Match report

Westwood 5 - 2 Leeds Maccabi
Sunday 24th January 2010

The boys travelled to their closest rivals Leeds Maccabi for there first game since late November due to the poor weather. They were put under pressure immediately, with the Leeds team going close on a couple of occasions before taking the lead when a through-ball sent the forward racing through and he made no mistake slotting the ball past Joseph Gallagher in the Westwood goal. This early goal had the desired effect on the team and they soon got back into their stride, with Jordan Harrison and Jacob McIntosh taking control in the midfield. They fed Lucas Keenen, who ran towards goal and found the bottom corner to make it 1-1. Both teams then had a few chances but Westwood were playing the better passing game and it was no surprise when Tyler Ratnick scored at the far post with a header after a great passing move to make it 2-1 at half time.

The second half began with the pitch turning into a bit of a mud bath, but this didn't stop the boys playing well and matching their opponents' more physical game with Daniel Francis and Jake Speed very strong and commanding at the back. The third goal came early in the half when Josh Allen found the net with some good determined play. This gave Westwood their needed two goal cushion and but they pushed on to make it 4-1 when Ethan Allen latched onto the ball and buried it in the back of the net. The boys continued to look for a fifth with quite a few chances going begging and conceded a second goal near the end when a powerful short squirmed through Joseph's grasp as the conditions got worse, and crept into the net despite Jordan Harrison' best efforts to clear it.

The result maintains the team's unbeaten run now to 9 games. The coaches named goalkeeper Joseph Gallagher the man of the match because, apart from the goal in the last few minutes, he held on to every shot and caught every cross and distributed the ball well in poor conditions, which gave his teammates the confidence to go on and win the game.


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