Goal fest as Macmillan advance to next round

Macmillan 7

v

High Tunstall 3

• First competitive outing for Coates’ Men, following enrichment tie against Gilbanks year 9 counterparts
• Strong side with Oliver Cann, Leo McDermott and Frankie Angioy all fit.
• Macmillan paired with High Tunstall for first time at this age group – leaving both coaches in the lurch.

Match Report

​Both sides exchanged heavy blows as Macmillan eventually pulled away from a precarious High Tunstall side, who ran out of gas in pursuit of an equaliser.
 
Blue shirts set the ball moving on the moist Macmillan pitch, but after giving the ball away almost instantly Frankie Angioy was able to provide the Hartlepool side with a huge shock. Coates’ side couldn't have got off to a better start with Angioy slotting the ball home after just 24 seconds. Oliver Cairney deserved a fair portion of the plaudits after his quick feet allowed him to escape away from his man, his good work pivotal to Macmillans superb start. 
 
Olly Cann was next to step up to the plate, the foundations built from the left flank this time; Marton man Leo McDermotts pin-point cross was met by the Middlesbrough midfielder and the ‘Boro’ academy man got his goal tally up and running. His downward shot rebounding off the turf and bouncing past the flapping High Tunstall keeper.
 
With wet conditions, slips and spills were always on the card: unfortunately Max Hardy and Owain Harts link up, culminated in a pivotal error, gifting the visitors a way back into the game.
 
Harts zipped back pass was only accelerated by a virtually saturated surface, making controlling the ball difficult for goalkeeper Hardey; the ball skidded off his foot and trundled along the goal line and ultimately into the net.
 
Oliver Cann was able to restore the two goal advantage on the 16th minute after Cairney slipped a through ball between the two centre halves who were caught flat-footed. Macmillan possession high up the pitch began the move, as the hosts kept hold of the ball, providing some rest bite from mounting Tunstall pressure, who had complied energies in the quest for a match-levelling goal.
 
Before the half time whistle defender Justin Taylor added to the scoring. Converting after a melee in the six yard box. Oliver Cann’s corner caused problems as blue shirts could only scramble the ball half clear. Taylor was first to react to the loose ball and was able to prod past the keeper as well as a man on the line. A scrappy goal but one he will take as Macmillan took a healthy lead into the interval: a 4-1 lead.
 
After the break the visitors were much better, opting to press an extra 10 yards up the pitch. This put heat on Macmillans back line. Time and time again they were caught out trying to play out from the back. Tunstall were able to capitalise on this as well as some sloppy defending, gaining a foothold in the match as Macmillan conceded twice in ten minutes, leaving the score 4-3 with twenty left to play.
 
However, as the Hartlepool side squeezed more men into attacking areas, gaps emerged at the back. Frankie Angioy was able to pounce on this opportunity, carrying the ball towards the area. He took a punt from range, and was rewarded as his shot deflected up off the defender and looped over the head of the goalkeeper, who was off his line.
 
Tunstall legs were weary now as newly inserted Harvey Wilkinson was able to beat the offside trap and tuck the ball home, using his pace and agility to slither his way through to create an easy finish. There was still time for Oliver Cann to complete his hatrick: the man who started the scoring, wrapping it all up and booking Coates’ outfit their spot in round two, where they are paired against Northfields school.

Match Stats

	Macmillan	High Tunstall
Shots	15	8
Shots on Target	10	5
Corners	6	4
Fouls	3	2

Analysis

On-point shooting leaves goalkeepers hapless:
 
Both Max Hardey and his High Tunstall custodian came under repeated fire as there goals were peppered with shots. Hardey was especially quick off his line to smother the ball, and encouragingly seemed to be unaffected by his previous error. Figure 1 shows us the scoring positions from both teams.

Figure 1. Scoring Positions

​The furthest shot being from just twenty yards out in a ten goal game puts emphasis on both teams passing ability, set piece expertise and sloppy defending. This left both goalkeepers with virtual one on one situations in an eleven aside goal. Also the quality of shooting was exceptional. In particular the away side, finding the net twice (off their own accord) from just eight shots – five of which were on target.

​Match report by Tom Carmichael – Macmillan sports correspondent