Coar to the rescue

Opponents Slyne had taken 4 points off Longridge in the two league games between the clubs this season so it promised to be a tough afternoon for the visitors. Keefe and Gornall welcomed back the trio of Bates, English and St.Vall who had all been missing in previous weeks. Captain Donnelly was missing as he was still serving the suspension he picked up following his red card against Charnock whilst Woodruff (cup tied) and Hind (illness) joined him on the side lines.

Before kick off the pitch looked heavy and this was to be the case as from the first minute it was not conclusive to pretty football. This match was going to be a battle with both teams struggling
to put any passes together in the opening ten minutes and Longridge
were having to cope with some very heavy challenges by the Slyne
players. With twenty minutes played it was the home side who went ahead, Slyne broke at pace from their own penalty area following a Longridge Corner, the home sides right winger put a dangerous cross into the Longridge box and after a scramble the
slyne forward found himself all alone and coolly slipped the ball under
Bates as the Longridge defenders appealed in vain for an offside flag that was never going to come. Longridge recovered from this setback and started to push forward and five minutes after conceding drew level. A free kick by Ross caused confusion in the Slyne box and when Paynter nodded the ball back across the six yard box skipper Heywood was there to tap home.
The game was becoming a real battle now as the pitch got heavier but with chances at a premium the half ended all square.

The second half kicked off and again no quarter was being given by
either side but Longridge started getting more joy down the sides of the
Slyne defence. Dean and Coar both had half chances to score and
Longridge had a good shout for a penalty when the Slyne defender
looked to handle a shot on the line but the referee waved play on.
The game was now becoming really stretched and with fifteen minutes
left to play it was the home side that went ahead. A long ball
found the Slyne forward and he held it up before finding his teammate
who burst through unmarked from midfield and he took the ball into the box unchallenged before shooting beyond the diving Bates. Longridge response was almost immediate when
another goalmouth scramble saw Coar bundle home to set up a great
final ten minutes with both teams giving their all but it was
Longridge who should of finished the game off much sooner than they did. Firstly Heywood
amazingly missed from one yard out, moments later English produced a wonderful curling effort which was brilliantly
saved by the Slyne keeper and then St.Vall shot wide after out pacing the
Slyne defence .With the game ticking towards penalties Longridge won it
through that man Coar. Again a long ball out of defence found the big
number nine and he charged towards the goal. The Slyne defender managed to push
him wide towards the goal line but a quick turn of pace saw him cut
inside and smash home a powerful shot from a tight angle. Longridge were able to see out the final few minutes to seal a hard fought victory .

In summary Keefe and Gornall will be delighted with the spirit shown
today by the players in what was a very physical game and proves you
need a strong squad in this league.

1 G.BATES
2 J.ROSS
3 D.WILKINSON
4 R.HORN ( S.GARRY )
5 P.PAYNTER
6 R.MERCH
7 S.DEAN ( G.ST.VALL )
8 J.MELLING ( J.ENGLISH )
9 R.COAR 2
10 G.HEYWOOD 1
11 L.WILKES

SUBS A.KEEFE,C.NEWBY
MOM D.WILKINSON
next match Sat 16th march home to Crooklands Casuals 3KO