Match Reports - Season 2013/2014

1st Team Fixtures + Results, Scorers and Match Reports (where submitted).
Broughton Score First.

Sat. 17th Aug 2013	V	Eccleston & Heskin Res (a) 5 - 5 (ht.1-4) scorers : R. Alston, N. Eccles, M. Finney, A. Butterworth 2
		A crazy game that saw us 2 goals down for almost all the game, but showing great spirit to equalise with almost the last kick. We need to sort out the first half performances. For each of the 2 pre season games - and this one, we we have managed to concede 4 goals in the first period. In this case, a series of fairly basic errors were punished clinically and we spent the whole first half chasing the game, when infact our general standard of play was reasonable and we could have had 3 goals before we conceded anything. Butler released Finney and rustiness showed as the chance was pushed wide. Finney could have had a hatrick had he not been denied by keeper and post but it was left to Butterworth to get the season under way with a curling, dipping free kick. 4-1 down at the break required a rethink and re organisation. Turner came on the provide some support for Alston in midfield. Eccles pushed forward and with loins girded and a collective determination we dominated the second half. Suddenly passes went to feet, runs were made with commitment and opposition pressured in their own half. Finney finally got on the score sheet and Eccles and Finney combined before Eccles slotted home and the fightback was on. Totally against the run of play Eccleston managed another goal but we were not to be denied. With 10 mins to go Butterworth nodded home from a freekick and with almost the final kick salvation came in the unlikely form of Ryan Alston who reacted quickest to a loose ball to cap a deserved fight back. db
Wed. 21st Aug 2013	V	Wilbraham (a) 2 - 6 (ht.-) scorers : C. Butler, P. Monks
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Sat. 24th Aug 2013	V	Walton-le-Dale (a) 2 - 7 (ht.-) scorers : C. Butler, A. Butterworth
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Tue. 27th Aug 2013	V	Baxters (h) 3 - 1 (ht.3-1) scorers : S. Cummins, N. Eccles, P. Monks
		Regular readers amongst you will have been perturbed by the ominous silence eminating from my virtual pen with respect to the last 2 games. Truth be told, for all sorts of reasons, they were most depressing affairs and ones which I, frankly, could not bring myself to even try to put a positive spin on. Each had long spells of good football in which we scored a few but followed by shorter spells in which we invented all sorts of creative ways of conceding a lot and losing badly. Things had to change. A change in management was a good beginning with, at least pro tem, the dream team of Stu Horn and Alex (one ankle) Alston fronting up. They introduced a new formation, we saw the return of a few players and with the sun shining we looked a whole different team. Playing a 5-3-2 the idea was to stop the torrent of goals conceded whilst not playing too defensive a formation - and it worked - very well in the first half - and well enough in the second. Monks, Pendlebury and Owens provided a mostly solid back line, Cummins and Eccles proved a lively forward combination and with midfield still finding their feet we looked solid and dangerous. Star man in the first half was Ash Butterworth who drove forward from a defensive wing back type position to look almost Bale like in his raid down the left. It was from one such run and cross that panic ensued and Cummins was fouled in the box. Monks strode forward to finish the job. We could and probably should have had more, but eventually Eccles doubled our lead with a powerful drive into the top corner. Old habits die hard however and we let Baxters back into it in the simplest of ways - a direct 20 yard through ball was poked in by a fast forward but almost immediately we restored our advantage when Horn realeased Eccles into the box. The trusty left peg made a right balls up of a simple chance - but Cummins was on hand to force the ball home The second half was more even, possibly slightly shaded by Baxters, but for the first time this season we were defensively strong. Other than one effort which hit the bar we were relatively untroubled- even when we went down to 10 men for the last 10 minutes - Monks getting injured after all 3 subs used. At the other end Cummins had a header well saved and Butler and Eccles again went close. We are on our way - and its good to see. db
Sat. 31st Aug 2013	V	Southport Trinity (h) 1 - 2 (ht.1-0) scorers : R. Alston
		Well its a sort of good news and bad news story from the trenches this week. The goods news is that the improvement in both general and defensive play continues to improve from the rock bottom level displayed at the start of the season. The bad news is that we still continue to find inventive ways to concede a goal and lose an otherwise promising position. Despite the usual crop of pre match injuries and holiday departures (Manchester airport must have a special lounge for Broughton - given the number of our players that pass through it during the season) we started well. Embarrasingly we started with only 10 but coped well for the 10 minutes or more prior to our 11th man arrival. It may be that a price was paid for the extra effort expended later in the game, but for the first half we were well on top and worked the ball well through midfield to link with Eccles and jones up front. It really was good to watch and we got a just reward from our best move of the game - Zolotarczuk released Alston and the finish was as cool as you like. It could have been more, prob should have been more, but we were well satisfied with a single goal lead at the break. The second half started with Southport on top but with our defence and keeper continuing to look controlled under pressure. Eccles created then spurned a good opportunity and the Southport forward had a similar aberation in front of our goal, but all in all neither side looked likely to score at that point. The critical point came when Monks succumed to a shoulder injury with 20 mins to go. Lever, who had kept a tight control over their best player had to go to defence and from that point their no7 - and team looked much more dangerous. We dropped deep in midfield and the pressure built and as our energy levels dropped we started to concede possession too easily. From one such situation we got turned in defence and we were level. A basic defensive mistake sealed our fate and would or could have been a win, should have been at least a point became another hard luck story. db
Sat. 7th Sept 2013	V	Springfields (a) 3 - 0 (ht.2-0) scorers : N. Eccles 3
		The journalistic juices flow much more freely when reporting a success and this, at last, was a performance high on positives and almost free of the debacles that have plagued our start to the season. The first half was one of solid defending and creative attacking with everybody doing their bit. Key to the peformance was a solid defenceand McGill, Owens and Monks were largely untoubled throughout the half. When they did break through Joe Hickson was on top form with one save in particular standing out. Going forward front linked with midfield and midfield linked with the back - we looked like a joined up football team! Biggest beneficiary was Neil Eccles with a hatrick being a just reward for a 100% effort, though Butler worked hard and Zoltarczuk shone as a prompter and creator. Eccles first goal was a scrambled affair following a corner, but the second after 35 mins was Van Persie like in its executution. A simple ball in from Horn was taken under control and in one move Eccles turned his marker and on the half volley hammered the ball into the top corner The second half required some solid defending. We could still have scored again, but by and large Springfields had more of the possession and so it came down to our ability to defend as a team. This hasn’t exactly been our strong point this season, but we were able to demonstrate how far we have come by restricting the opposition to long range shots and frustrated punts upfield. As they pushed on they left gaps and this allowed Eccles to add to his tally - and it could have been more had key passes not gone astray at crucial times. db
Sat. 14th Sept 2013	V	Leyland Athletic (h) 3 - 0 (ht.1-0) scorers : A. Butterworth, C. Butler, N. Eccles
		A landmark day, this being the last appearance of Alex Alston, former one ankled footballer of this parish and of late team gaffer, as he heads to spread the word to one of the colonies. At least he went out on a high although we did get the 3 points without really hitting any real form. As Monks was sagely over heard to say "it’s a good team that plays badly and wins". Well, we arent a good team as yet, but we are getting better and we are certainly much better than we were at the diabolical start to the season. We started tentatively and apart from short lucid moments never hit any sort of fluidity. Our most dangerous moments came down the left with Eccles, Butterworth and the aforementioned soon to be colonial combining well. It was this combination that saw us go ahead, Butterworth finishing the move well with a drive into the bottom corner. The rest of the half was fairly even, we never really looked like conceding, but apart from brief counter attacks never looked like scoring either. Shortly into the 2nd half Zolly and Pendlebury hobbled off and Taylor and Barnes sprinted on and though we still didn’t look good, we did at least look more threatening. Eccles increased our lead when set through by Taylor and then could have had another had he not been denied by a last ditch affair. Taylor could have had a hattrick before Butler got a just reward for an industrious afternoon and we could relax. Leyland threatened, but the defence was solid, Hicksons handling get increasingly more confident and we now have gone 3 hours without conceding a goal. db
Sat. 21st Sept 2013	V	Walmer Bridge (h) 2 - 1 (ht.1-1) scorers : M. Pendlebury, A. Butterworth
		With John Livesey added to the managerial team, we now have a management bench that is larger than the playing bench. It's paying dividends however because we now have stability where there was once chaos, confidence where there was once self doubt, determination where…. - I'm starting to sound like Maggie Thatcher - but you get the picture. Walmer started well and though they had more of the possession we rarely looked troubled - the now standard 3-5-2 formation working its stuff and McGill, Owens and Monks fleshing it out as the rear guard. As time went on we slowly played our way into the game - and went ahead when a fine through ball from (somebody - cant remember) reached Pendlebury and he finsihed with a cool knock into the bottom corner. The karma was shattered for a while when a through ball was challenged by a Walmer forward and the Broughton keeper. The attacker timed it right and our keeper slightly misjudged it - and the resultant penalty was converted to bring things level. We could have gone back into the lead almost immediately through a penalty of our own. Butler won the pen when his run was blocked off by a Walmer defensive combo- but sadly our penalty taking was more English than German. Walmer started the 2nd half on top again but we more rapidly got a grip and played some good stuff. Both our forwards worked their socks off and Pendlebury especially had an outstanding 2nd half, frequently turning his marker and only being frustrated by last ditch defending. One such break lead to a corner, Butler drilled the cross low to the near post and Butterworth evaded his marker to turn in what turned out to be the winner. We had to thank a solid defensive display to protect the 3 points, an acrobatic goal line clearance from Monks and some solid keeping under pressure by Hickson. db
Sat. 5th Oct 2013 Cup Rd 1	V	Tarleton Corinthians (a) 0 - 3 (ht.0-0) scorers : -
		GUILDHALL CUP Round 1 Well, this was a bit of a jolt to the significant progress and improvement made over the past few weeks. Its difficult to know why, but we started off slowly - and slowed down. It's fair to say it was a bad day for everybody involved. Management maybe should have changed things around, players maybe should have driven things on from their position on the pitch, but some days you just accept that they did it better. For the first half we were second best, but not by much and our defence continued to look solid - if increasingly stretched. Our isolated forays forward usually involved Pendlebury and/or Eccles, but isolated was the apt description and we failed to get support forward enough, quick enough 0-0 at halftime gave us something to build on, but in fact the Tarelton team kicked on and their domination of midfield increased to a level of almost total control. The resultant pressure on our rearguard became irresitable and the scoreline doesn’t really lie. db
Sat. 12th Oct 2013	V	Newman College (h) 0 - 2 (ht.-) scorers : -
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Sat. 19th Oct 2013	V	Eccleston and Heskin Res (h) 5 - 2 (ht.2-1) scorers : N. Eccles 2, A. Butterworth, M. Pendlebury, C. Butler
		Well, what a difference a week makes. Last week we were slow to the tackle, slow to move into space and generally - well slow in mind and body. There were times when our team collectively would have made me look fast, infact probably my grandma as well. Could the management team lift the spirits ? Well look at the score and you have the answer. Truth be told we could have been 3 up by halftime such was the degree of superiority. We played from the back with confidence, midfield turned it all around and dominated their opponents and the forwards found space everywhere to exploit. Pendlebury especially added style to the middle, but Zolly and Lever also were effectively involved on both attack and defence. We struggled to make it count however. Butler was outstanding right up to the point of shooting. Of his 6 shots in the first half, the only thing in real danger were the passing seagulls and generally we restricted ourselves to longer range efforts when a bit of composure and an extra pass in the box would have been more effective. Eventually we took the lead when Butterworth burst forward and his pinpoint cross was headed in by Butler. Unbelievably Eccleston equalised when a long boot forward caught us out and a slightly hasty challenge lead to a penaly, but we had the bit between our teeth and went straight back down the other end for Eccles to regain the lead. The second half started slowly. Eccleston got a toe hold in the game, and after 10 mins again equalised - but this turned out to be our epiphany. Again we went back down the pitch and Eccles was the recipient of a beautifully weighted pass into the box that bypassed most of the defence but dropped at his feet 5 yards out. It was despatched. The game was put beyond reach by Butterworth - a great header to a great corner from Corey Taylor - and finished off by a superb run and shot by Pendlebury. The last 40 minutes was the best football we have played for a while. db
Sat. 26th Oct 2013	V	Southport Trinity (a) 5 - 3 (ht.1-1) scorers : N. Eccles 2, T. Barnes, K. Czarnota, P. Boardman
		A further sign of progress as your boys inflicted the first defeat of the season on a resaonable Southport outfit and in doing so rose to the top 3 in the division. Even more so is the strength of the squad as we coped with the absence of Owens and Taylor and still had a strong bench. That proved crucial when needed and is a welcome improvement and relief (to all) from the start of the season. It wasn't plain sailing at the start as Southport started on top, especially in midfield, and for the first 25 minutes seemed to have the proverbial extra man. Their efforts foundered on a steady defence and we took a somewhat undeserved lead - albeit of outstanding quality. Boardman had looked the most threatening of our midfield 3 but there looked little danger as he disposessed his man 30 yards out. A run and angled shot surprised the keeper (and our team of travelling supporters actually) and the ball rattled into the bottom corner. Eventually pressure told and Southport got an equaliser that was deserved on 1st half efforts . The second half was much more even. Southport committed more men to attacking through midfield which meant that they looked dangerous in attack but exposed in defence to the counter attack. It was a question of which strategy would prevail. We took the lead after 50 minutes Barnes on hand to finish cooly after good work by Butler. Southport equalised as again a midfield runner wasn’t picked up. Eccles then turned the game our way, first after dispossessing a defender and beating the keeper when mano a mano and then completing a good move prompted by Cummins. With 20 minutes left and Southport then reduced to 10 men we should have seen the game out, but Southport continued to commit men forward and again found an extra man in our box to create a Fergie style squeaky bum situation. Actually the last 10 minutes was not the stressed time it could have been. The defence stood strong and Czarnota was on hand with a delicate finish with 5 minutes to go that gave the management team a chance to smile. db
Sat. 2nd Nov 2013	V	Burscough Bridge (a) 1 - 3 (ht.1-0) scorers : N. Eccles
		Having won convincingly against the top team of the division last week we hoped to consolidate our gain and move even higher. The changing facilities, pitch and weather were atrocious and with a howling wind blowing directly down the pitch this should have been a game of proverbially 2 halves. That it wasn’t was really down to our approach to the game, rather than any lack of ability or effort. With the wind we played some good football. remarkably good given the conditions, but with no real end result. Burscough game plan of pack midfield and break quickly caused us aggravation rather than any real toruble, but we failed to really "go for it" and as a result the half dragged on in a stalemate, and opportunity ebbed away. We need to start believing that we are now a good enough team to win this division and really put teams under the hammer. Eccles did continue his "hot" streak and finished one of our few decisive moves after good work by Benson and Butler came very close with a free kick, but that’s about all that’s worth reporting. The second half, playing against the elements was a different matter. Burscough threw everything forward at every opportunity. Corners, throw ins and long angled balls all drove us back and they then packed the box to take advantage. We conceded a poor goal from a corner and then another when they broke forward at a pace unmatched by our midfield, and with 30 minutes to go things looked grim. Monks and McGill at the back fought hard to keep things together and Hickson in nets looked assured, and slowly we found a rhythm and were able to compete, if not seriously threaten, in the last period. The final goal came as we commited numbers forward. db
Sat. 16th Nov 2013	V	Springfields (h) 2 - 2 (ht.1-1) scorers : P. Monks, N. Eccles
		We could have won this game, probably should have given the way we finished the game, but to be honest we didn’t really deserve more than a point. 30 minutes in we were a goal down and struggling badly before salvation came in the form of the non stop mouth of the Springfield centre midfield. He started talking sh* at the first whistle and was still talking the same rubbish on the way back to the changing rooms at the end of the game. The ref finally got sick of it and sent him off after half an hour, but he still didn’t take the hint and reappeared at every opportunity. Who would be a ref with the stick they get ? Any way, the Springfields 10 men pretty much matched our 11 men for most of the rest of the game - and that probably tells you all about our level of enterprise. Monks brought us level after Butterworth broke forward and our centre back directed a well placed header from the resultant corner. For most of the 2nd half we toiled pretty ineffectually and all the time worried about being hit on the break, with good cause, as Springfields men continued to outnumber us in midfield and break quickly and directly. We were lucky to escape twice, once saved by the post and once by Hickson, before the inevitable happened and Springflieds broke quickly and decisively to put us behind with only 10 minutes to go. Given the previous 80 minutes that seemed to be that, but an inspired move by Management pushed McGill forward and suddenly we seemed a different team. McGill latched onto a fine ball from Stu Horn to get behind the defence - and his pull back was well controlled, and clinically despatched, by Eccles**. Two minutes later a corner. was well met by Owens. The cross box header dropped at the feet of Cummins, 3 yards out and level with the far post - we shall draw a veil over the outcome. A similar silence is best attributed to the final touch of what was our best move of the game in the final minute. The ball ended at the feet of Butler and the resultant lash flew wide. db
Sat. 23rd Nov 2013	V	Baxters (a) 3 - 1 (ht.1-1) scorers : N. Eccles, C. Butler, G. Heywood
		Not many weeks ago missing 3 players from the previous weeks team would have been a tragedy beyond our ability to cope, but with a much stronger squad we were able to call up Guy Heywood and Kieren Cummins and a so we were able to start the game with confidence. It showed, and we edged the first half but without dominating. Mainly the game stagnated in midfield, but we did fashion some good chances with Heywood and Eccles combining well and sharing the opportunities. We perhaps should have been at least one up before Heywood dispossessed a defender and his pinpoint cross was despatched by Neil Eccles. At the other end we looked defensively sound, Stu Horn adding a degree of composure, and when all else failed Joe Hickson pulled out a wonder save to keep things level. It was a save just like Banks save from Pele, except that was a point blank shot rather than a header - and the ugly bugger shooting certainly wasn’t any sort of Brazilian. Baxters intention in the 2nd half was telegraphed within 5 seconds of the start, Cummins being kicked into the air, and so it continued. Infact most of the physical agression was within reasonable bounds, but we allowed ourslves to be bounced out of our rythym and for the first 20 minutes Baxters looked the more likely to score, and when former player Chris Pye knocked in a screaming shot it was essentially what they deserved. We did start to improve from that point. Heywood and Kieren Cummins started to find space up front, and that threat sucked the play down to their end rather than ours. Ryan Alston continued his comeback and started to threaten down the right and from one break down the right Butler was able to turn the ball in. Heywood created the pivotal point in the game by reacting first to a slight mis hit goal kick. Having sensed a half chance before any body else saw any chance at all, he beat his opponent to the ball and first touch hammered the ball back 35 meters past a bemused keeper to make the game safe. db
Sat. 30th Nov 2013	V	Leyland Athletic (a) 3 - 1 (ht.2-0) scorers : N. Eccles 3
		Last time we played on Worden Park the pitch resembled something akin to a bog. Today the pitch was good and the weather was relatively hot, but nowhere near as hot as Neil Eccles who - thankfully - extended his recent scoring run to a goal in each of the last 6 games (and 10 in total). After losing Zolly to injury and keeper Hickson to illness the last thing we needed was a no show, but a non-appearance meant that we unusually started with only one sub. Mick Colclough, fresh from playing for a vets team on Friday night stepped up to play in goals, but having noticed Monks in the team felt fully at home - he was worried he would be the oldest in the team. Introductions over we started well - in particular down the right where Alston had a field day, but we struggled to make it count. Good chances were made - and went close - but just not finished. Eccles got us off the mark, a mistake by a defender let him in, and the trusty left peg did the rest. 5 minutes later the lead was doubled. Alston took his man on the outside and so stretched the back 4 of Leyland. Eccles took the cut back in his stride, paused, looked up, and curled the ball off the underside of the bar. It was a goal to send the the away supporters wild, though to be fair, Dennis (for that was the sum total of our away support) is fairly wild at the best of times. That should have been a springboard for a large score, but infact we started to struggle. Simple balls caused problems and though Colclough showed safe hands to clean up any half chances we struggled to impose. The half time team talk was full of motivational sense. Within 2 minutes of the restart we had lost a goal. It was bad goal to concede with 2 boy scout type bits of play leading up to what was, to be fair, a really good finish to the bottom corner. And so it went on as we gradually became more frustated and less effective. Changes were called for, though it took a while to work out for sure who was (or wasn’t) fit and who did (or didn’t) want to come off. Eventually it was resolved, we went to a five man midfield, the peasants (who had been revolting) were satisfactorily subdued - and we started to play football again. Cummins in particular benefited from the change and started to break forward to great effect. We made the game safe from one such break and having beaten the defence Eccles was on hand to knock the ball in from 6 yards. It could have been more as Eccles (for once) spurned a one-on-one chance, then Cummins just failed to gain a just reward for a great performance. db
Sat. 14th Dec 2013	V	Wilbraham (h) 2 - 2 (ht.2-1) scorers : P. Monks, N. Eccles
		There are 2 ways of looking at this result. It could be construed as progress given we were stuffed by the same team in back in September - or (and I favour this view) is that we should now be beating these teams given our abilities and aspirations are now aimed more at the top of the league than avoiding the bottom. We suffered from a number of absentees, Zolly injured, Pendlebury in mexico, Butler working 3 days notice, Cummins working - 30 minutes notice and Hickson injured, but despite this we got off to a flyer. For the first 15 minutes it seemed that we had a walk in the park and double figures were on. After 2 minutes a long ball evaded the Wilbraham defence and Eccles was on hand to finish. After 10 minutes a fine move involving Alston and Eccles ended with a measured shot by Monks hitting the bottom corner. Eccles and then Butterworth also had good opportunities and it looked like a one sided score was on the cards, but it wasn’t to be and slowly our composure waned and Wilbraham worked their way back into the game. The comeback was triggered by a fine goal against the run of play but ultimately the final score was a fair reflection of the game. We regained our ascendency for a 20 minute spell in the secomd half when Alston managed to get a grip on the game and for that period we could have extended the lead, but eventually it slipped and Wilbraham equalised with 10 minutes to go. Merry christmas to my readers ! db
Sat. 11th Jan 2014	V	Goosnargh (a) 1 - 0 (ht.1-0) scorers : M. Pendlebury
		Negatives, we only just won, we were sluggish and disjointed. The positives, we won, we didn’t concede and the sun shone. To be fair the pitch was sticky and a bit rough - and it was our first game for 4 weeks, so rustiness can be advanced as a part excuse for some of the wayward passing and while we certainly lacked some accuracy, everybody put in a shift and so some of the cracks were papered over. We started well with Cummins looking sharp and Eccles energetic and we broke forward with some enthusiasm. It paid off too after 15 minutes when Cummins avoided a couple of challenges and freed Pendlebury in the box. The keeper got a hand to the shot, but not enough to prevent us taking the lead. It seemed like we would push on for a good win, but the game got mired in a midfield battle where both teams cancelled each other out. Goosnargh continued to find an extra man in midfield, but the longish ball game foundered on our back four of Owens, Monks, and the Horn bros. In turn, we foundered on a sea of misplaced passes from people who normally are more than capable of playing joined up football. Eccles came close in the first half, Ryan Alston's corner was met well by the mean, clean-shaven strikers head, but the result rattled off the post. Czarnota came closest in the 2nd half - again from an Alston dead ball kick , but apart from a couple of half chances that was about it. Looking at it positively, Goosnargh had a degree of possession, but had no real chance of note in the whole of the second period and so the Management stress levels were satisfactorily low. On an international note, our departed former one ankled player and sometime manager has, it seems, buggered his ankle once again, so the Colonies are also being denied the Alston silky skills. Welcome to our world Canada. db
Sat. 25th Jan 2014	V	Walton-le-dale (h) 2 - 2 (ht.1-2) scorers : S. Cummins, M. McGill
		With the weather being so wet , and the pitches even wetter, it was with some trepidation that we switched the game to the 3G pitch at Myerscough. How would your heroes perform on a uniform flat surface? Well, pretty well actually and though the result would suggest an even game infact we used the pitch to greater effect and played our best football of the season. What buggered up our day was a tendency in the first 25 minutes to allow long crosses to be pumped in - and our resulting failure to defend them. Walton's first goal came against the run of play, but was actually a classic counter attacking goal. Long ball down the right, good cross into the box, commitment from Walton attack and midfield to get into the box and bang. The second came from an equally poorly contested corner - and it looked like it might be a long day. However, urged on by manager Jon Livesey, we continued to get the ball down, spread the game and slowly we started to get on top. Cummins started the fight back, bursting into the box at the end of a 5 man move that saw the ball moved from left to right then through midfield and into the box and for a 20 minute spell to half time we had total control, but without a real cutting edge, though Eccles, Cummins and Alston all went close. Walton started the second half well, again counter attacking fast and dangerously, but as in the 1st half we continued to pass and again started to control. Chances came - and went. Nameless left footers made a balls up of trying to shoot with their right - or in some cases failed to shoot at all - and as time went by it looked like we might fail to get anything from the game. Salvation came 5 minutes from the end when after a particularly hectic spell of play, McGill appeared at centre forward instead of his appointed position of centre back - and salvaged a point. db
Sat. 1st Feb 2014	V	Goosnargh (h) 4 - 1 (ht.2-1) scorers : M. Pendlebury, M. McGill, A. Owens, N. Eccles
		The ongoing inclement weather forced another change to the Myerscough 3g pitch and again we showed that in general the surface suits our style of play. Injuries lead to the introduction of Lopko in goal, Zolly in the middle and the Boardman bros, joined the Horn bros to make the squad a family affair. We started well. As last week the surface gave us the confidence to move the ball around the pitch (by and large) without any degree of panic and with the assurity that chances would come. We took the lead with our first clear cut chance, Pendlebury finding himself with space in the box and made no mistake. We were pegged back badly when a speculative long shot from Goosnargh took a massive deflection and brought them level and for a while Goosnargh absorbed our pressure and started to look more dangerous on the counter-attack. The weather deteriorated as did the mood of the packed crowd, but we continued to press and slowly we raised our proverbial game. Key to it were Zolly and Cummins who had a grip on midfield and Stu Horn who, as his fitness improves, is now starting to push forward further down the left side. Finally we regained the lead. McGill raiding down the right (not sure why) sent over a speculative angled ball into the box . Cummins burst into the box to apply the killer touch, using great skill managed to miss the ball completely, and the bemused keeper watched the ball slide into the bottom corner. The second half started slowly but as time went our control passing gave us a significant level of control. It wasn’t total control initially, Lopko had to be alert to make 2 good saves, but his safe handling and distrubution gave confidence, and the bulk of the action took place at the other end. The Goosnargh keeper also had a great game, Eccles, Steve Boardman and Pendlebury all were denied by good saves, but eventually pressure told and Owens forced home the ball after a scramble in the box and finally Eccles got back on the score sheet with a left foot thunderbolt. db
Sat. 15th Feb 2014	V	Burscough Bridge (h) 4 - 0 (ht.1-0) scorers : M. Pendlebury, A. Owens, G. Heywood, N. Eccles
		10 weeks ago we were overpowered by Burscough on a horrible day near Liverpool. On the Myerscough 4G pitch the tables were comprehensively turned as your boys put on a most controlled performance to totally outplay our opponents to consolidate our position at the head of the table. We started the game on the front foot and moved the ball around the park with confidence. With a solid back 4 we moved the ball through midfield at will. If Zolutacrczuk was the always available link man, Cummins was the rapier and Alston and Monks the workhorses, and with such a service Eccles and Pendlebury prospered up front and an opening goal looked inevitable. After 25 mins Alston outwitted his defender in the box and was upended for his trouble. So confident was I that Monks would complete the job that whilst passing time talking to 50% of the home crowd - Pendlebury senior - I missed the resulting failure. We did take the lead 5 minutes later, a lead due entirely to the pressure put on the back 4 by Eccles and Pendlebury junior, the latter putting in a tackle/shot that ended in the bottom corner. For some reason the next 15 minutes were a bit loose. We continued to try to move the ball about, but for some reason it didn’t really happen - and Burscough pushed forward and we had to endure a few hairy moments. Owens got the second half off to a flier though. Stu Horn sent over a peach of a corner and for once we attacked the cross ball with some determination- Owens rising above everybody with an unstoppable header. From then on we got back our mojo. Sean Cummins turned an ankle and Pendlebury (junior) succumbed to the effects of a cold, but their replacements Rob Lever injected an extra level of determination to defensive midfield and Guy Heywood fitted in seamlessly to boost the attacking threat. It was Heywood who was on the end of a 5 man move to stretch our lead to a comfortable one, and Eccles was the hammer at the end of an even better team move to add icing to a very jolly cake. Lopko in goals continued to give assurance at the back and Andy Horn spent more of the second half attacking down the right than defending it and all in all it was a great performance. Manager Jon Livesey continues to take the team forward and the depressing days at the start of the season are now but a distant memory.db
Sat. 22nd Feb 2014	V	Walmer Bridge (a) 3 - 2 (ht.1-2) scorers : M. McGill, L. Zolotarczuk, S. Horn
		Top v Second. The big one. Frankly we got out of jail with this one, but get out we did - and at the end of the day history will record a W - and that’s all that matters. We were hampered by an injury to Sean Cummins and a tummy bug to Ryan Alston, but the biggest handicap was undoubtedly the pitch which started off poor and degenerated rapidly. In fairness a better pitch would probably have suited both sides, but Walmer adapted to the conditions more quickly - and frankly we struggled badly for most of the first half. We had a nightmare start. After only 2 minutes a long ball caught the wind and sailed over our defence's head. A Walmer forward won the resulting footrace and though Lopko got a hand to the shot, the ball ended up in the net. We battled and the work rate was good, but somehow we just couldn’t join things up on a consistent basis. When we did, McGill (promoted to centre forward for the day) looked a threat, but Walmer had a better shape, dealt with conditions better, and had 2 very quick wingers that caused us major problems. After 25 minutes Walmer got a deserved second - and frankly at that point it looked like it was going to be a long and very unsuccesful afternoons work. Salvation came in the form of the uncontrolled mouth of a Walmer midfielder, when, after commiting a relatively benign tackle, he verbally launched into the ref for reason known only to him. A red card followed, and we started to find a little more space and time. We used the advantage to claw our way back into the game and McGill stretched to meet an angled ball just before half time. The packed (of 6) crowd looked forward to a strong second half showing and we did start well, but still without and real coherence. Walmer defended deep, but used the fast winger outlet well and so we were never able to relax at the back - though Owens and Monks had a strong game. As the game progressed we slowly created more pressure and Zolly finally got himself on the end of a move and finished well with a shot into the top corner. 5 minutes later a ball played into Eccles feet drew a foul and with 5 minutes to go we had a chance to snatch the game from the jaws of defeat. Walmer faffed to waste time and build pressure. The crowd got nervous. The players got nervous. Who would have the proverbial nick nacks to take the penalty ? Up stepped Stu Horn, and to finish where I started - the rest is history. db
Sat. 1st Mar 2014	V	New Longton Rovers (a) 1 - 4 (ht.0-0) scorers : K. Czarnota
		Oh dear. Having gone 9 unbeaten and hit the top of the league, this very poor result has probably scuppered our chance of winning, and possible also of coming second. It might have been some complacency but the shape never looked right and nobody looked anywhere close to hitting top form. 0-0 at half time gave us at least a chance of getting things right after the break, but as the 2nd half progressed we looked increasingly less likely to take control and a series of poor and scruffy goals (one of which was ours tapped in by Czarnota) made for a wholly depressing affair. We play against the same team at Myerscough next week - so we had all better learn some lessons. db
Sat. 8th Mar 2014	V	New Longton Rovers (h) 0 - 0 (ht.0-0) scorers : -
		A distinct improvement on last week, but probably not good enough to salvage a top two finish. On another day at least one of a number of good chances would have gone in and all 3 points secured- but one didn’t, and a reasonable team performance was our only real "positive". We looked secure throughout, restricting new longton to probably only 2 half chances throughout the game. Going forward we started slowly . Eccles had an outstanding game throughout, but we were just a little slow to get support up to the front man. Whe we did it was usually Cummins on the end of it and the best 3 chances fell his way - and were either well saved or scrambled away. The second half followed a similar pattern, though we were stronger and the chances more frequent. New Longton defended well and when we we did break though the ball just failed to fall our way or was 1 inch from being converted. After last week everybody needed to restore their reputation, and pleased to say - everybody did. db
Sat. 22nd Mar 2014	V	Newman College (a) 2 - 1 (ht.0-0) scorers : S. Horn, C. Butler
		Last game of the season and a chance to go out with a bang- or rather with a slither, as the rain rendered the pitch difficult to maintain ones footing. Despite the conditions however, the standard of play was high from both sides and a strong argument could be advanced for a draw being a fair result. Heywood was available, presumably the bike having a puncture, and Butterworth returned from injury to replace the hobbling Gilly. Stu Horn moved to centre back and was immense throughout - easily his best game and the initial back 3 of the Horn bros and Ade Owen had a hard time keeping things together until a we changed to a back 4 and a more standard midfield. At that point we started to look more compact and began to threaten down the wings as Butterworth reclaimed some early season form and Horn and Alston combined down the right. What we didn’t do though was threaten down the centre. Eccles and Heyworth worked hard up front and Cummins and Pendlebury tried to get forward, but somehow it didn’t really click. It was better after the break and we did start to control more possession in the last third but we had to wait until the hour mark before making a breakthrough. Chris Ward made a break down the left and was fouled as he broke into the box. Stu Horn converted the penalty and we started to look more comfortable. Carl Butler put us 2 up from 35 metres having spotted the keeper off the line and it looked like it was over, but that was too much to ask for and Newman pulled a goal back with 2 minutes to go. So endeth the 13/14 season. It started poorly, picked up significantly and stuttered a bit at the end. Significant factors in the improvement was the coming of new management team of Stu Horn and Alex one ankle Alston, and then strengthened again by Jon Livesey who took over for most of the second half of the season. And so my missives must end for another season - which is probably a relief for one and all. DB

2nd Team Fixtures + Results, Scorers and Match Reports (where submitted).
Broughton Score First.

Sat. 17th Aug 2013	V	PLCC Nomads (h) 4 - 2 (ht.2-1) scorers : R. Pomfret, A. Chattell, L. Schultz, R. Czerczek
		A new season, some new faces and a new manager for the reserves but the same old issues. At kick off we had 11 plus a geriatric sub (aka the new manager - not Chris Bell!). Thanks to McBowerman, who clearly was taking his new managerial duties for the thirds seriously and was therefore engaged in a scouting mission, the average age of bench was reduced below 40 shortly into the game. In spite of a stag do in Nottingham the previous day a number of players were able to make it back sober (well awake) for kick off. Lowdes however clearly made a miscalculation in either how far it was from Nottingham to Preston, or the amount he would have to drink and was a no show. After a brief flirtation with a more exotic formation in the last pre-season friendly we resorted to that standby of the clueless manager, 4-4-2. Our back line of Iddon, McGill, Ayman and Pomfret could not be described as diminutive, the game would tell us whether they could be described as defenders! We started well and for the first 20 minutes controlled the game, our back line defended well as a unit and we saw plenty of the ball. Most of our chances seemed to be created from dead balls, and it was from one of these that Rafa scored the first. However after this we seemed to take our foot off the gas and let our opponents back into it. They equalised from a penalty, which had resulted from a fairly clumsy challenge from one of our defenders. This seemed to encourage our visitors to try ever more ludicrous ways to dive to try and win a penalty, thankfully the referee wasn't buying it. Shortly before half time we retook the lead when Schultz scored. The second half started with us in control, but our opponents looking dangerous at times. With about 15 minutes gone in the second half there was a nasty accidental clash between Awde and one of their players, which resorted in their guy looking like he had been laid out by Amir Khan and Awde with cut on the bridge of his nose and not sure which day of the week it was. This seemed to change the nature of the game and we went on to score twice more through Chattell and Pomfret. There was also still time for Chris 'Bell' Higgins to talk himself into a sending off from a very officious referee, when his third or fourth legitimate shout for a penalty went unrewarded. A useful start to the season. IW
Tue. 20th Aug 2013	V	Freckleton (a) 0 - 4 (ht.-) scorers : -
		. . .
Sat. 24th Aug 2013	V	Ribbleton Rovers (a) 3 - 3 (ht.2-0) scorers : M. McGill, J. Seddon 2
		People usually fall into three categories; academically able, practically able and prime candidates for the Jeremy Kyle show. It's fair to say that this weeks opponents had more than their fair share of players in the latter category - all prime examples of having been fished from the shallow end of the gene pool. As is now becoming the case a complement of 16 players had turned into 12 by kick off. To be supplemented to 13 when Lowdy very helpfully bestowed his presence on us. The first half proved a re-run of last week with us controlling the first 20 minutes, followed by our opponents gaining the upper hand for the remaining half when we ran out of collective breath. Seddon scored the first when he carefully picked his spot and fired in from the edge of the area. We could have had more but were a little wasteful from a number of opportunities created from dead balls. However they were always dangerous when breaking, and a combination of good defending by our back four (including Pomfret if that's not an oxymoron), their inability to remain onside and some smart saves from our keeper protected our lead. It turned out that our new keeper as well as travelling from the wrong North West conurbation was also connected with a couple of the lads from the third team who formed the 'beat combo' Failsafe (check it out on Wikipedia) which means Broughton could now legitimately enter a celebrity five a side completion and kick the crap out of Westlife. We extended our lead shortly before half time when Rafa won us a penalty which Seddon converted. The game should have been won but we had a second half capitulation to rival England's in the 1970 World Cup Quarter Final, with Rafa taking on the role of Bobby Charlton, only with more hair and our new keeper the Peter Bonetti role. We could have gone further ahead when our only decent passage of play of the second half resulted in veteran Bell squaring to Seddon who should have got his hattrick. However other than that it was mainly one way traffic but it did appear we would hold out. However within the space of 10 minutes we conceded 3 soft goals to find ourselves behind. The game had gradually got more bad tempered and reached a climax when their village idiot was subbed/sent off - nobody was quite sure. However there was still time for one last twist when McGill equalised from a corner. In summary two points thrown away. IW
Wed. 28th Aug 2013	V	Ribchester (h) 0 - 3 (ht.-) scorers : -
		In keeping with a flat performance a flat, perfunctory match report. As with the majority of our matches this season we had the best of the first 30 minutes or so. We should have been ahead through a number of chances created for Rafa, Matt Turner, Allsop and a number of others and also what appeared a stone wall penalty shout when Awde appeared to be illegally brought to ground when bursting through into the penalty area. We looked mainly comfortable at the back, with Fletcher in goal commanding his area. However one decent ball through led to their first and and then a second quickly followed from a throw in and what was a flat performance became even flatter. Things initially in the second half didn't get any better. Subs were brought on by a process of lots - as anyone could have been yanked off. In spite of, rather than because of the subs, we began to again get a foothold in the game and began to put some pressure on their goal. We were again reasonably dangerous from dead balls but still unable to score. Unsurprisingly we were now getting stretched on the break and they got a third from just such a break. IW.
Sat. 31st Aug 2013	V	AFC Preston (a) 2 - 2 (ht.-) scorers : C. Higgins 2
		. . .
Sat. 7th Sept 2013	V	Tareton Corinthians (h) 1 - 6 (ht.0-3) scorers : J. Seddon
		I was always told that if you can't say something nice about people then say nothing - this match report will therefore stick to that credo. I also cling onto the hope that it is always darkest before dawn. However in this case I fear being a blind Eskimo in the middle of the worst Arctic winter since the Ice Age. So to the positives. Fletch our keeper couldn't be faulted for any of the goals and you had to feel sorry for his poor back given how many times he had to pick the ball from the back of the net. Ayman and Matt Harrington in the heart of the defence could only be faulted for one of the goals and prevented a landslide given that any shield in front of them was non existent. It seems somewhat ironic that Ayman is returning to play for a team in the Churches league given that Ayman and Matt's efforts could be compared with the biblical efforts of Moses to hold back the Red Sea - only he was more successful. Chatts tried to emulate Premier League Manager by instigating numerous changes of formation during the course of the game - all with the same effect as shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic. Rafa tried and never hid, even though controlling the ball appeared to be a skill he was only just learning, and he did win us a penalty which Seddy scored. Chris Higgins avoided a booking so avoiding his weekly tithe to the Lancashire FA. Broughton old boy Bynoe, with a temperament as brittle as something that's brittle (I'm all out of similes) ran the show for them and scored some cracking goals - the highlight being a free kick from the edge of the area. If only anyone on our team could have got close enough to kick him. So to finish off as that famous Bradford City supporter and sometime Tibetan spiritual leader the Dali Lama said "Choose to be optimistic, it feels better, and next week we'll knock six past Chipping" (I might have added a little bit at the end). IW
Sat. 14th Sept 2013	V	Chipping (a) 5 - 2 (ht.0-1) scorers : C. Higgins 2, Paul ?, J. Seddon, R. Czerczek
		It wouldn't be a Saturday with the reserves if there weren't the usual problems to deal with, but thankfully between 1.20pm and 2.35pm we managed to track down and transport 12 players and a set of red shirts to Clitheroe - quite why Chipping play there other than it beginning with a C I have no idea. It was an afternoon for redemption or a nail in the coffin for this subscribers belief in the beautiful game. We had two tasks; to rescue some team spirit from the shipwreck of the previous weeks shambles and to represent the club in a more becoming way than the moron who had turned out for the thirds last week against the same opponents. We started well with lots of possession but couldn't score - Higgins coming closest when hitting the bar. When our opponents scored from a speculative cross-come-shot it started to take on the feel of so many of our games this season. However we continued to play football, with Harrington and Owens playing out from the back like Lawrenson and Hansen in their pomp, and Pomfret playing like Julian Dicks. At half time we remained 1-0 down but all we needed to do was to remain patient. We started the second half strongest forcing a couple of good saves from their keeper. However the equaliser was coming and this was duly scored by Seddon with a deft chip. This opened the floodgates and we quickly scored four more through Rafa, Higgins (2) and Paul. We could have had more as we hit the bar and spurned a number of other good chances. It was a shame that we conceded a very soft second goal very near the end to take a little sheen off the goal difference. Although it would be wrong to single out anyone as all 12 who took part made a full contribution, it was refreshing to see Rafa regain his mojo (or whatever else they call it in Poland). It was also refreshing that the team spirit which seemed to have evaporated last week returned with vengeance this week. I think everyone admits our opponents were pretty weak, and we probably got this game at exactly the right team for our collective karma but you still need to beat what's in front of you. IW
Sat. 21st Sept 2013	V	Farrington Villa (a) 0 - 5 (ht.-) scorers : -

Sat. 28th Sept 2013	V	AFC Preston (h) 3 - 3 (ht.1-0) scorers : A. Chattell 2, R. Czerczek
		With no first team game the reserves were at least guaranteed of a full compliment of players, although the usual late cry offs, including one at 2pm tested this to the full. A relatively strong side, a sunny afternoon and playing the bottom of the league side at home all augered well. A formation of 4-5-1 gave Chattell the opportunity to pull strings and drift from the number 10 position in much the same manner as Gasgoine, and about as quick. It also gave Pomfret the opportunity to kick people for fun from the holding midfield role. We started well with plenty of possession. However after only 15 minutes Awde had to be replaced when his bout of man flu was clearly more debilitating than he thought. This forced a quick shuffle which involved Turner joining Pomfret in the middle to kick people. We dominated the first half in terms of possession and passed the ball reasonably well without ever being completely incisive in the final third. Our best chances were yet again coming from dead balls and Rafa scored our opener when a corner dropped to him, unmarked, almost on the line - even Rafa couldn't miss from here. At half time we were comfortable and the only question was could Buxton continue his many overlaps down our right hand side, or would his fairly drastic hair cut drain him in much the same way as Samson. We never really looked in much danger in the second half however we could not get the second goal which our domination required. Out of nothing, our back four who had previously been imperious allowed a soft equaliser and suddenly it looked like our opponents could be back in it. Eccles and Ryan came on to replace Seddon and Rafa to introduce some fresh legs. Chattell who had drifted around the pitch all afternoon then found himself the scorer of two goals - one a penalty - and surely that was enough to kill the game? Oh no. A soft penalty conceded and then an unmarked opponent at the back post brought the scores back level much to the pleasure of the travelling supporters. In the final couple of minutes we looked just as likely to lose the game as win it. In the end we were better value than a draw but if you don't kill opponents off then you always run the risk that you will pay for it. IW
Sat. 12th Oct 2013	V	Ribble Wanderers (a) 2 - 5 (ht.2-2) scorers : T. Lannigan, R. Czerczek
		I sometimes feel like I must have 'Mug' tattooed across my forehead. Am I really going to believe that you have been up all night with a dodgy stomach when you text me at 3.30am on a Saturday morning or at Midday on Saturday to tell me you're not feeling well when your mate has texted me only 2 hours earlier to say he is injured and can't play (that one I actually believe). Clearly I am expected to believe this nonsense, which means that at the moment I am having my drive, roof and various other parts of my house repaired by a very reputable builder of Celtic origin who is doing all this out of the goodness of his heart and for a knockdown (no pun intended) 5 figure sum. I suppose I should be grateful that at least these two chose to text me as one of the confirmed players, who is clearly trying to minimise his digital footprint to avoid detection by MI5, thought we had such a good connection that I could rely on his telepathic thought process/ESP to know that he would not in fact be able to make it. The net of the above was that I was 4 players down on Saturday morning and 5 down by kick off. This situation even forced me into making a long term commitment to my remaining career by investing in a new pair of boots and shin pads (which thankfully were not required to be used in anger). Hallelujah for Sports Direct's 'pile it high sell it cheap/resurrect every crap brand from the seventies and eighties' (but not Gola which would be a step to far) approach to sport retailing meaning my investment was kept to the minimum, and given the quality there is every chance the boots won't outlive me. So to the match report (not before time you may say). We managed to start with 11, a sub plucked from the car park and yours truly. It did not auger well given we were playing second in the league, who had only lost once. It also did not auger well that the referee was being assessed and we had Chris Higgins playing - a booking, at least, would have appeared a bet worth putting your mortgage on. As the ref was being assessed we saw a demonstration of the most petty, pointless rule the cretins at the FA have ever come up with - coloured tape/sock ties to match the colour of socks. If the ref's eyesight is really that bad that this makes the blindest bit of difference then we really are screwed. Somehow amidst the chaos we started the better team - we passed the ball with purpose and accuracy and looked assured. Sam from Uni (studying nutrition apparently - didn't realise picking a kebab house had become a degree discipline) who had approached us wanting to play Saturdays and not knowing the madhouse he was entering, started well in midfield and looked like a footballer which immediately elevated him above Pommy and Lannigan his central midfield partners. We took the lead when Rafa capitalised on some indecision in their defence and slotted in from an acute angle. However this seemed to wake our opponents up and they began to create some chances, which prompted a couple of good saves from Mountain in goal and some last ditch defending from Owens and his centre half partner who cannot be named in print (so to protect his anonymity we'll call him Phil). They equalised when they capitalised on their pace to create their goal. However we were still playing well and were not afraid to try and play football all over the pitch. We took the lead again from a corner when Lannigan headed in from 6 inches. A soft penalty conceded just before half time meant it was 2 all at the break. Unfortunately in the second half our fitness, their pace and a couple of soft goals were our own undoing and we eventually lost 5:2. However taking positives from the game (or clutching at straws depending upon your viewpoint) we had played very well for the first half and were ultimately undone by the fact they had a bench of millions and we had an old man and a mate. IW
Sat. 19th Oct 2013	V	Broughton Ams 'A' (a) 2 - 1 (ht.0-1) scorers : C. Higgins, A. Chattell
		After last weeks long rant about absentees I vowed not to say anything this week. Given one late text, one complete no show and the need to support the Poles (bit like 1939) the manager was forced to make his first start for 6 months proving the wisdom of buying new boots last week. On the presumption that McBowerman Senior will also provide a match report it will prove the point that football is a game of opinions not affected by the truth. With Rafa away it provided the opportunity for Chris Higgins to officially play in a position he has been playing in most of the season - ie. centre forward. It was also a sign of the significance of the game that Lannigan had a quiet Friday night in to conserve his rather limited levels of fitness. When the game got going it became clear that while we may have a lot of possession the Thirds were going to pose a threat from a direct approach. Howarth spent most of the first half bullying our two centre halves and looked effective with his back to goal but less so when presented with any chances - Heskey was brought to mind. The Thirds took the lead after 10 minutes when McBowerman Junior stole in from a corner, unmarked and scored with a free header. They created a few other chances during the first half but we played the better football, all be it sometimes in the wrong part of the pitch. However we never really made their keeper work and lacked a killer touch in the final third. At half time with Owens and Chattell having arrived from their FA course we were able to make a sub with Chattell replacing the manager, at a stroke lowering the average age of the team by 10 years and injecting pace (well Chattell may be slow but it's all relative!). Our midfield five of Farrington (making a rare cameo appearance), Turner, Lannigan, Chattell and Sam (our nutritional advisor) began to dominate possession. We eventually got a deserved equaliser when Higgins finished well. We were also creating chances with both Pomfret and Chattell missing when they should have done better. Our winner came in the final quarter when Chattell gave the keeper the eyes and shot the ball into the opposite corner to which was expected. So a win after a few harrowing weeks and a game, with the exception of a couple of moments of petulance, played in the right spirit. IW
Sat. 26th Oct 2013	V	Charnock Richard Academy (h) 1 - 4 (ht.1-2) scorers : J. Seddon
		I realise that these match reports have become something of a cracked record with regard to describing the trials and tribulations of getting 11 players out on a Saturday - so this week I will keep quiet. Our opponents this week were a bunch of late teens who were too cocky by half, unfortunately as the result suggests we were not able to put them in their place. Tactics bingo this week yielded a 3-5-2, which did not meet with universal appeal. We started slow and got slower. Somehow in spite of having little or no possession we took the lead when Seddon scored a pearler of a free kick. Unfortunately we could not hold our lead, a needlessly given away penalty and a route one goal meant we went in at the break 2:1 down. A change in formation at half time and a bit more care when in possession meant we were slightly better in the second half. However we couldn't convert the few chances we created. Our opponents continued to bully us and a couple of further goals from them didn't really flatter. The last twenty minutes got increasingly fractious with their young lads demonstrating they couldn't win graciously. The miracle was that neither Russell nor Higgins got sent off given their notorious short fuses, and Pomfret was spared an inevitable sending off by an erratic referee. IW
Sat. 2nd Nov 2013	V	Penwortham Town Res (h) 1 - 3 (ht.0-1) scorers : N. Russell
		Given this was the week when a little bit of a breeze brought all those soft southerners to their knees it was not surprising that the afternoon was a little on the fresh side. Equally prescient was that aforementioned storm had been christened St Jude's, the patron saint of lost causes and possibly a suitable epitaph for our season to date. We started the game kicking into the strong wind but this seemed to help us more than them as we played the football and they simply punted the ball forward in the style of Watford c1980. However as with other times this season all the neat football and possession counts for nothing if you can't convert it into goals and we simply can't put the ball in the onion bag. They took the lead after 15 minutes when a bit of ESP between the referee and their free kick taker established that they could take a quick free kick, which was promptly knocked into the net whilst Fletch and the wall were still organising. They created some other chances but by and large we were in charge with Mitchell, Chattell and Sam dominating possession in midfield and Harford and Russell providing width. Russell in particular finding joy down our left. At half time with only a one goal deficit and the wind at our backs we were confident of taking something from the game for a change. However they were the first to score when a rebound from the bar was turned in. At 2:0 down we did not panic and kept playing. With 15 minutes to go Russell grabbed one back to give us a chance of rescuing something. Half chances came and went as we pressed for an equaliser. However the final goal of the game came from our opponents when we switched off and let their number 11 drift into the area to slot home. Sometimes you simply don't get what you deserve. IW
Sat. 16th Nov 2013 Cup Rd 1	V	Little Eagle (a) 4 - 2 (ht.0-1) scorers : A. Chattell 2, M. Pendlebury 2
		WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE MEMORIAL TROPHY Rd 1 The magic of the cup, a team two leagues below us and a pitch the size of a very small postage stamp. A delayed kick off was caused by various geographical problems locating the largest park in Chorley (not difficult to miss you would think!). The crap for brains award was shared between Pomfret, who managed to drive a high powered sports car through a pedestrianised park full of small kids and Farrington, who should really not be let out without his carer, who arrived a full hour late because Astley Park and Hall were not on his Satnav. Whether it was the late start, complacency about the opponents or belief in the manager's aura due to his cup record over the last three years we were awful and got worse. Our opponents created far more problems than they should through the simple expediency of being first to the ball, challenging for everything and peppering the penalty area at every opportunity. Somewhat against the run of play we won a penalty which Chattells stepped up to take - think of mullet haired Waddle (one half of pop duo Chris and Glen responsible for one of the worst records of the 80's) and that penalty in Turin and that would only be the half of it. Having spurned this opportunity our opponents clearly believed it was their afternoon and it was no surprise when they took a deserved lead. A goal down at half time and possibly the worst we have played all season- and that takes some doing. Initially things didn't get that much better. However when following a substitution we moved Chattell up front to partner Pendlebury we started to look like a team. Pendlebury initially wasted a one on one with their keeper which suggested it wasn't going to be our afternoon, however he and the team kept going. Our new forward line, Pendleton & Chattell, then plundered two each, the pick being a 'dinked' header from 20 yards. Following a near lynching from their carrot topped defender Farrington snapped, a booking and a bare chested strop off the pitch followed which was more Rory than Billy Bremner. A win but not the walk in the park this was supposed to be.
Sat. 23rd Nov 2013	V	Broughton Ams 'A' (h) 3 - 3 (ht.2-3) scorers : M. Turner, M. Pendlebury 2
		Hardly a rivalry to match El Clasico, the Auld Firm or Grimsby vs Scunthorpe but a game both sides wanted to win for bragging rights. A quick game of subs top trumps was played before the game which resulted in Garner switching from the thirds to seconds subs bench. Fletch attempted to build some pre match atmosphere with his iPhone, unfortunately all he demonstrated was a particular strange taste in music - Lemmy and Fleetwood Mac together! The thirds started the better and it was no surprise when they took the lead through Bowerman, who had adopted a cloak of invisibility to elude our back line. Whilst we had plenty of the ball nothing was being done at pace and this made it easy for the thirds to defend. When the thirds got a second it was no more than they deserved, and our back four were demonstrating all the coordination of a drunk on a Saturday evening trying to balance on a sixpence. We fortuitously got back into it when Turner tapped in from 2 inches but the next scorers were the thirds who went further ahead when Bowerman again snook in undetected. Just before half time we cut the deficit when Pendlebury wriggled through and we were probably lucky to go in only 3:2 down. It had to get better surely. A couple of changes were made to bring on Garner and move to 4-3-3 in an attempt to throw the dice and make the mobile duo of Berry and Bell at the heart of the thirds defence move a bit more. It seemed to work, and when after a miss from under the bar Rafa was replaced for Corey, we began to really dominate possession and start to create some openings. However in spite of our possession the defence if the thirds looked likely to hold out. However late on Pendlebury managed to force home his second and bring us back on to level terms. In the remaining few minutes both teams had chances to win it. On balance a fair result and honours even. IW
Sat. 7th Dec 2013	V	Farrington Villa (h) 2 - 2 (ht.0-0) scorers : A. Chattel 2
		A match against the league leaders, the usual trials and tribulations to get a team (belatedly assisted by the fact that no other Broughton side was playing) and another United match day when my seat at the Theatre of Dreams was empty - it was fair to say I was not exactly filled with enthusiasm for this one. We raided the first team for a centre half and midfield player but fell short in our attempts to secure a centre forward, so we set up 4-3-3 with Chattel the 'false' number 10 - well if it's good enough for Barca and Spain. We started by far the better team with our back four well organised, the middle three of Pomfret, Alston and Turner winning possession and using it intelligently (not a word you normally use in the same sentence as Pomfret) and Mitchell and Rafa stretching their back four. We had lots of possession, as we have done a number of times this season, but created few clear cut chances the best of which fell to Chattel who blazed over. Our opponents were taking no prisoners in their physical approach to the game and were guilty of a number of challenges which to call them late would be kind. Nil-nil at half time, it was simple all we had to do was repeat the first half's endeavours. For the first 15 minutes of the second half our opponents who had not been in the game suddenly came into it. Undeservedly they took the lead through a scrappy goal coming from a questionable free kick. Very soon after they doubled their lead from the first of a number of questionable refereeing decisions. When their centre forward challenged Greg with his foot up somewhere around his ears it seemed inevitable that the ref would blow for a free kick rather than award the goal - however ref's don't always do the inevitable. From 2:0 down there have been times this season when we have capitulated however not in this match. A first goal back was scored by Chattel when his free kick deceived everyone and went in. The equalizer came when Chattel forced in the rebound after their keeper had made a good save from Rafa. The referee's next attempt to win friends and influence people came when he sent Iddon off for a two footed challenge. It appeared no worse than some of the challenges dished out by our opponents all afternoon but their response to it may have influenced the ref. Quite how their retarded, red haired sub who took the opportunity to try and swing a few punches in the ensuing melee remained on the pitch was a mystery. The refs final failed attempt to win us over came when he only booked one of their players five minutes later for what appeared a comparable foul to Iddon's. We hung on for the last five minutes to deliver a good performance which deserved three rather than one point. My faith in the beautiful game restored and given the score at OT the wisdom of being in Myerscough not Manchester vindicated. MB
Sat. 14th Dec 2013	V	Tarleton Corinthians (a) 1 - 3 (ht.1-0) scorers : A. Chattel
		Last game of 2013 so I'll keep it short. It goes without saying that we had availability issues and the only reason we could field a side was down to a number of third team players turning out for us. Proving that Christmas is a time for miracles Farrington arrived in time for kick off, although the miracle of extracting subs or a literate text from Bury proved too much for the Christmas fairy. Chattel resumed his role of the false number 10 and proceeded to open the scoring for us after 10 minutes. We had the better of the clear cut chances in the first half and the middle three of Farrington, Hopkins and McBowerman Snr provided effective cover in front of the back four prompting our opponents to get ever more fractious with themselves. The defining moment of the game came just before half time. Another good ball delivered in from a corner by Chattel appeared to almost everyone on the pitch to have been forced a good foot over the line before being headed out by a Tarleton defender. Unfortunately the referee was the only person on the pitch not to share that view and did not award a goal. With half time came the wind and as we turned around it increased to gale force and blew directly into our faces. With the wind at our opponents backs it was inevitable that we would need to fight a rear guard action and try and catch them on the break. We couldn't do it. Our opponents equalised from a free kick from the edge of the area, took the lead from a disputed penalty and scored a third (which flattered them) from a bit of a defensive cock up. We did create chances and with a bit more luck could have scored a couple more and come away with a draw. Pomfret, playing at centre half, was the man of the match for us, in spite of his now obligatory dying swan act and a loss of composure which resulted in a booking. In fact Pomfret played so well he made his central defensive partner Bury look very good to. Catlow stepping in at goalkeeper for us at short notice, and leaving aside the third goal, also did a very good job for us. Merry Christmas. IW
Sat. 4th Jan 2014	V	Ribble Wanderers (h) 2 - 2 (ht.1-1) scorers : C. Butler, A. Chattel
		Whilst storms raged around the UK we found ourselves with a decent afternoon to play football and a large 3G surface upon which to play - the size of the pitch was to take its toll later. In keeping with the need for a new year detox, and due to very few things to rant about, this report will be short and to the point. This was a game we should have won easily. We played by far the best football, looking comfortable in possession and moving the ball well around the wide open spaces of the 3G pitch. Chattel maintained his recent scoring run when opening the scoring with a lobbed shot from the edge of the area. They equalised with one of their few chances of the first half when a free kick was headed in. Pomfret and his nemesis from our opponents succeeded in annoying the ref after 30 minutes, which resulted in both being sent off and in the process guaranteed that the remaining 18 outfield players would spend the remaining 60 minutes chasing round the largest pitch in the league to the point of fatigue (and beyond for some). Second half was dominated by us, Butler scored to put us in the lead but Pendlebury, Chattel, Butler, Farrington, Rafa and Monks were all guilty of missed chances. Unfortunately our opponents proved a little more clinical and equalised with one of their few chances of the second half. Shortly afterwards Colclough in our goal prevented a certain goal when saving well from their attacker, who beat Doug's offside flag even though it was being waved manically. A goal from this would have been an injustice to rival Howard Webb's refusal to give United a penalty against Spurs on New Years Day. The game ended in a draw, two points dropped by us but a good footballing performance, which extended even to our back four of Turner, Harrington, McGill and Iddon. IW
Sat. 18th Jan 2013 Cup Rd 2	V	Cottam Corinthians (h) 1 - 3 AET (ft.1-1) scorers : Ward
		WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE MEMORIAL TROPHY Rd 2 With Ian Winn taking a well earned mid winter break in that well known sunspot for football royalty (Upper Langdales in the Lakes) it fell to Chattel to run the show and myself to report on it - though hindered by the problem of not knowing some surnames. The 2nd teams normal policy of offering a game to as wide a range of players as possible was given a late boost when all the other games were cancelled, but with all the 1st team players being cup tied 3 lads were promoted from the 4th team to boost numbers. We started off well though as Sam da-Student (i suspect it's not his real surname) and Rob the Pom combined well in centre midfield and for a while we weaved some nice patterns - but without really threatening anything. As the half went on though Cottam started to gain the inititiative as our attacks foundered on a solid defence and our midfield became over run by Cottams energetic midfield. Central defenders Awde and Ryan coped - just - with a mixture of experience and lack of pace - and when all else failed by empoying some rubust defending. Phil Awde's, who me - I didnt touch him ref, gesture became more familiar as the game went on, and for a while it worked, though eventually our defence was breached when a corner was poorly defended. A change to 4-4-2 at half time gave us a much more solid base to work from. Rafa (1) up front helped Chatts appply some pressure up front and Rafa (2) started to get more involved in the midfield 4. Further tactical changes saw Sam student move to full back and student and Monkchell move to into midfield. Initially the changes had a negative effect because of: 1) Monkchell having his boots seemingly on the wrong feet and 2) Sam students shock at being moved to the wasteland that he perceived as being full back. However soon his ability started to get us moving down the right and Monkchells "Im here, deal with It" approach started to break up Cottams midfield earlier and Pomfret began to make use of the space created. Pomfret had a great game, driving us on for most of the game and rarely putting afoot wrong. Corey Taylor came on as 3rd sub and suddenly we started to threaten more. We equalised when good work from Sam, Rafa (2) and Taylor released Chatts. His angled pass was met first touch into the top corner by Ward and we looked like we would steal the game. We didn’t - and we went into extra time - and though we did have the best of the chances and possession, 2 defensive lapses sealed our fate. db
Sat. 1st Mar 2014	V	Freckleton (h) 2 - 7 (ht.-) scorers : Taylor, A. Chattell

Sat. 15th Mar 2014	V	Ribbleton Rovers (h) 5 - 1 (ht.2-1) scorers : C. Butler, R. Czerczek 2, S. Mitchell, o.g.
		A news blackout followed the last match in which we were frankly an embarrassment. So normal service assumed for this match. Scott Mitchell's mum/PA forgot to remind him that he was responsible for washing the kit and hence we had to rely on Doug turning up at the eleventh hour with a replacement kit. We started 4:4:2 with Chatells in the unusual position for him of right back. With a smattering of first team players it was hoped that we would defend better than we had previously. With a central midfield pairing of Zolly and Hopkins, two deceptive players who are twice as slow as they look, we controlled the game for the first twenty minutes creating some half chances and dominating possession. Our first goal came when an overlap from Chattels resulted in his cross being turned into their own goal by a Ribbleton defender. However we then got sloppy and allowed our opponents to get an equaliser. Just before half time we scored our second when Butler's low shot from outside the area found the corner. We scored the third after half time when Rafa capitalised on some poor defending. From 3:1 the result was never in doubt and Ribbleton got ever more ill disciplined requiring the ref to get writers cramp from the number of yellow cards he had to wield. Further goals were scored by Mitchell and Rafa to round off what was eventually a fairly easy victory. IW
Sat. 22nd Mar 2014	V	Chipping (h) 2 - 3 (ht.0-1) scorers : A. Chattell, A. Milik
		Thank f* this season is eventually drawing to a close, this being the game before our antepenultimate game (or for the less intelligent readers three sleeps to Christmas is the analogy). With the first team playing their last game of the season today, and waiting Derby County like c1972 to see if they win the league ( only without the trip to Majorca and a certain Mr Clough), surely the trials and tribulations of getting a team out for the remaining three games of the season will be behind us. However for this game it was very much the usual lottery. It is helpful that Broughton have benefited from the fall of the Iron Curtain almost as much as Chelsea, and our numbers were boosted by four Poles. In echoes of the current standoff in the Ukraine the warm up however was very much split East and West, and like the Cold War each had their own ball. We also welcomed Mick the Keeper back, and if Giggsy can do it at 40 then why can't Mick - ignoring of course the facts that he has not slept with his brothers wife, does not play outfield and is actually nearer to 50 than 40 probably meaning he has more in common with John 'Budgie' Burridge (google it if your knowledge of football only starts in year zero ie 1992 and is gleaned from FIFA Football on the playstation and not the pages of Shoot where every footballer's miscellaneous likes included Clint Eastwood, Steak and 10cc). Anyway I digress. We also for the first time this season started 4-5-1, with the trio of Scott 'Mario' Mitchell, Paul 'The Sloth' Hopkins and Chattells as a central midfield trio - more Three Stooges than the Everton 'Holy Trinity' of Harvey, Ball and Kendall of the late 60s. Not unsurprisingly, given that half the team didn't know the other half and didn't speak each other's language, we started like an arthritic, asthmatic marathon runner - not just slowly but with little sign of life. For the first 20 minutes there was only one team in it and it wasn't us. Chipping took the lead when they converted one of the many chances they created during this period, and in fact we only remained in the game through a combination of some good saves from Mick and some last ditch defending. However once we had worked out that Metek would never play left side of midfield whilst there was a hole in his backside and therefore moved him to centre forward we began to get some shape and some possession. For the remainder of the half we gave almost as good as we got and should have scored from a number of very good chances, the best being missed by Ryan who rose like a salmon to a Chattells corner - unfortunately he headed it like one to. The second half continued in the same manner with us dominating possession but simply unable to score. As we pushed for an equaliser, and with a back line not endowed with a large amount of pace (tortoises move quicker) we were inevitably going to be susceptible to counter attacks. Following a couple of substitutions defensive solidity was also not helped by the tactical genius of playing a right footer at left back and a left footer (that's the appendage he kicks with not a reference to his religion) at right back. From two breakaways, needless to say, we conceded a further two goals to be 3:0 down with 5 minutes to go. Whilst we played like a drain for the first 20 minutes we did not deserve this scoreline for the 65 minutes that had then ensued. It was to everyone's credit that we kept going and scored through a smart finish from Metek and a quickly taken free kick from the goal machine Chattells**. Unfortunately with only a minute left we couldn't get a third. IW
Sat. 29th Mar 2014	V	Charnock Richard Academy (a) 2 - 10 (ht.0-8) scorers : M. Pendlebury, S. Cummins
		I was going to maintain a silence on the ignominy and scale of this defeat however on the basis that what doesn't break you makes you stronger here goes. In a season characterised by farce, non attendance and disorganisation today put the top hat on that. At 2.30pm without a kit (thanks to Swiss Tony aka Pete Monks who was trying to do a deal on a motor) and two midfielders - Arthur Daley (aka Pete Monks who I loosely describe as a midfielder) and Paul Hopkins, whose driving matched his leg speed ie. slow - the omens weren't good. Thankfully (or not based on the next 45 minutes) our hosts found us a spare strip to play in - a light blue number which clearly against the blue sky made us invisible to one another. In the first of a number of catastrophic decisions the manager decided it was best to start with 10 and wait for Hopkins arrival rather than risk using either himself or Cheesy - the oldest subs since Ripping Yarns was on the TV back in the late seventies. Whilst Hopkins was changing Charnock scored their first goal within the first couple of minutes. Hopkins arrival did not stop the rot and every time our opponents created a chance they scored. Our only moment of hope in the first half was a 30 yard power driver from Cummins which struck the bar. Half an hour gone and losing count of the score line a request came from the players to the manager to do something - unfortunately in the absence of a magic wand or time traveling DeLorean and a subs bench that could remember Spangles we were f@@@ed. At this point the manager was contemplating the best way of resigning - by text or email. The only thing stopping this was that his car was blocked in on the car park. So half time came and we were 8:0 down. Part 1 of the plan perfectly executed ie. lull them into a false sense of security. However a minor miracle occurred in the second half in that we began to look like a football team. We scored twice, through Pendlebury & Cummins, missed a penalty and a number of other clear chances. At 9:1 we had them worried and were about to start the mother of all comebacks unfortunately we allowed a soft free kick to go in which put the game out of our reach. In summary an afternoon best expunged from the memory.
Sat 5th Apr 2014	V	Ribchester (a) 2 - 5 (ht.0-2) scorers : P. Monks, M. Pendlebury

Sat. 12th Apr 2014	V	PLCC Nomads (a) 1 - 3 (ht.0-1) scorers : M. Bowerman
		Final game of season - thank f@@@. This game just about summed up our season in a microcosm - late player withdrawals, umpteen texts to get a team, no striker mixed in with a hint that we are capable of playing football. Luckily for Chatts our keeper had withdrawn in the morning meaning that he could nurse his hangover from between the sticks. Pendle chose to emulate Monks by selling a car on a Saturday afternoon and as a result our only centre forward was unavailable, so 4-6-0 it was. Our tactics, in the absence of centre forward, very quickly evolved into defending with as high a line as possible and hitting it behind their full backs with the hope that from a free kick or corner we could pressure their rather frail keeper into throwing one in. With Stu Horn pulling the strings in a midfield holding role, Monks and Harrington just about keeping their forwards out and Chatts belying his hangover by pulling off a number of smart saves we were just about holding our own. However as the half wore on our opponents began to really move us around and spent the final 15 minutes of the half ganging up on poor old Mike Buxton. Eventually a goal came from this source and our opponents went into the break one up. Second half our opponents continued to move us around with some good pass and move but we were hanging in thanks to some last ditch defending and some great goalkeeping from Chatts. We were creating chances though and when Bowerman emulated Geoff Thomas in an England shirt by hitting a shot which was closer to the corner flag than the goals it looked like he couldn't even buy a goal. However from a corner Bowerman surprised everyone by getting a shot on target and levelling the score. It wasn't quite over for Bowerman though. A pass back from him to Monks was about as accurate as his earlier miscued shot however Monks, frozen by indecision, clearly not knowing whether to go to the ball, kick one of the opponents or dive theatrically did nothing and we were 2:1 down. A third soon followed and the game was over. IW

POS	3rd Team - Division 2	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Freckleton	22	19	2	1	91	29	62	59
2	Ribble Wanderers	22	14	4	4	60	39	21	46
3	Tarleton Corinthians	22	12	7	3	58	36	22	43
4	Charnock Richard Academy	22	12	3	7	72	52	20	39
5	PLCC Nomads	22	9	6	7	48	35	13	33
6	Farrington Villa	22	9	4	9	49	44	5	31
7	Ribchester	22	9	2	11	52	53	-1	29
8	AFC Preston	22	5	5	12	49	65	-16	20
9	Ribbleton Rovers	22	6	2	14	40	71	-31	20
10	Chipping	22	5	3	14	40	64	-24	18
11	Broughton Ams Res	22	4	6	12	45	79	-34	18
12	Broughton Ams 'A'	22	4	4	14	37	74	-37	13

3rd Team Results, Scorers and Match Reports
Broughton Score First.

Tue. 20th Aug 2013	V	Farrington Villa (h) 1 - 5 (ht.1-1) scorers : M. Ryan
		We might as well start the season with a few clichés and this game gave us plenty. The two that spring to mind the most are "you've got to take your chances" and "it’s a game of two halves". In pre-season we have looked to try and play some football (that’s why we’re here, right?) and at times we've looked good when we've done it. Most of the first half in this match was fantastic! We managed to do almost everything that was asked of us; keep the ball, get it out wide quickly, support the attacks and win the ball back quickly when we lose it. We were putting them under pressure and Balch came closest to scoring but their ‘keeper saved well at his feet. We did go ahead with Ryan heading home from a Buxton long-throw (old habits die hard eh?). We should have doubled the lead with Balch again being denied by their ‘keeper from a chance he’d normally score from. They equalised with their first decent chance of the half. Despite this, we carried on playing well and had another couple of good chances with Lannigan coming closest at the end of the half. The half-time team talk was simple: keep it up and take the chances. However, I must have been speaking a different language because we stopped doing everything good and played terrible. We went behind after they broke from our free-kick and they double their advantage a minute later after our ‘keeper dropped a long-range shot and only their forward reacted. They scored another two good goals but in truth we were lucky to keep it down to 5. Fitness was an issue for some players and it needs to improve if we want to enjoy this season. If we play like the first half we’ll do well this year but if it’s anything like the second half it’s going to be a long, long, painful season. I know which I’d prefer. MB
Sat. 24th Aug 2013	V	Penwortham Town Res (h) 1 - 4 (ht.0-2) scorers : M. Bowerman
		Another home game gave us the opportunity to try and forget about the second half horror show on Tuesday but unfortunately we carried on where we left off. An equally gutless first half performance saw us go into the break two goals down and that score-line flattered us as they hit the post twice and had wave after wave of attacks. We rarely threatened them and were outplayed by the only team that looked like they wanted to be there. A few words were exchanged at half-time and we came out a started the half much better. Ashworth broke away three times on the left but didn’t manage to make the most of the attacks. Balch came close from a free-kick and then had a good opportunity from a one-on-one that he probably should have scored. Player-manager M.Bowerman came off the bench and made an instant impact by stabbing home to prevent their defender claiming an OG from a Buxton long-throw. We continued to press for an equaliser but were eventually killed off with two goals in the last few minutes. The difference between the two halves was massive but we need to start putting a good performance in for the full match. Our next match is at Cottam Sports Arena and we won’t be able to blame the long grass there for not playing some football!! - MB
Tue. 27th Aug 2013	V	Ribble Wanderers (a) 4 - 3 (ht.2-1) scorers : M. Bowerman, C. Bury, N. Balch 2
		Away to a team that have won 3 out of 3 is the last thing you want when you are a team low in confidence and have struggled to get going this season but this was the game we faced. However, a chance to play on a football pitch instead of an over-grown field was welcomed. We stuck with the same formation as the last two games but more time was spent before the match trying to explain the roles expected from everyone – it was in vain as we struggled to get it quite right again. We did however have a lot more effort from players and this was probably helped by explaining just how many other players were missing tonight and looking to get back into the squad. We went a goal up early on when a Buxton long-throw was flicked on to M.Bowerman who headed into the top corner to score his second goal of the season. We gave up that lead after their winger beat a few players and crossed in for a tap-in for their forward. N.Balch has missed a few chances this season that he’d normally score but he looked much sharper as he controlled a Buxton pass (probably a long-throw) on the edge of the area, turned and volleyed in with his left foot to score a fantastic goal. We were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty after a C.Bury shot after a free-kick inside the area was blocked by the hand of a defender in the 7-man wall. We got in at half-time and were pleased with the score but knew that we could still improve. They drew level after they got an early penalty. The decision was soft but fair and their forward made no mistake from 12 yards. We were unlucky not to go ahead again as M.Ashworth had a chance cleared off the line and we were made to pay as our hosts went 3-2 up, scoring a header from a corner. A couple of subs were made to freshen things up and we pushed R.Humphries upfront to try and get something from the game and this helped us to turn the game back in our favour. We equalised with 10 minutes to go after a scuffed shot-come-cross from centre-back M.Ryan found his defensive partner Bury at the back post and he buried (no pun intended!!) it with a powerful first time shot. With a few minutes left, J.Adamson was brought on to cause problems at a corner and he stood next to their ‘keeper and forced him to drop the cross and there was Balch to turn and shoot and find the bottom corner through a sea of legs. We hung on to claim 3 points against a good team. We still have work to do and need to organise ourselves a bit quicker but the effort is starting to come back. MB
Sat. 31st Aug 2013	V	Ribbleton Rovers (a) 1 - 2 (ht.1-1) scorers : N. Balch
		We went to Frenchwood hoping to build on our good win during the week. After the success at the end of the last match we started this game with a 4-4-2 formation. We started the half brightly and nearly went ahead from a good long-range shot from Murphy but we actually went behind when a poor shot from them took a wicked deflection and left Sprake with no chance. We responded quickly and drew level after M.Bowerman won the ball in the middle of the pitch, played in Humphries who then played a clever ball to put Balch one-on-one and he finished well. We were then denied a penalty after their defender handled inside the area but the referee bottled it and gave a free-kick outside the area. The referee caused more controversy when he waved play-on after Humphries was dragged down by the last man when he was through on goal. We had other chances and finished the half as the stronger side. Balch went off injured at the break and the rest of the team never really got going in the second half. We did have the best chance when Ashworth got on the end of a Humphries flick-on but he shot wide. Subs T.Bowerman and Adamson had chances too but never really hit their shots as well as they’d hope. Other than that, it was all Ribbleton and they put us under a lot of pressure as we struggled to get out of our half. We looked like we were going to hold out for a point but the ref missed (or ignored) a bad, high tackle on M.Bowerman with a minute to go, Ribbleton got a corner and then scored after we switched off from a set-piece for the first time. A tough one to take but we can’t afford to keep playing so poorly for a half in each match. MB
Sat. 7th Sept 2013	V	Chipping (h) 4 - 3 (ht.1-1) scorers : Murphy, Houghton, Ashworth 2
		Home against one of the few teams below us in the league made this a very early must-win match for us. We started the day with too many subs but by kick-off we were down to 12 after a few players were promoted to the 2nd team and some of those left behind didn’t turn up. However, we still had a strong team out and were confident of being able to get something from the game. We went behind early in the match with Chipping scoring from a corner. We almost equalised instantly but Ashworth missed a good chance. Ashworth made up for the miss and scored a far more difficult chance from the edge of the area. The rest of the half was close but we had the better chances and Houghton and M.Bowerman both came close. We went 2-1 behind early in the 2nd half from another corner. We responded quickly with Murphy scoring from the spot after a handball. We went 3-2 behind from, yes; you guessed it, another corner. It wouldn’t have been so bad if their average height wasn’t shorter than ours. M.Ryan was playing upfront and had his best game of the season so far. He caused their defence problems all afternoon created a number of chances, the best was cleared with a brilliant tackle as it looked like Houghton was going to tap-in. Ashworth, who has missed a few chances this season was rewarded for his determination to keep trying and scored his second of the game from another difficult chance on the edge of the area to bring us level. With 10 minutes to go, Sprake made a great save when a defensive mistake let their forward go through one-on-one. We then scored on the break to go ahead for the first time in the match with Houghton finishing well on his debut. We had a few other chances to extend that lead but never took them. A good win but we need to defend corners better because the last 5 goals we’ve conceded have come from them. We’ve got another big game against Charnock Richard Academy next week. MB
Sat. 14th Sept 2013	V	Charnock Richard Academy (a) 1 - 5 (ht.1-2) scorers : S. Rawsthorn
		There isn't a positive way to report a game we’ve been lucky to only lose 5-1 to a bunch of 16 and 17 year olds. On a good pitch they were simply faster, fitter, better and more motivated than we were. We went ahead against the run of play after one of our very few decent moments of the game with Balch and Murphy passing well before finding M.Bowerman who split open their defence and played in Rawsthorn who smashed the ball in. They had a goal not given after Bury cleared the ball when it was at least a yard over the line. They equalised after Sprake dropped a soft shot at the feet of an attacker and went behind just before half-time after our defence watched the ball bounce off our crossbar whilst their forwards reacted and scored. The second half was one-way traffic and karma caught up with Bury as he scored 2 own goals and was shown up for their third. One positive is that they didn’t score from any of the 20-odd corners that they had! Things have got to improve. MB
Sat. 21st Sept 2013	V	Tarelton Corinthians (h) 4 - 4 (ht.0-3) scorers : N. Russell 2, M. Finney, J. Bowerman
		We had to make a number of changes to the squad from the last week with some players moving up to the 2nd team, some going down to the 4th team and others missing through injury and it helped change the attitude of those few that were left as we produced our most spirited performance so far this season. Tarleton were a much stronger side than last season and whilst the first half was even we found ourselves 3-0 down at half-time. We came close a few times with Finney having a good chance and Catlow having a headed goal harshly disallowed. In previous games this season we would have gone on to get beat without much of a fight but today was different. We knew that if we scored early in the second half we would be able to get back into the game. We got our first of the game after a Finney corner was brilliantly headed in by Russell. We made it 3-2 as provider turned scorer and Finney scored. We had another goal wrongly disallowed by after their linesman put his flag up after the ball rolled into the net. Russell equalised with a well-placed chipped shot when it looked like he was going to cross the ball in. J.Bowerman, who our opponents had tried to wind-up all match, put us ahead after he powered his way through 3 or 4 tackles in the penalty area and rounded the ‘keeper before bursting the net to get back at them in the best way possible. We had our 3rd goal wrongly disallowed when their linesman flagged again after Finney, who was clearly onside, scored a goal that would have sealed the points. They then equalised a few minutes later to replicate the famous 4-4 draw between Dundee Utd and Inverness CT in 2012. It was a decent match and we’ve come away feeling like we’ve lost but to come back from 3-0 down is a good achievement and it would have been 3 points if their linesman had any sporting decency in him. We just need to tighten up in defence and we’ll start moving up this league. MB
Sat. 28th Sept 2013	V	Freckleton (a) 1 - 3 (ht.0-2) scorers : M. Ashworth
		Away to top of top of the league was always going to be a tough match but we made them work for it and were a bit unlucky to lose in the end. We knew that they’d keep the ball well and set-up with a 5-4-1 formation to try and soak up the pressure with the aim of getting them on the counter attack. Bell dropped down from the 2nd team and went into the back 5 and we looked more organised at the back as a result. Freckleton had a lot of the early possession but were limited to long-range shots that rarely trouble Sprake. We should have gone ahead when Ashworth put Smith through on goal but the forward shot wide. Cruelly the hosts scored with their next attack; a long range shot was heading towards Sprake but the ‘keeper lost the ball in the low sun and their forward took advantage and headed in. Towards the end of the half Murphy skimmed the outside of the post with fierce long-range shot. Freckleton doubled their lead with their next attack as a long range shot went through Sprake. We were 2-0 down but it was two soft goals right after we could have had two ourselves. Freckleton got their third a minute into the second half with a well worked goal taking advantage of half our players still not switched on after the break. We made a few subs to freshen things up and Humphries made his return from injury. We had chances to get back into it through Smith and Garner before we did give ourselves a lifeline with Ashworth finishing well after beating their ‘keeper in a race to the ball. It was fairly even after that but we couldn’t get another goal to put some pressure on them. It’s hard to be too critical because Freckleton are a good side and with a bit more luck we could have got something out of the game. We can build on this and just need to decrease the number of costly individual errors. MB
Sat. 5th Oct 2013	V	AFC Preston (h) 0 - 3 (ht.0-0) scorers : -
		Whoever said attack is the best form of defence has never had the pleasure of watching the third team of Broughton Amateurs. We started the game with 4 forwards on the pitch (and another 2 on the bench) and just 3 defenders in the squad and, as a result, we never really had the right balance throughout the game. It was like an anti-Craig Levein formation and was closer to 0-6-4 than 4-6-0. We were the stronger side in the first half and had plenty of chances. Balch headed onto the bar from a Finney corner and Smith should have scored when one-on-one with their ‘keeper. It was goalless at the break and we were in a good position to go and win the match and started brightly with Finney and Howarth both having decent chances. We were punished when they scored two goals in as many minutes with about 25 minutes to go and they added another in injury time. The main difference between the sides was that they played as a team and passed well to each other whilst we tried to do too much individually. This was well demonstrated as two of their goals were tap-ins after unselfish passes opened us up. The worst thing about the match was the away fans out-sung the home fans for 90 minutes. MB
Sat. 12th Oct 2013	V	PLCC Nomads (h) 0 - 4 (ht.-) scorers : -
		. . .
Sat. 19th Oct 2013	V	Broughton Ams Res (h) 1 - 2 (ht.1-0) scorers : T. Bowerman
		It’s been a very long time since Broughton’s 2nd and 3rd team have played each other in a competitive fixture and it was expect that there would be a lot of players making themselves available for the match. 90 minutes before kick-off we had about 7 subs between the two sides but by kick-off we had just 22 players!! The first half was a close affair with the 2nd team having more posession but we had the better chances. We went ahead when T.Bowerman got on the end of a Rawsthorn corner. Howarth and M.Bowerman both came close to doubling the lead with the only significant chance for the 2nds being well saved by Sprake. Bury and Harrington had formed a decent partnership at centre-back and had managed to stop most of the attacks before they could threaten our goal. They played with 5 across the middle and were often over-running our midfield 4 so Balch dropped back from attack but this made it more difficult to mount attacks of our own. By half-time the 2nds had found a couple of subs and made one change at the break. As a result, they started to make their extra posession count a bit more. They equalised after a T.Bowerman tackle on the half-way line split our defence in a way they had failed to do themselves all match and their forward finished well when one-on-one with Sprake. The match could have gone either way after this with both teams struggling to make the final ball count. We had too many crosses, corners and free-kicks go harmlessly into their ‘keepers hands. With 5 minutes to go, a poor clearance went straight to their sub, rolled down his leg and somehow found the bottom corner. We couldn’t find a way to equalise and ended up losing what was a really close match, played in a good spirit. MB
Sat. 26th Oct 2013	V	PLCC Nomads (a) 0 - 3 (ht.0-0) scorers : -
		Away to a team that beat us convincingly a few weeks ago and despite the heavy rain the match was on and we were playing in front of our biggest crowd this season with about 40 in attendance. The pitch wasn’t great but it’s fair to say that we were just as bad. We were actually the side that looked most dangerous in the first half and Rawsthorn came close a few times to breaking legs! We also looked like the team most likely to score and Howarth came close from a free-kick and had another effort cleared off the line. Sprake was forced into one good save but we probably just shaded the first half despite our opponents having more procession. We went behind early in the second half with Rawsthorn doing his best to get sent off and giving away a daft penalty when defending a corner that was posing no danger. After that, our heads dropped and our lack of fitness in the middle of the pitch started to show and we were over-run. We had a couple of chances but they had much more and in the end we were lucky it was only 3-0. Because of our three-point deduction earlier in the season, we are now planted at the bottom of the league and a massive improvement is needed if we are to stay in this division. MB
Sat. 2nd Nov 2013	V	Charnock Richard Academy (h) 1 - 3 (ht.1-1) scorers : G. Smith
		Last time we played Charnock Richard we played on a glorious day, on one of the better pitches in the league, and they gave us our biggest showing up this season. This time the weather was dreadful, the pitch was awful and we gave a much better account of ourselves and their 3-1 win flatters them a lot. The match was given the green light despite all the rain we’ve had this week but the biggest surprise was that we had 15 players an hour before kick-off! We were able to welcome back Murphy, Smith, Humphries and Bell after they’d all missed a few matches and we looked much stronger as a result of 3 of them going straight into the starting XI. We played with the wind in the first half and we were on top for long spells, mainly because Sprake could find their penalty area every time he got the ball. It was Sprake kick which helped us go ahead after Balch caused their defence problems the ball fell to Smith who coolly scored his first goal for the club from the edge of the area. Smith came close to doubling the lead with his neat shot striking the crossbar. We did have a let off when they broke from a corner and hit the post, although they were ruled offside before the shot. We continued to battle (for the first time in weeks) and the visitors never looked like opening us up, mainly because Bell and Bury had formed a good partnership and were both winning their personal battles whilst breeding confidence into their full-backs. However, when you are stuck down at the bottom things seem to go against you and what happened at the end of the first half was one of the most bizarre things I’ve seen at this level (and that’s really saying something!). Their had a throw near our corner flag, the throw was an obvious foul throw, it went to their player, who slipped on the wet pitch and the ref blew his whistle. Everyone on the pitch thought it was for the foul throw but the ref was pointing to the spot! Even their players couldn’t believe it! So we went into the break level despite being the better side. We knew that things would be a bit tougher in the second half as the wind would be against us but we knew that if we kept up our efforts we could get something from the game still. However, the weather got worse, the wind got stronger and hailstones were coming into our face. During the worst of the weather, they had a long-range shot that swerved and swayed in the wind and made it difficult for the ‘keeper to see it let only save it and Sprake could only parry it to their waiting forward to tap in. We pushed for an equaliser and had some good chances from a succession of corners with both Smith and Humphries wasting good chances. Sub, Joe, helped us push further on and open them up but we couldn’t make the break through. They scored a good goal in injury time to put the game beyond doubt. The penalty decision was a shocker and went a long way to turning the game against us. It was a much improved performance and our best in a few weeks. We were making more of the right decision and cut out a lot of the daft mistakes we’ve been making recently. If we can build on this performance, our luck, and results with start to turn. The only negative from our side is the few decent chances we missed and it fair to say that if we’d been more clinical this season we would be much higher up in the table than we are now. MB
Sat. 16th Nov 2013	V	Tarleton Corinthians (a) 0 - 5 (ht.0-2) scorers : -
		This was the 4th time Tarleton had played a Broughton side this season and so far we were the only side to get anything out of the match in our 4-4 draw in September. However, there was little suggestion that we could repeat that performance or result this time. We were a goal down early on after we failed to get organised quickly enough when they won a free-kick and Askworth ended up scoring a goal. We were two down after we didn’t get organised quickly enough when they won a corner and their tallest player was unmarked at the back post. We were limited to long range shots as we struggled to get out of our half. In open play we were well organised and made it difficult for a team that boosted two players that really shouldn’t be wasting their Saturday afternoons in Division 2 of the Mid-Lancashire Football League. It’s hard to believe that two talented players like that get much joy from beating a side that plays with a 40-odd year old at centre-back – and not always coming out on top! The second half was tougher and a mixture of tiredness and demoralisation meant they scored a further three with two of them coming in the last few minutes. A much better effort is needed next week. MB
Sat. 23rd Nov 2013	V	Broughton Ams Res (a) 3 - 3 (ht.3-2) scorers : T. Bowerman 2, og
		Everyone has been talking about the big local derby in the North-West that finished 3-3 this weekend and it really was a cracker for the 15 fans that turned up to Myerscough! Sitting bottom of the league isn’t a nice place to be and it’s even worse when you don’t think you deserve to be down there. After last weeks result we knew that we needed to up our game if we want to stay in this division and this was a good chance to do so as our best performances this season have come on good pitches and this was one of the best in the league. We started with a 4-3-3 formation to try and combat the 4-5-1 formation that the 2nds played with in the game earlier in the season but they started with a 4-4-2 and this gave us an extra player in the middle and allowed to take control early on. Balch skipped past a couple of players and played in T.Bowerman who made no mistake when one-on-one with their ‘keeper. The 2nd team equalised shortly after but there was a suspicion of offside in the build-up to it. Our front 3 of Balch, Smith and T.Bowerman were opening up the 2nd team at will and we look good every time we went forward. We regained the lead when Balch hit a shot that was going into the ‘keepers hand but was knocked in by a defender sliding in for an own goal. We won a free-kick after a nasty challenge on T.Bowerman but the forward responded in the best way possible by scoring after Balch headed down the cross from the dead-ball. With an extra player in the middle it meant that our back four were almost always one-on-one at the back and they defended well throughout the half. It took an excellent solo run to open them up and pull a goal back before the break. Before the start of the match we had 4 subs and the 2nd had just 1. To try and get everyone a game, Garner swapped benches – this was the biggest mistake the 3rd team made all afternoon! To make matters worse, one of our 3 other subs had disappeared without explanation (next week our squad will be wearing “Find Mark Ashworth” T-shirts in our warm-up) and Garner could/should have stayed with us. The 2nd team brought Garner on for the 2nd 45 minutes and he had his best 45 minutes of the season so far (Cheers Adam!). The change helped turn the balance of the game and the 2nd team started to put us under a lot of pressure. The back 4 of Buxton, Bell, Bury and Catlow were keeping them at bay and the only time they opened us up Rafa hit the crossbar from about 2 inches out. Smith had a chance shortly after but couldn’t get it on target. With less than 10 minutes to go they equalised after a dodgy throw-in was given and from the throw they got a chance which was mis-hit and then took a deflection over our ‘keeper. It was a sore one to take. We had a couple of chances to get a winner with Humphries beating 3 players before having his shot well saved and Murphy, who was excellent, heading a chance almost identical to a goal he scored against us last season, but that too was well saved. This game was much higher in quality than the match between the two sides a few weeks ago and we’ve come off feeling like we’ve dropped two points. However, this performance gives us something to build on and the team is finally starting to look settled. Next week…top of the league. MB
Sat. 30th Nov 2013 Cup Rd 1	V	Eccleston & Heskin Res (a) 0 - 4 (ht.0-0) scorers : -
		WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE MEMORIAL TROPHY RD 1 The third team have reached the final of the cup in 4 of the last 5 seasons. This fine run will not be continuing this season. We had to make an incredible 8 changes to the starting XI from the team drew with the 2nd team last week with just 5 of last weeks 15 available this week. We did however have a fairly decent team out and we were by far the better side in the first half. We had more possession and better chances but we failed to take them. Chattell had a shot saved after a fantastic passing move and Rafa missed the target when through one-on-one after Balch played him through with a pass that doesn’t belong at this level. Their only real chance came from a free-kick which should have been a drop-ball for a clash of heads and they hit the bar from it. As we switched sides at the break and were looking forward to playing with the low sun behind us, the clouds came and took away our advantage. We went a goal down after we failed to stop a shot from outside the area. They scored another two within 10 minutes of the first goal and then another with minutes left on the clock. Again, this is another match that we should have got something from but not taking our chances has cost us. MB
Sat. 8th Feb 2014	V	Ribchester (h) 2 - 2 (ht.0-1) scorers : L. Bocchino, M. Finney
		Our first match in 10 weeks because of the unplanned winter break was moved to Myerscough as it was free and the Broughton pitch still hasn't quite recovered from the recent bad weather. At the start of the day we had 17 available with another maybe and the manager was trying to work out the fairest way to cut the squad down to 16, or even 14. A few late call-offs meant that we had the perfect number of 14 but the balance wasn't quite what you’d want as we had 5 forwards available. In the first half we went against the strong wind with the intention of keeping the ball on the ground and working it up-field as any long balls would have been blown back towards us. As a result, we played some decent football. The forward three of Bocchino, Sprake and Balch were particularly good as they cut open the opposition defence a number of times. The wind was their best player in the first half and we struggled to get out of our half, especially on goal-kicks and throws (even Mike Buxton’s throws didn't go very far!). The wind turned a tame shot into a good shot and Colclough escaped embarrassment as he parried one onto the bar. Sprake had the best chance of the half after his strike partners linked up well to put him one-on-one with their ‘keeper but the shot was well saved. We looked like we were going to make it to the break all square but a poor clearance was blown out by the wind for a corner and the visitors were awarded a soft looking penalty as the corner came in. The forward made no mistake from 12-yards. At the break the message was clear: keep playing the way we are. It will be easier to get the ball out of defence, and more difficult for them. We still need to keep the ball down because playing with the wind can be difficult too. We were lucky not to concede within a minute of the re-start with Catlow clearing off the line. We then starting to get into the half and equalised after 10 minutes with Bocchino, making his first start for the club, finishing well from a tight angle. The game started to open up even more after that but Ribchester quickly went ahead again after the wind kept the ball in play after a poor cross, which fell kindly to their forward who lifted the ball over the advancing ‘keeper. With 10 minutes left on the clock, a beautiful weighted ball through the middle sent Finney on his way, after he did well to beat the offside trap. Finney easily round the ‘keeper and walked the ball into the net. Both teams went for it in the closing stages and we had a few chances to win the 3 points. Balch headed and then shot narrowly wide with a couple of minutes. Finney had a shot headed off the line and then we had a good penalty claim as a Ribchester defender handled in the area. Ribchester threatened a couple of times too on the break. It’s another point of the board but we’re starting to run out of games. There is no reason why we can’t start to win this sort of games and hopefully we can start next week against fellow strugglers. MB
Sat. 22nd Feb 2014	V	Ribchester (a) 1 - 4 (ht.1-1) scorers : L. Bocchino
		The story of our season continued at Ribchester, the side we should have beat two weeks ago but only managed to draw. At 11am, we had a strong squad of 14. By kick-off, we had just 11 players. It was a decent 11 but our options were limited and we had to start with a 3-4-3 formation. We started the brighter of the two teams and should have been 2-0 up in the first 10 minutes after Balch, Finney and Bocchino worked well to create chances for each other but the final efforts were right at the ‘keeper. We did go ahead after Finney played in Bocchino who rounded the ‘keeper, a defender and then finished well with defenders around him and on the line. Ribchester came into the game a bit more after that but we still looked the better side with the two Nathan’s, Balch and Russell, causing the most problems. The hosts equalised after we failed to clear a corner. We had chances to go back ahead but never took them. They stepped it up in the second half but it took a ridiculous decision from the referee to help them get their second after he failed to call offside (not helped by not having any subs). They quickly added a third and it was a struggle after that. They finished the job off with pretty much the last kick of the match – there was time for Balch to shoot from kick-off but the ‘keeper saved. This was another opportunity lost but we have to stop feeling sorry for ourselves when decisions go against us – we should be used to it after this season!! MB
Sat. 1st Mar 2014	V	Ribble Wanderers (h) 0 - 3 (ht.-) scorers : -
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Sat. 8th Mar 2014	V	Farrington Villa (a) 2 - 4 (ht.1-2) scorers : G. Smith, L. Bocchino
		It’s been a long season and we’ve had some beatings that we deserve. We didn’t deserve this one. We went to Leyland with 12 fit players and 2 other emergency subs, but it was a decent enough XI, the struggle would be if players got injured or ran out of energy. We went behind after about 20 minutes after our centre-back, who was lying injured a yard from the goal-line, kept their forward onside after a deflected shot fell kindly to him and he scored past the returning Sprake. We equalised quickly after their centre-back failed to deal with a Balch cross and headed it towards Smith, who volleyed home a cracking goal. A few minutes before half-time, their forward pushed our centre-back off the ball, then kicked it out for a goal-kick. Was it a free-kick or goal-kick? No, of course it was a corner to them. And yes, they scored from it. We got in at the break knowing we were still in it, particularly with our three forwards, Balch, Smith and Bocchino causing the hosts problems. A catalogue of errors allowed them to go 3-1 up midway through the second half but we kept going. With 10 minutes left, Bocchino scored a cracking solo goal, similar to the 2 he’s already scored this season, taking it round defenders, then the keeper and scoring from a tight angle. We pushed on for an equaliser and thought we’d got it after Bocchino played in Smith who smashed the ball past the ‘keeper. Disallowed. Offside. Joke. We kept going and thought we’d equalised again with the same two combining for what should have been Smith’s hat-trick. Disallowed. Offside. Joke. Hardly any point carrying on after that and they scored another late on to send their players into a cocky mentality. We were well and truly robbed here and it’s a damn shame for the lads who worked their arses off to get something from the game. Special mentions to Murphy, Bury and Shannon, who were excellent in the middle of the pitch and Smith, who 'scored' 3 good goals. MB
Sat. 15th Mar 2014	V	AFC Preston (a) 3 - 3 (ht.0-3) scorers : L. Bocchino, C. Bell, OG
		This week saw us head to Preston’s home of football: Moor Park. We eventually got enough players to get a team out although we had less than 11 a couple of hours before kick-off. We started with a 4-5-1 formation as we were a little short of forwards for the first time this season. There was a 3rd team debut for Spanish Kevin but he was more like Danni Minogue than Dani Alves at full-back and he was badly exposed in a torrid start to his Broughton career as the hosts raced to a three goal lead before the break. We had our chances with the best coming from the penalty spot at 2-0 but Bocchino, who won the penalty, hit a tame shot that was easily saved. The score did flatter them but it could have actually been worse had it not been for some solid defending from Buxton, Humphries, Bury and Catlow, once he’d been moved back to left-back to make us more solid at the back. Bowerman, the only sub and nursing a swollen ankle and chest infection, came off the bench to help turn the match around and things were certainly better in the second half. We pulled one back through Bocchino, who made up for this penalty miss by volleying in from a Buxton long-throw. We then dominated the match but didn’t look like we were going to get another as we hit the post, had efforts cleared off the line and forced their ‘keeper into some good saves. We got a second with 10 minutes to go after their defender headed in an own goal from a corner when under pressure from Humphries. We pushed for an equaliser as they tried their best to time waste. A free kick on the half-way line in injury time gave us the chance to push everyone forward into the box. However, Sprake miss-hit the free-kick and it went out for a goal-kick. It looked like our chance had gone. However, the goal-kick was hit directly to the feet of Clint who took a touch wide and hammered the ball towards the back post. The next bit was in slow motion as Bocchino tried to get on the end of it and missed but the ball still went in and we were level! The ref blew shortly after and we nicked a point when it all looked hopeless at half-time. Well done lads on a superb second half performance – it’s good to finally get something we deserve. MB
Sat. 22nd Mar 2014	V	Ribbleton Rovers (h) 4 - 3 (ht.3-1) scorers : C. Bell, G. Smith, N. Balch 2
		We needed to win this match to give us any chance of avoiding relegation (assuming the league are only going to relegate 2 teams and aren’t going to piss about with the divisions again). Ribbleton are one of only 2 teams that we can over-take and we came into the game full of confidence after last weeks fight-back from 3-0 down. The formation picked out of the hat this week was 4-3-1-2 and this allowed Balch to play in the free role. We were rewarded with his best performance of the season as almost everything we did well came through him as we destroyed our visitors in the first half. We took the lead when Balch played in Clint who slid in with 2 defenders on the edge of the area and the ball somehow came out of it and floated right over the ‘keeper and into the net. We doubled our lead when Balch played a delightful 30-yard pass to Smith, who controlled the ball well, threw the defender a dummy and then fired into the bottom right-hand corner. Balch then helped himself to a goal by lobbing the ‘keeper from outside the area. It was 3-0 going to 7 or 8 as we had two disallowed as both Balch and Bocchino were ruled offside, we hit the post from distance and Horton shot just past the post from the edge of the area. Everything was looking rosy until the last minute of the half when their forward received the ball on the edge of the area, turned and shot into the top corner to pull one back in style. The first 20 minutes of the second half was like a different match as Ribbleton came back into the match. The midfield 3 of Murphy, Horton and Clint were now starting to be outnumbered and as a result Ribbleton created a number of chances and were unlucky not to get a couple. Sprake made a couple of good saves and the back 4 worked hard to make things difficult for the forwards. They pulled a goal back mid-way through the half and it was a cracker; their player took the ball on their left, beat a couple of players and shot into the top corner from an angle. Now the memories of coming back from 3-0 down were working against us! We switched to 4-4-2 to turn the tide back in our favour and brought on Hart for his return to the team at right-back and pushed Shannon on to his preferred position at right-midfield. The game started the even out again and we looked to have sealed the win when Balch scored another lobbed goal from the edge of the area. However, they pulled one back almost immediately with a fine solo goal. There weren’t many chances after that until the last minute when Sprake came out for a long ball but was beaten to it by their forward who cut inside and hit a shot towards the goal. It looked like we’d gone and conceded another goal at the death but Hart had other ideas and cleared it off the line. Our first win since September! And we deserved it! Our 3rd win of the season and all three finished 4-3! We would have moved up to 11th if the 2nds had managed a win (cheers lads!). Now all we need to do to avoid relegation is win our last 2 matches (one of which is against top of the league), hope Ribbleton lose their last 5 matches (and we claw back a 9-goal goal difference (easy with our two wins and their 5 defeats) and hope Chipping lose their last 5 of their last 6 matches (one of which is against us and one is against Ribbleton - which we need them to win). The great escape is still on. No game now until 19th April … just as we were getting a run going! MB
Sat. 19th Apr 2014	V	Chipping (a) 4 - 2 (ht.2-1) scorers : N. Russell, N. Balch 3
		Our penultimate game of the season and we were facing one of the few teams we’ve beaten this campaign whilst on our best run of the season (4 points for 6!). We headed to Chipping with 12 players expected. 14 arrived but unfortunately, Chipping don’t play in Chipping; they play in Clitheroe. A seven-car and van convoy from Chipping to Clitheroe arrived but with barely enough time to announce the team (which changed several times on the journey between the two pitches), never mind have a decent warm-up. This didn’t effect us and we started strongly. Balch had an early shot which resulted in the best save of the match. Unfortunately for the hosts, it came from one of their defenders. The referee decided against a red card but did award the penalty which Balch coolly finished (right foot) to give us the lead. We quickly doubled the lead when Balch skipped past a challenge in the box and shot in through a crowd of players (left foot). Chipping came into the match a bit more and we were nearly caught out a couple of times on the break and forced Sprake into one good save and Bury had to clear one off the line. We got through the pressure as Murphy and Butterworth were getting the better of their midfield three and allowing our wide players, Russell and Horton, to get up and support Balch and Humphries upfront. Our full-backs, Turner and Catlow, were also getting up a lot and both took a lot of throw-ins between them as we pushed them further and further back. Regular readers will know that things don’t always go to plan for the 3rd team this season and we shot ourselves in the foot again shortly before the break when Sprake, who has been back to his best recently, threw one into the net. After the break, Chipping had a go at us and Sprake made up for his earlier save when he got down to a long-range shot at the bottom corner. Catlow hacked another effort off the line. Buxton and Smith were brought on early in the second half to ensure everyone got a decent run (and to make sure no players wished they’d gone to the 4ths!) and Smith had a couple of early chances but couldn’t get them on target. We regained our two-goal advantage when player of the season, Rob Catlow, crossed in and Balch got his head on it to knock the ball onto a defender which then went over their ‘keeper (head - perfect hat-trick!). The last couple of matches Balch has been playing in the free role behind the lone forward and we’ve started to see the best of him. The best goal was saved for last and Nathan Russell beat 4 players before knocking the ball into the far bottom corner which put the result beyond doubt. Bury and Monks lit their cigars and coasted through the last period of the match. We had a few more chances with Smith, Horton and Balch all coming close. Chipping pulled a goal back in the last 10 minutes but never looked like getting a 3rd. Smith had a goal harshly disallowed for offside in the last minute but it ended with a comfortable 4-2 win. 3 games without defeat! This season is ending too soon for the team although a match against runaway leaders next week will give us a good test on how well we’re actually doing. - MB
Sat. 26th Apr 2014	V	Freckleton (h) 0 - 5 (ht.-) scorers : -
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PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY Sat. 3rd Aug 2013		Broughton v Oswaldtwistle St. Marys FC (a) 1 - 4 (ht.1-3) KO: 2.15 pm @ OSWALDTWISTLE, Heys Sports Complex, Heron Way. BB5 3BT scorers: P. Monks
		First game back and it showed. It didn’t help that management in its wisdom set up the team in and overcomplicated way and this combined with facing a strong wind meant that we looked disjointed from the off. We were 2 goals down within 15 minutes and it wasn’t improving. A change of formation after 30 minutes had an immediately beneficial effect and suddenly a game broke out. We were unlucky to go 3 down after a series of half mistakes but near the end of the half Butterworth was upended in the box and Monks calmly slotted home. The second half was much better. Ossy rarely threatened and when they did Monks and Owens 1 (and Owens 2) were equal to most of it and Hickson in goal showed ability and confidence beyond his tender years. Also putting in a performance which belied his (not so tender) years was Bell who was clearly our best performer in what had been a poor first 45 minutes. Other positives were Ryan Alston in midfield and burst from Pendleburuy in the second half - It will improve. DB Note: This Pre-Season friendly has been played between our two clubs (almost) every pre-season since 1993. This was the first time we've visited Ossy - they've just spent almost £1m developing the pitches and changing facilities at Heys Playing Field, which only opened during 2012-13 season, so they were keen to host us - for once and we obviously looked forward to visiting them. Check out the Ossie St Marys website for more info on our long term friends and opponents. So far (after this match) playing record is: P.20 - W.12 - D.1 - L.7 - F.60 - A.42
PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY Tue. 6th Aug 2013		Broughton 3rd Team v Freckleton Res (a) 1 - 2 (ht.-) scorers: M. Ryan
		Match report will be published here when submitted.
PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY Sat. 10th Aug 2013		Broughton 3rd Team v Chorlton Irish FC (h) 4 - 2 (ht.-) @ MYERSCOUGH scorers: K.Owen, E.Braithwaite, M.Bowerman, R.Humphries
		Match report will be published here when submitted.
PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY Sat. 10th Aug 2013		Broughton 1st Team v Horwich (h) 3 - 4 (ht.2-4) @ MYERSCOUGH scorers: C. Butler, N. Eccles, M. Finney
		As last week this was a game of 2 proverbial - and literal - 2 halves. We spent the first half trying to work things out - and they spent the first half running through us. We did start to sort things out a little as the half went on and there were a few positives. Butler and Eccles scored 2 good goals and Sean Cummins reappeared after injury, but 4 goals against tells a story - and it wasn’t a pretty one. We reorganised and collectively reaffirmed that which we should have been doing - but hadn't for the first 45 mins. Defensively - as a unit - we were much tighter though it took the post to save us on 2 occasions. Going forward we did exercise some control though the passing is still too wayward and as a result a good number of excellent possibilies were spurned for the lack of an accurate 10 metre pass. Still, we did go close on a number of occasions and closed to gap to one of respectibility when Finney lashed in a half volley after good work by Eccles and Russel. db
PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY Tue. 13th Aug 2013		Broughton Team v Horwich (h) - (ht.-) KO: 6.45pm @ BROUGHTON scorers: -
		Match report will be published here when submitted.
PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY TBA		Broughton Team v Newman College (a) - (ht.-) KO: TBA
		Match report will be published here when submitted.
PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY TBA		Broughton Team v Deepdale (h) - (ht.-) KO: TBA scorers: -
		Match report will be published here when submitted.

POS	1st Team - Division 1	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Walmer Bridge	24	14	7	3	81	40	41	49
2	Baxters	24	15	2	7	69	40	29	47
3	Southport Trinity	24	13	6	5	71	49	22	45
4	Broughton Ams	24	13	5	6	59	48	11	44
5	Walton-le-Dale	24	11	7	6	60	53	7	40
6	Newman College	24	11	4	9	61	46	15	37
7	Burscough Bridge	24	11	2	11	56	58	-2	35
8	Wilbraham	24	8	9	7	70	62	8	33
9	Ecclestone & Heskin Res	24	7	5	12	58	62	-4	26
10	Springfields	24	6	7	11	46	74	-28	25
11	New Longton Rovers	24	6	5	13	40	58	-18	23
12	Goosnargh	24	5	6	13	48	68	-20	21
13	Leyland Athletic	24	3	1	20	42	103	-61	10

POS	2nd Team - Division 2	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Freckleton	22	19	2	1	91	29	62	59
2	Ribble Wanderers	22	14	4	4	60	39	21	46
3	Tarleton Corinthians	22	12	7	3	58	36	22	43
4	Charnock Richard Academy	22	12	3	7	72	52	20	39
5	PLCC Nomads	22	9	6	7	48	35	13	33
6	Farrington Villa	22	9	4	9	49	44	5	31
7	Ribchester	22	9	2	11	52	53	-1	29
8	AFC Preston	22	5	5	12	49	65	-16	20
9	Ribbleton Rovers	22	6	2	14	40	71	-31	20
10	Chipping	22	5	3	14	40	64	-24	18
11	Broughton Ams Res	22	4	6	12	45	79	-34	18
12	Broughton Ams 'A'	22	4	4	14	37	74	-37	13

POS	4th Team - Division 3	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Southport Trinity Res	20	18	0	2	95	28	67	54
2	Cottam Corinthians	20	14	3	3	59	26	33	45
3	Broughton Ams 'B'	20	12	3	5	73	55	18	39
4	AFC Blessed Sacrement	20	10	5	5	55	40	15	35
5	Walmer Bridge Res	20	10	1	9	61	45	16	31
6	Freckleton Res	20	9	2	9	41	49	-8	29
7	Tarleton Corinthians Res	20	8	3	9	36	50	-14	24
8	Hoole Utd Res	20	4	5	11	39	68	-29	17
9	FC Ribbleton	20	5	1	14	47	64	-17	16
10	Newman College Res	20	5	1	14	39	78	-39	16
11	New Longton Rovers Res	20	2	2	16	30	72	-42	8

Sat. 17th Aug 2013	V	Cottam Corinthians (h) 4 - 4 (ht.-) scorers : L. Pazgan 2, S. Pazgan, W. Pasiek
		First game of the season and any match reports will be inserted here when submitted. First game of the season and any match reports will be inserted here when submitted.
Wed. 21st Aug 2013	V	Newman College Res (a) 6 - 2 (ht.-) scorers : L. Pazgan 4, M. Ryan, M. Mierzejewski
		...
Sat. 24th Aug 2013	V	New Longton Rovers (a) 4 - 1 (ht.-) scorers : L. Pazgan 2, M. Mierzejewski, D. Gancarczyk
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Sat. 31st Aug 2013	V	Freckleton Res (h) 3 - 0 (ht.-) scorers : K. Glik, S. Pazgan, K. Stanczyk
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Sat. 7th Sept 2013	V	Hoole Utd Res (a) 6 - 2 (ht.-) scorers : M. Mierzejewski 2, R. Grodzicki 2, R. Palka, P. Baranowski
		Report . . .
Sat. 14th Sept 2013	V	Southport Trinity Res (h) 2 - 4 (ht.-) scorers : S. Pazgan 2
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Sat. 21st Sept 2013	V	Southport Trinity Res (a) 2 - 6 (ht.-) scorers : C. Ward, S. Pazgan
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Sat. 5th Oct 2013	V	AFC Blessed Sacrement (a) 2 - 2 (ht.-) scorers : S. Palka, R. Czerczak
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Sat. 12th Oct 2013	V	Bolton Utd 'A' (a) 1 - 4 (ht.-) scorers : L. Pazgan
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Sat. 19th Oct 2013	V	Freckleton Res (a) 5 - 1 (ht.-) scorers : L. Pazgan 3, C. Ward, J. Adamson
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Sat. 2nd Nov 2013	V	Tarleton Corinthians Res (a) 5 - 3 (ht.-) scorers : M. Mierzejewski, S. Pazgan, L. Pazgan, M. Ryan, C. Ward
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Sat. 9th Nov 2013 Cup Rd 1	V	Southport Trinity Res (a) 2 - 3 (ht.-) scorers : R. Czerczek, R. Palka
		WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE MEMORIAL TROPHY RD 1
Sat. 16th Nov 2013	V	Hoole Utd Res (h) 3 - 1 (ht.-) scorers : C. Ward 2, Karpinski
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Sat. 23rd Nov 2013	V	Walmer Bridge Res (h) 4 - 2 (ht.-) scorers : L. Pazgan, Glik 3
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Sat. 30th Nov 2013	V	Bolton Utd 'A' (h) 0 - 2 (ht.-) scorers : -
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Sat. 14th Dec 2013	V	FC Ribbleton (a) 3 - 3 (ht.-) scorers : L. Pazgan 3
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Sat. 4th Jan 2014	V	Tarleton Corinthians Res (h) 2 - 4 (ht.-) scorers : C. Ward, L. Pazgan
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Sat. 22nd Feb 2014	V	Newman College Res (h) 4 - 3 (ht.-) scorers : L. Pazgan 2, Glik, S. Palka
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Sat. 8th Mar 2014	V	AFC Blessed Sacrement (h) 5 - 4 (ht.-) scorers : M. Mierzejewski 2, C. Ward 2, Karpinski
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Sat. 15th Mar 2014	V	FC Ribbleton (h) 5 - 3 (ht.-) scorers : C. Ward 2, Milik, Sobota
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Sat. 5th Apr 2014	V	Cottam Corinthians (a) 2 - 3 (ht.1-1) scorers : R. Palka, C. Ward
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4th Team Table Sat 12th Apr 2014	V	Walmer Bridge Res (a) 3 - 5 (ht.-) scorers : J. Murphy, C. Ward, J. Adamson
Latest Reports: 1st Team 2nd Team 3rd Team 4th Team		. . .
Sat. 19th Apr 2014	V	New Longton Rovers Res (h) 3 - 2 (ht.-) scorers : R. Palka 2, o.g.)
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