Sunday 20 October 2013

 

Village Manchester's second team gained a valuable point at the weekend as they drew 2-2 with AFC Stockport at Wright Robinson.

 

Following the previous week's demoralising defeat, the team were immediately back in action after a re-jigging of their fixtures saw them come up against AFC Stockport in their third league game. 

 

Again there were a number of changes to the starting line up as McKerlie, Reece, Langford and Panos came in and out went Sal, Findlay, Slater and Mahon.

 

The change in personnel meant that Village had some much needed width in their team - an outlet that was not available against Audenshaw in their previous fixture.

 

The game started off with both teams sizing each other up, trying pick out weaknesses in each other. It was quickly noted that the opposition's captain and central defender was their stand out player and it would take something special to get past him.

 

Despite a number of players having featured in the first team's game earlier in the day, Village started to move the ball around at a good tempo. Feis-Bryce's tackling and passing from defensive midfield provided a great bedrock for the rest of the team to work off and the team soon found the back of the net.

 

Good work down the right wing saw the ball end up at the feet of Reece on the edge of the box. The midfielder took one touch to set himself up and his second saw the ball fly past the keeper into the back of the net. 1-0

 

Village continued to press and it wasn't long until they had a great chance to double their lead. Continuous pressure saw Village win a corner on the right and Reece's deep cross found McPherson unmarked at the back post. The central defender headed the ball into the ground but could only watch on as the ball bounced just over the bar.

 

There was not too long to wait for the second goal to come however. Following a poor clearance from the keeper, the ball eventually fell to Langford 30+ yards out. With the keeper out of position, Langford took the opportunity to smash the ball towards the opposite corner to get Village's second. 2-0

 

Village were on top and were pushing forward to try and get the third goal which could have put the game out of reach. It was from a Village corner however which saw AFC Stockport get back into the game. The corner was cleared and the ball fell to an AFC Stockport midfielder. He elected to hit the ball over the top and found a teammate who managed to knick in between Edwards and Hall to finish into the empty net. 2-1

 

The first half action soon came to a close without further incident.

 

Half time: VMFC2 2-1 AFC Stockport

 

The half time team talk encouraged Village to be more effective on the ball. Despite the lead there were opportunities to take the game to the opposition to get that decisive third goal.

 

The team took on board the managers words and played some nice stuff. They were however restricted to chances from distance as Reece, Langford, Panos and Holmes all had shots from outside the box which sailed high or wide or both.

 

A thunderstorm midway through the half - which resulted in rain so heavy it doubled the weight of the shirts and restricted vision to barely an arm's length - threatened to bring the action to a halt. However, the thunder and lightning soon stopped and both teams were able to put some decent football together.

 

Therefore, it was unfortunate that the next goal came from such simple circumstances. Village were awarded a throw in halfway inside their half which Dornan, who was causing problems down the right, elected to throw back to the keeper. Unfortunately for him, his throw was too short and directly into the path of an AFC Stockport striker. The striker got there before Hall, calmly took control of the ball and passed it into the open net. There was a bit of consternation about the goal however as a couple of Village players were furious with the unsportsmanlike behaviour of the scorer whose shout of 'keeper' encouraged the mistake. 2-2

 

The goal gave the opposition some confidence and they forced Hall to make a smart save down to his left as a shot from the edge of the box was heading in. The opposition continued to press and it took an unconventional 'overhead' kick from McPherson to prevent the ball from reaching a AFC Stockport striker. Edwards' sterling work also prevented a further goal - but it came at a price as his overworked boots split and will now be consigned to the football boot graveyard! 

 

To Village's credit, they pushed forward and tried to find a winner in the time that remained. Things looked promising as Holmes rushed clear with five minutes remaining. He didn't make the keeper work however as he skewed his shot wide. 

 

There was still time for once last chance as Village won a corner in the last minute. The ball fell invitingly to Holmes at the back post and he headed it towards the goal. The header, although dipping, didn't come down far enough and the ball went - along with Village's chance of a winner - over.

 

The full time whistle sounded with the scores tied. In fairness, neither side had really done enough to deserve the victory. AFC Stockport were happy to gain their first point of the season and Village can take heart from a better display than was put in against Audenshaw.

 

Credit has got to go to Edwards who was strong at the back, Feis-Bryce who was instrumental in keeping the team ticking, Mullender who has put in some impressive performances since his return and Reece who put in a good shift despite playing the full 90 minutes in the morning's fixture.

 

The club are next in action on 27 October as they face Everything You Need FC.

 

Full time: VMFC2 2-2 AFC Stockport

 

Other league results: 

 

• Real Mancs FC 7 - 2 Manchester Club Football II

• SG Manchester 3 - 2 Audenshaw FC