League

Birch House Park
Spectators: 6690 (Terracing: 5000, Seating: 1690, VIP seats: 0) Kieran Blacksmith showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Denzil Mulford in the 3rd minute of the match. Birch House AFC's Garry Bishop shoveled away a really nice long shot in the 12th minute of play. The shot was stopped by Stuart Harding but with some difficulty. Stuart Harding was a little too slow when Tris Walters got a fine hit on the ball which went right into the goal in the 18th minute. The score was now 1-1. In the 24th minute, Denzil Mulford left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Skelmersdale fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-2. Drew Llyod hit a great freekick 28 minutes into the match. In the 29th minute of the match Austen Birch shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Stuart Harding showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. When Skelmersdale's Joe Marriott in the 33rd minute got a chance for a shot 33rd didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Birch House AFC's goalie prevented a goal. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Denzil Mulford in the 39th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Kieran Blacksmith saved Birch House AFC from getting behind. A collision led to Birch House AFC getting a freekick after 39 minutes play. Pete Ingram hit a great ball. When Skelmersdale's Joe Marriott in the 42nd minute got a chance for a shot 42nd didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Birch House AFC's goalie prevented a goal. Denzil Mulford sent away a hard shot on goal in the 43rd minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 1-3 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Denzil Mulford to make the kick off. A collision led to Birch House AFC getting a freekick after 54 minutes play. Garry Bishop hit a great ball. In the 60th minute Denzil Mulford shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Kieran Blacksmith saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After a rather tough play, Skelmersdale's Tommy Burnett got a free kick in the 61st minute. Kieran Blacksmith made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Denzil Mulford in the 65th minute of play. Blair Scholes fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 67th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Kieran Blacksmith having to interfere. Joe Marriott could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 69th minute of the match, but Kieran Blacksmith made a huge save. Kieran Blacksmith made a fantastic save in the 71st minute, when Joe Marriott sent off a good shot on target. In the last second Kieran Blacksmith throw himself and got hold of the ball when Denzil Mulford in the 72ndth minute from his position got away a shot towards the right post. If Denzil Mulford had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 73rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Kieran Blacksmith took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Denzil Mulford, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 86 minutes into the match, Birch House AFC's goal looked a bit too open when Denzil Mulford came free, but Kieran Blacksmith reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 87th minute, Kristopher Beck hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. With a little luck, Birch House AFC's Kieran Blacksmith got control of the ball when Joe Marriott tried to sneak it across the goal line. After 91 minutes of play, Birch House AFC's Tris Walters made it 2-3 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Stuart Harding was left in no man's land by his defense there!