Away vs Slade Green Knights 7Apr24

Match report by Steve Larkin.

Parkwood Lions U21 played their 2nd Blue Shield match, away to Slade Green Knights, who had completed the league double over us during the season. However, the match was being played with 40mph winds so both teams would be facing a difficult 45-minutes.

It was Slade Green who played into the wind in the first half, and that showed as it took Parkwood almost 5-minutes to play any football in the opposition half. Any of our goal kicks had to be short, diagonal balls were impossible and corners and free kicks difficult to judge. As it happened, a long ball from the Slade Green keeper deceived the Parkwood defence with the wind and an awkward bounce which the striker ran onto and slotted into the corner for a 1-0 lead. This quickly turned to 2-0 as their central midfielder was given too much time just outside the box and he rifled a 20-yard shot into the goal to double the lead. The Lions managed to create some pressure and had a number of shots which went just wide / over the bar but started to get a foothold in the game. Unfortunately, a mix up at the back resulted in their striker retrieving a Parkwood ball and shooting into the goal from a tight angle with the outside of the boot for a 3-0 lead, going into half-time.

The change of ends helped Parkwood in the second half as the wind was as strong as before. However, an inoculos challenge on Charlie after 5-minutes led to a long delay as we helped him off the pitch, and as we subsequently found out, a torn hip flexor and a season ending injury - get well soon Charlie. Parkwood settled into the second half and scored a deserved goal with a great strike from Leo from the outside of the box to reduce the deficit, 1-3. With 7-minutes remaining, we scored our second as a long high ball into the Slade Green box was calmly slotted into the net by Arthur, 2-3. The Lions then had a number of corners in succession but we couldn't make the high wind pressure count and their keeper made a number of good saves. In the final minute of added time, the ball was again bouncing in around their goal and when the ball dropped to Arthur, we couldn't keep the shot down and as it went over the bar, the referee blew the final whistle and a 2-3 loss for the Lions.

A difficult match for both teams, with the high winds being a deciding factor in the game. Well done to Arthur for a deserved MoM, non-stop running as the lone striker in challenging conditions and a well taken goal.