L4 Ring In The New Year With 5th Straight Win To Go 3rd

Our first game back after the Christmas break saw us carry on where we left off and stretch our unbeaten run to five games. In a game where we started firmly on the front foot it was New Year but same old failure in front of goal which cost us with both Alex and Ross misfiring with several very good chances. Credit to Mersey Kickers they dug in and made it very difficult for us to break them down and were very physical in their approach. We were dealt an early blow when Anthony Cooke was forced off after just 10 minutes with a muscle injury and our frustration doubled after 28 minutes when they took a shock lead. Sam failed to deal with a free kick almost expecting Harry to collect but a breakdown in communication saw the ball drop to one of their players who dispatched. Both Sam's and the team's response to falling behind however was very good and you could sense it was only a matter of time before we drew level. We should have been awarded a penalty when Gift was clipped then brought down but the referee wasn't having any of it. The equaliser did come however with a couple of minutes before the break when Ross's corner was headed into his own net by one of their defenders taking us in all square into half time.

The second half was very much one way traffic and a change in shape moving to a more conventional 4-4-2 with Dan Galvin linking up brilliantly down the left with Jude gave us more purpose going forward. It was from a move down the left involving them both that put Gift in a crossing position and his pass was met perfectly by Ross who smashed the ball home. Ethan Danku who is having a fantastic second season with us showed his qualities yet again along with his impact as a substitute when he scored our 3rd and Gift wrapped the game up with a cool lob in the 57th minute. It may have been a bit rusty at times but that was to be expected as we haven't kicked a ball in earnest since the 2nd December but it was another win and a big 3 points which means we are now joint 3rd in the table with AFC Warner Colts who await in the upcoming weeks. That has given us something to aim for as we look to keep this good run going into the second half of the season.