Fletcher Moss Rangers FC

First game of 2010, at home to Sale United. Finally, no snow on the pitch.

A nightmare now for coach and for match reporters alike! Debut game for Jack Ryan.

Eh? Pardon? Hasn’t Jack Ryan being playing all season?

Well, we now have two Jack Ryan’s, so a big welcome to the squad for Jack Alexander (?) Ryan, forthwith to be known as Jack A (as distinct from Jack T for our existing JR, and Jack M for Jack Mathews). Three Jacks - most of the way to a full house!

1^st Period: Ben Mills in goal.

The match starts with the “blues” generally looking the better team. Five minutes in, a pass from Jack T Ryan finds Ezekiel (Zeke) Eme, who feeds it through to Terry Cannon, who is causing plenty of problems on the right hand side early on. Terry finishes clinically inside the post. 1-0!

Sale are creating chances of their own, and Trey is prominent with some important work in defence. A shot from Sale is saved well by Ben, but unfortunately the re-bound falls kindly to one of the Sale players who side-foots into the empty net. 1-1 after 7 minutes.

Five minutes later, Fletcher Moss are back in front when Zeke (now “Ronaldinho” because of the new hair style) picks up the ball on the Sale goal line and slots it home from a difficult angle. 2-1.

Couple of scary moments after that, including a shot back off the Fletcher Moss post. Then a free kick for Fletcher Moss is swung into the area by the powerful right foot of Jack Mathews. The ball lands at the feet of Jack T, who turns and slots it home for a 3-1 lead.

Fletcher finish the period on the attack with a couple of decent corners. A 3-1 lead is just about deserved.

2^nd Period: Akiel Johnson in goal for this one, and a few other personnel changes outfield, including Jack A Ryan on for his debut.

Sale have re-grouped during the break, and threaten from a corner early on. Fletcher Moss respond, and Zeke goes close. Then Allessandro (Al) Sivori has a shot on target, saved by the keeper. A bit of a scramble in front of the Sale goal results in the ball eventually coming out to Al on the edge of the box. With typical coolness, Al steadies himself, before slotting the ball home. 4-1 and a win is starting to look on the cards. Generally, this period is evenly fought, with the “blues” benefiting from the more clinical finishing. An assured performance in goal from Akiel helps keep a clean sheet for this period.

3^rd Period: Ben Mills in goal again.

Sale are quickly out of the blocks for the final period, and Ben is forced to show how good he is in front of goal with two early first class saves to prevent the “blues” conceding more goals.

Jack T Ryan now playing in defence is treading through some useful balls and from one of these, Zeke is again unlucky with a shot on goal. Most of the attacking this period is from Fletcher Moss, and at centre forward, Jack A Ryan is holding the ball up well. A neat lay off gives Zeke, supporting from midfield, the chance for a shot on goal and he makes no mistake, slotting home past the keeper for the final score of the match.

Final score: 5-1 to Fletcher Moss.

A good start to the post-Christmas league campaign, and a good performance all round considering the long period of inactivity. Well done boys, lets keep it up!

MOTM: Ben, particularly for his work in goal, keeping our noses in front during that final period.