Frickley Athletic U23’s 5
Ilkley Town U23’s 1
WHAT’S THE TIME………
One of the few things that will make you want to leave your centrally heated gulag is the opportunity to watch our Under 23s in action – Martin, Tony & Pauls boys rarely let you down
& so it was last night – I set the Betamax to record A Place In The Sun & put on my heated gilet & 7 pairs of socks & set the coordinates for the Wezzie.
For the first period of the game the lads had a bit of ‘first team-itis’ about them – creating plenty but not being able to convert, but then they clicked into gear & were never in any danger. Getting back to their imperious best.
We’ve all heard the age old trope ‘can he do it on a cold night in February’ – well these boys certainly can!
We were back in home action last night after a couple of weeks off as we entertained a very spirited Ilkley Town U23’s side.
Due to several late pull outs our visitors fielded a depleted team which was very harsh on the lads that were present but they certainly put a shift in & battled bravely.
Frickley, who welcomed back Super Danny Selwood to the starting line up after 2 years out with a bad injury (he also wore the skippers armband), started the brighter & created several good chances to score but they were thwarted by some last ditch defending & great goalkeeping.
After 30 mins we found a break through when Harrison Rowley broke clear on the right to cross to Josh Haigh – his shot was saved but the rebound fell to Bailey Cowsell who fired home from close range.
Just before half time Super Danny Selwood broke clear from defence & fed the talented Joe Cooney who in turn exchanged passes with Bailey Cowsell who played in Harry Alexander who deliciously chipped the advancing goal keeper to score the goal of the game – 2-0 just before half time (do you want any HP sauce on them chips Harry!!!! A lovely piece of skill – filthier than a tramps pocket).
2nd half was much the same as the 1st half with our visitors giving their all but Frickley were dominating possession with Tom Cotson at the heart of everything. Half time substitute Joe Wilson ran onto another Bailey Cowsell assist to fire into the bottom corner 3-0. Another sub that was showing his worth was Dwight Addai who showed great skill when he was fouled in the box to be awarded a penalty. Josh Haigh stepped up & confidently fired home into the bottom corner for 4 nil.
Ilkley to their credit could have folded at this point but they certainly didn’t & they were awarded a penalty, when their tricky striker was fouled in the box. Dylan Sefton hadn’t had much to do all night but unfortunately he couldn’t prevent Ilkley scoring a deserved goal for all their efforts from the spot. The Media Boys really felt for the defensive unit – they worked hard all night & deserved a cleano!
Dwight Addai was a constant threat now and he skillfully beat his defender to cross for the inform Joe Cooney to score from close range and complete a very controlled performance from the home side against a visiting side that never gave up & were a credit to their club.
The only real heartstopping moment of the evening was when Super Danny Selwood went down holding the knee that he injured 2 years ago & immediately gestured to the bench – but he is OK & he was walking freely after the game. He’s made of tough stuff is SDS!!
The Paul Mann MOTM (Mann Of The Match??!!) went to Bailey Cowsell who scored the first goal and assisted in three of the others,
Well done Bailey a great all round performance 👏
Big game next Thursday as we entertain the undefeated league leaders i2i Albion at the Wez – they are the only team to beat the Young Azzurri this season – come on you good people of SESKU, let’s get behind these boys next week
