Man of the Match

IT'S been a long time coming and there have been some tearful moments along the way, but finally Jack has got his hands on the prized 'Man of the Match' trophy.

For weeks I have told him that it's hard for a defender to get the MOTM award when your team's winning by sometimes a ten-goal margin.

It hasn't stopped him feeling overlooked and unwanted. One night as he lay in bed, tears welled up and he said in a tiny broken voice: 'But dad, I'm desperate.'

What do you say? I was trying not to cry myself.

The trophy shared his bed for a week before being handed back tonight when Jack took the honour of being skipper.

"I'll just give it one last hug," he said as we left the house.

Now, since he's won the award, he's started worrying about his teammates. He said he's even prayed that James would notch up his debut goal because he's trying so hard and improving fast. It oh-so nearly worked - James hit the post tonight.

Here's the last two match reports from the club website...

Harvey's Delight

Crosby Stuart FC U6s 3, Ormskirk West End U7s 3

It was honours even when the two unbeaten teams in their respective leagues fought out a tense and exciting friendly.

Crosby Stuart started the better team and quickly raced into a two-goal lead courtesy of well-taken goals from Andrew Welch after some good work down the right wing.

As the game continued Ormskirk began to find their feet and started to put a lot of pressure on the Crosby Stuart defence with a succession of corners from which they pulled back the two-goal deficit before half time.

The second half began with Ormskirk creating the more chances and only a string of excellent saves from keeper, Paul Williams, kept the scores level. Ormskirk eventually took the lead after a goalmouth scramble from another well taken corner.

Credit to the younger Crosby Stuart side who never gave up and battled back well to force an equaliser from Peter Silcock from a great cross from Andrew Welch.

It was a nervy last few minutes as both teams had chances to win, however, it was relief all round when the final whistle eventually blew leaving both teams with their record intact.

Special mentions to man-of-the-match Jack Harvey for some great work in defence and also to keeper Paul Williams for a great performance between the sticks.

The lads played on Monday against a good side but ran out comfortable winners. I thought it was their best team performance to date and I was proud that Jack played the whole match as skipper.

Mighty Dozen

Crosby Stuart FC U6s 12, TMS U6s 3

Crosby Stuart continued their fine run with another comprehensive victory against a well-organised TMS side.

Crosby Stuart again started brightly and raced into an early lead. They continued to take their chances well and despite TMS having their fair share of possession, another excellent defensive display from MOM Andrew Begbie ensured that their chances were limited and Crosby Stuart went into the break with a comfortable lead.

With a few changes in personnel for Crosby Stuart and a determined TMS display, the match was closer in the second half but still Crosby Stuart managed to stretch their advantage with some well taken goals giving a final scoreline of 12-3.

Goals for Crosby Stuart coming from Peter Silcock (4), Andrew Welch (3), Max Smith (2), Kieron Thornton and two own goals.

The scoreline didn’t do TMS any justice with both teams playing their part in a well-played game. Some of the passing and movement from both teams was excellent and belied their young age.

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