Frickley U23s 4 IlkleyTown 2
Three wins on the bounce now for Frickley’s youthful U-23’s side which included 7 U-16’s.
In the 1st half the home side dominated from literally the 1st minute when Josh Cummins found George Blaydes who cooly fired home past the advancing keeper, great start.
Within 10 mins the lead was doubled when Taylor Armitage crossed for the skilful Joe Cooney to superbly head home from just inside the box.
Ilkley to be fair created several good chances to score but were thwarted by good defending from young 16 year old debutant James Nicklin who was outstanding throughout and assisted by the more experienced Ryan Clements. To add to the defensive regaurd was Ross Pritchard who was commanding as usual.
20 mins in Bailey Cowsell fed George Blaydes who chased down the through ball to see the goalkeeper’s attempted clearance hit him and deflect into the back of the net. 3-0 up in the 1st 20 mins.
The rampant home side hadn’t finished as Bailey Cowsell scored the goal of the game when he superbly hooked a volley into the bottom corner from just inside the box from a Mason Kilmartin free kick.
What a 1st half, 4-0 to the home side.
2nd half was equally as entertaining as both sides created several chances to score, Bailey Cowsell had a goal ruled out for offside and had a shot well saved from close range.
Subs Lucas Brown, Joe Wilson and Ben Jennings were introduced to replace their academy teammates Joe Cooney, George Blaydes and James Nicklin. All of these will soon be representing Frickley Athletic U-16’s on an upcoming football tour to Romania (Have a great time lads and enjoy!).
Lucas Brown showed outrageous skill midway through the 2nd half producing a rabona pass to play in Joe Wilson, a remarkable piece of skill for a young lad playing his second game at this level.
Unfortunately, Frickley couldn’t convert another one of their chances, Ryan Clements had one header cleared of the line, Joe Wilson fired over from close range and Jake Kirkham had a thunderous shot cleared of the line.
Ilkley, to their credit, never gave in and scored 2 late consolation goals, which they probably deserved if honest.
Special mention has to go Ross Pritchard who played in goals 1st half and was more than accomplished playing at centre half in the second half, giving a solid performance and guiding his young team home. Josh Hague was another unsung hero, putting in his usual hardworking show, linking up in attack.
The Bob Smith man of the match went to Will Harling whose tough tackling, aggression and all round play was superb throughout.
