Report

PoultonTown had 12 players available for our home fixture against Thornton Cleveleys. It was a lively start with chances for both sides.  Sam came close early on when he hit the crossbar.  The match was very even for the first 20 minutes, the midfield playing very well with some lovely passing.  Simon took a knock to his knee and was subbed for Kieran A. The defence were strong with Luke and Kieran W linking up well together.  Thornton were playing well with their forwards sitting in our back four trying to trip the off-side but they were no match for the speed of our defenders who got back time and again to cover.  Will made a few good saves as well in the first half but eventually Thornton broke through and scored.  Connor was playing well up front with Kieran C and they linked up well and had a couple of their passes gone through Poulton could have gone in at half time all square.  Unfortunately just before half time Thornton scored again and it was 2 - 0 at half time.

Again the second half was quite evenly matched, Will made a couple of excellent saves, damaging his hand following a hard but fair challenge by their forward. His hand was further damaged trying to parry a really powerful shot but he felt able to continue.  Simon came back at the start of the second half for Sam, who was feeling unwell.  Eventually Sam picked up a bit and came on for Jack.  Both teams were playing well and it was a thoroughly entertaining match to watch.  James was lively again and gave their defenders something to think about. Jack came back on and played right mid, Kieran C taking a break.  Connor moved into the central striker position and again gave Poulton a few chances.  Tom had a few good challenges and Thornton knew they had a game on their hands. Ollie Kn played some great balls through to Kieran A but there their defence was too strong for the strikers. In the end though the lack of Poulton subs took it toll and with Thornton having about 6 subs to use rotated their team well and went on to score 3 more goals.  A good corner by Simon gave Poulton a chance to get one back but with too many bodies in the box we just couldn't make it count. A great team performance!!

Match report by Simon

Final score 0 - 5

Man of the match - Luke