Whaley rue missed chances….. again!

Darryl made a few adjustments to the team with Whaley old boy Dan Whelan, on loan from Barcelona, filling in seamlessly for the injured Tom Streets next to Rob Newton at the back. Lee Morris returning on the left allowed Dan Gilbride to move inside; on paper the team looked to be a balanced footballing side.

Ex North West Counties Ashton Town started at a pace and broke through down the left a couple of times in the first 10 minutes but failed to find the telling final ball; it did start to look at this point as though it might be a long day for Whaley.

However, Whaley always at their best with backs to the wall shrugged off this early pressure but, with the opposition noisily expecting a long ball game subsequent to some early big clearances, apart from a few counter attacks the home side took control and started to string some decent football together. One thing Whaley always do irrespective of the quality of the game is create chances and today was no exception; first half the one opportunity that sticks in the mind came by way of a cross from Burgess that Tom Scorer failed to properly connect with.

Second half started as the first finished with Whaley pressing and Ashton occasionally making a break for it. Gregory and Morris wanted to play football and instigated some controlled play from the back down the right but too often the moves broke down in the final third through sloppy control, poor final balls or bad decisions.

Ultimately, 20 minutes into the second half, the home side did deservedly take the lead when Barlow was tripped in the box - the tireless influential Sutton making no mistake from the spot. Whaley did initially continue to take the game to Ashton but as in the first half a great mirror opportunity wasn’t put away when this time Gilbride headed over from close range. Dan also came close moments later cutting in from the left to unleash a cross shot that brushed along the bar and out.

Whaley, as is not unusual, seemed content to sit back on their 1-0 lead and allowed Ashton more space and time on the ball but the no one could have done anything about the equaliser; Djedje winning the ball to instantly smash a speculative 30 yarder into Tattersall’s top corner in the last minute.

Whaley now sitting second in the division and still unbeaten are better than they think; they have skill and just need to have the confidence to play a more controlled game and resist the temptation to ‘get-rid’ as soon as they come under any sort of pressure. A simple 5 yard pass to retain possession has to be better than a speculative 30 yard ball that more often than not ends up starting the opposition’s next move.

Tattersall; Hodges; Newton; Whelan, Gregory; Burgess; Gilbride; Barlow; Sutton(g); Morris; Scorer

Bailey; Longden; Connel