying effort-- Steve Barnes, scorer Kevin Murray and Chris (Bobby) Jones.

FOXHALL:

Foxhall U12s 4 Our Lady U12s 0

AN evenly matched first half with some good defending from Our Lady

kept the score to 0-0 at half time. Tactical changes for the second

half paid off for Foxhall as they moved up a gear, with Ryan Fletcher

heading home a cross from Chris Bird for the opening goal. Five minutes later Thomas Crawford set up Martin Wannell for a fine strike and Fletcher completed a hat-trick for the league leaders.