Poynton FC 3rd XI Match Reports 2007-08

Saturday 1st September 2007 - Club AZ Reserves 5-0 Poynton FC 3rd XI - East Cheshire League (Division One)

Conditions were ideal for the 1st game of the season though some 1st team regulars were missing due to holidays and injury, Poynton were able to field just 11. In the 1st half Poynton competed well with some excellent inter-passing and were unlucky to concede a goal in the 20th minute, the shot taking a cruel deflection before landing in the net. Poynton continued to battle and Poynton showed there competitiveness with shots from Dan Moult,Ric Cash,Karl Meredith, Phil Beckwith, Bobby Cash and a header from Ewen MacKinnon all going close. Just before half-time AZ added to their tally after substantial pressure from Poynton, the play moving swiftly from end to end. In the second half Jon Wint suffered an injury whilst attempting to block a shot with the opposing forward bearing down on goal. Though a suspicion of off-site , the goal was awarded and the game stopped for treatment to Jon. However, the injury was really severe and Poynton were reduced to 10 men with Dan Moult moving into goal.With Chris Rashleigh carrying an injury also another change resulted in Chris Leach moving in to the back four wth Chris offering nuisance value in midfield. The 10 men of Poynton continued to press and shots from Karl, Ewen, Bobby, Phil, Ric all missed the target. Stamina now become the main element and AZ made use of all their substitutes. The 10 men battled on and were unlucky to concede a further 2 goals with Dan playing excellent in goal. With 2 minutes to go , yet another suspicion of off-side saw Mark Oxborough pull back the opposing forward. A straight red was awarded and Poynton finished the game with 9 men. Overall a disappointing result that really flattered the opposition. Making their first starts for Poynton were Ben Roberts, Karl Meredith and Chris Leach who all played very well and like the rest of the team produced some commendable play. The next game is Pussn'Boots at home and hopefully Poynton 3rds can have 14 players available.

Saturday 8th September 2007 - Poynton FC 3rd XI 1-6 Puss in Boots - East Cheshire League (Division One)

Some changes were inevitable after last week's performance, though non-availability of players and injury to Ben Roberts proved decisive in the team selection. A welcome back to Jake Taylor and debut performances from Sam Bindotti and Jack Faulkner made selections easier. The game started competitively with the first tackle resulting in an injury to Chris Rashleigh, which caused him discomfort through out the match. With Dan Moult carrying a groin injury, Poynton were hard pressed to keep the score level.
After 20 minutes of play Puss in Boots took the lead through a cruel own goal by Jake Taylor. Poynton showed their spirit by replying through a great solo effort by Bobby Cash, rounding the goalkeeper before stroking the ball in the net. Unfortunately, Poynton let their concentration wane and in a spate of 5 minutes, the score became 1-2, 1-3, 1-4 and then 1-5 where it remained until the break. Sam Bindotti replaced Dan in defence and produced some good clearances and passes.
Jack Faulkner on the left was making his debut and produced some fine touches. Ric and Bobby Cash were unlucky in their strikes on goal as Poynton dominated the play. However, Puss in Boots caught Poynton on the break and capitalised on a Steve Hardicre mistake to seal the match at 1-6. Chris Moore replaced Chris Rashleigh after Chris R was again fouled. On this showing it will be hard to beat Puss in Boots, as they now appear to be homing in on their second title. Poynton continue to improve in patches and with an average age of 23 (which must be the lowest. In the league) the future looks bright. Both matches have been against the stronger Premier sides and next week sees Poynton gainst Congelton Vale in the Macclesfield & District Cup.

Saturday 15th September 2007 -Poynton FC 3rd XI 0-7 Congleton Vale - Macclesfield & District Cup (Round 1)

Goals scorers for Congleton: Chris Riley 3 Mark Ogden 1 Keele Mawby 1 Matthew Hill 1 Craig Caddy 1.
HT score was 0-5 with a more spirited display in 2nd half from a young Poynton side but experience told in the end.

Saturday 29th September 2007 -Poynton FC 3rd XI 2-6 Juno United - East Cheshire League (Division One)

Poynton will be rueing missed opportunities as they created at least half a dozen presentable chances in the first half only to find Juno's goalkeeper Richard Lane in fine form. Worse was to follow as, having lost their own goalkeeper during the warm up , stand in keeper Dan Moult, conceded four times leaving the home side with a mountain to climb in the second half. The second half was even though, both sides scoring twice but it was United who went home with all three points , a win that takes them up to second in the table. Robbie Swanson grabbed a hat-trick, Darren Wilson scored twice and Sam Woodward hit a sixth. For the home side Bobby Cash and Euan McKinnon were both on target.

Saturday 3rd November 2007 - Poynton FC 3rd XI 3-4 Cuddington FC - Inter-League Cup (Round 1)

Cuddington rode their luck to take their place in the second round despite trailing 2-0 in the first half thanks to a Rick Lomas double. Fighting back to draw level by the interval, the visitors soon found themselves playing catch up again after Rick Cash converted from the penalty spot. The game was still very much in the balance until Cuddington took advantage of a moments hesitation in the Poynton defence as they appealed in vain for offside and made it 3-3. To compound Poynton's bad luck the winner , in the second half , came courtesy of an own goal.

Saturday 10th November 2007 - Juno United 1-2 Poynton FC 3rd XI - East Cheshire League (Division One)

Poynton fought back from a goal down to secure only their second win of the season at a blustery Sandringham Road. Juno, kicking with the wind in their favour in the first half took the lead on twenty minutes when Robbie Swanson let fly from the edge of the penalty area to register his seventh goal of the season and it was the home side who continued to dominate the play. Fortunately for the visitors Steven Hardicre was in outstanding form in goal and pulled off a string of saves to keep them in the game. Dan Moult pulled Poynton level in the second half and with ten minutes remaining and Juno looking to secure the win, Poynton broke clear and Simon Baldry made 2-1. Sam Woodward had an opportunity to steal a point for Juno in the dying seconds but he saw his shot roll agonisingly wide.

Saturday 24th November 2007 - Old Alts Vets 4-1 Poynton FC 3rd XI - East Cheshire League (Division One)

In an exceedingly well fought match without a single bad tackle the Vets , fielding a team which included seven changes from last week's victory against Juno, overcame a spirited Poynton team to pull three points back on league leaders Puss In Boots and consolidate their second place . The home side took the lead minutes before half time when Ian Hunt broke free and slotted an excellent shot past the Poynton keeper. A goal to the good at the interval the Vets dominated the second half as Tony Dawson and an excellent strike from new signing Duncan Midlemore extended their lead. Poynton weren't finished though and were determined to salvage some pride. Their efforts were rewarded with a fine individual goal from Jake Taylor which brought the score back to 3-1. Unfortunately the comeback was halted when the busy Mike Steele was brought down as he was about to shoot and Gary Fittes slotted home from the penalty spot.

Saturday 1st December 2007 - Poynton FC 3rd XI 1-7 Boarhound - East Cheshire League (Division One)

Another accomplished performance by Boarhound who out muscled Poynton in dreadful conditions. Playing with a makeshift back four the home side struggled to cope with Boarhounds ' physical style of play and could only manage a Phil Beckwith goal despite their endeavour and Steve Hardacre heroics in goal. Boarhounds' Dan Frost ended the afternoon as the hat-trick hero as he hit three but he was well supported by Wayne Shufflebottom, Andy Foote, Craig Hulme and Jamie Collins who all joined him on the scoresheet.

Saturday 15th December 2007 - Poynton FC 3rd XI 3-5 Mary Dendy - East Cheshire League (Division One)

Christmas is supposed to be a time for peace and goodwill to'ward men- unfortunately nobody had told the players from Poynton and Mary Dendy who were in no mood to show any Christmas spirit and kept referee Paul Codling reaching for his notebook. That aside , this was a very exciting game with plenty of goal mouth action and endeavour from both sides. In the end it proved to be a very hard fought victory for the visitors. Despite going in front with a Matty Morris goal on three minutes, Dendy were pinned back for much of the first half and went behind to goals from Phil Beckwith and Rick Sanders. An Andy Currie goal saw the teams go in at the break 2-2. Early in the second half Poynton took the lead again, the unfortunate Paul Cronshaw crashing a superb volley into his own net. This time it was a fine individual effort from Will Tolley that bought the vistors back in the game . The drama occurred with the scores level at 3-3 when both teams had a player dismissed and Poynton had a goal disallowed. The disruption clearly affected Poynton more than Dendy and with five minutes remaining Gaz Burns fired home a pinpoint free kick which ended Poynton's challenge. Two minutes later Burns again turned provider this time allowing prolific striker Matty Morris to head home his fourteenth goal of the season.

Saturday 26th January 2008 - Old Alts 2-1 Poynton FC 3rd XI - East Cheshire League (Division One)

An excellent win for Alts whose second win of the season meant they leapfrogged two places above their opponents. Takunda Masungwa opened the scoring in the first half for the home side with a goal from close range that wiped it's feet before making it over the line. Ten minutes into the second half and Alts had doubled their lead, the hardworking Masungwa again on the scoresheet. Steve Hardacre performed heroics once again in goal for Poynton , keeping them in the game. With ten minutes remaining referee David Friedlander awarded a free-kick right on the edge of Alts penalty area and Ewan McKinnon stepped up to rifle the ball into the top corner to set up a nervy last few minutes.

Saturday 2nd February 2008 - Puss in Boots 5-4 Poynton FC 3rd XI - East Cheshire League (Division One)

If this match was to go to form one would expect Puss In Boots to run out comfortable winners having seen off their visitors 6-1 earlier in the season. This game however, was very different. Poynton started the game with four new signings including a completely new front pairing of Paul Kendal and Scott Bajic and they started well, creating two presentable chances in the opening few minutes. Despite conceding the majority of possession thereafter, it was Poynton who took the lead midway through the half with a low Jake Taylor strike at the far post. A spectacular Adam Bloor strike from 25 yards brought the Puss level and three minutes later Will Herbert gave the home side the lead when his curling cross caught the wind and sailed over a back peddling Poynton keeper. Barely a minute later Emlyn Hughes had an opportunity to make it 3-1 when clean through but his effort rolled agonisingly wide. Keen to get back on level terms Poynton pressed forward in search of an equaliser and their efforts were rewarded as a fine individual effort from Jake Taylor made it 2-2 at the break. Two goals in two minutes barely ten minutes into the second half from Luke Taylor and debutant Paul Kendal gave Poynton a 4-2 lead which stunned their hosts but Simon Gibbons , on as a second half substitute for Dave Clowes slipped the ball through the goalkeepers legs as he raced clear to reduce the arrears and it was his pace again down the left that caused problems as he was hauled down to give Simon Ainsworth the opportunity to tie the game from the penalty spot. Ainsworth stepped up and made absolutely no mistake. With the score level at 4-4 the Puss continued to press as the game drifted into stoppage time and with barely seconds remaining Lee McIntyre thundered a header into the top corner to grab all three points for an overjoyed Puss team and deny the visitors what would have been a well deserved point.

Saturday 23rd February 2008 - Poynton FC 3rd XI 5-2 Poynton Kingfisher - East Cheshire League (Division One)

A good win for Poynton in their derby game with Kingfisher at Woodford Recreation ground. John Cairns opened the scoring for the home side only to see the visitors' leading scorer , Luke Murray equalise. Two Scott Bajic goals , one from the penalty spot gave Poynton a two goal cushion at the break. A second from Luke Murray gave Kingfisher hope as he reduced the arrears to a single goal but Poynton were determined to take the victory and further strikes from John Cairns and a Jonny Davies header made the final score 5-2 - a win that sees the teams swop league positions once again.

Saturday 1st March 2008 - Old Alts 1-5 Poynton FC 3rd XI - East Cheshire Subsidiary Cup (Group A)

Poynton hit five for the second week in a row and must hope Scott Bajic and John Cairns can stay fit and available for selection as between them they have scored nine of the ten goals. Having grabbed two each against Kingfisher , Cairns went one better , hitting a hat-trick against Alts who really are struggling at this level. The only consolation was a goal from Duncan Midmore who has also been on target for the Vets this season .

Saturday 8th March 2008 - Poynton FC 3rd XI 1-0 Poynton Kingfisher - East Cheshire Subsidiary Cup (Group A)

A Jack Faulkner goal puts Poynton in pole position at the top of group A with two wins out of two in this closely fought encounter at Woodford Rec. Referee George Gallimore was singled out by Poynton manager Tom Hardacre for his excellent handling of the game in what can be potentially a fiery fixture between two close rivals.

Saturday 15th March 2008 - Poynton FC 3rd XI 1-6 Mary Dendy - East Cheshire League Cup (Quarter-Final)

Mary Dendy bounced back after their 7-0 thumping last week to inflict a heavy defeat on a luckless Poynton in this bruising encounter at Woodford Recreation Ground. It just wasn't Poynton's day as , having started the game without their regular keeper who was stuck in traffic on his way to the game they gifted Dendy and early lead with an own goal. Things went from bad to worse as they conceded a second minutes later and were then reduced to ten players as the unfortunate Jonny Davies was forced to leave the field for medical treatment on his throat after a challenge with a Dendy player. The visitors then capitalised on their numerical advantage adding a third before half time. With a change of personnel at the break Poynton had a better second half but despite a Chris Oake strike Dendy scored three more times to earn themselves a semi-final birth at home to Puss In Boots. Goalscorers for the visitors included Matty Morris and Mark Parker with two a piece and Will Tolley with his eleventh of the season.