Whaley travel to Cheadle on another Thursday night fixture, one of three we are scheduled to play this month, with a full complement of players and looking to continue their pleasing start in the Cheshire league.

Having looked at the league from last year and previous results, we knew this would be a tough test and we were not disappointed. Whaley went out with a 4-4-2 and named an unchanged starting 11 from the Golborne victory at the weekend, with the exception of Marsh coming in for the Holiday bound Tom Scorer. Within 15 minutes it was safe to say that we had a game on our hands and we were playing a good, strong team who had played together for a while. In fact I’m not sure we touched the ball for the first ten, but after the original onslaught, we began to get to grips with the battle in midfield and Cheadle were reduced to shooting from 20 yards out!!! It was interesting to see the way that Cheadle swapped positions and formation during the game with such ease and hopefully we will be able to pick up the same kind of tactics very quickly. The first half was end to end and it’s fair to say against the run of play we took the lead. A long ball into the channel was chased by the young 16 year old Charlie Marsh, who managed to pick the ball up and lay it off to Airey who dispatched it clinically. Half time came swiftly after, and more of the same was urged on from the management.

At this point we did toy with the idea of a 4-5-1 however we felt we’d be inviting the opposition to attack us for the whole second half, and I still felt we could win the game, so we stuck to our guns. The next ten minutes was as hectic as the opening ten, however the midfield were much better at adapting to the pressure and dealt with it comfortably! If I could make a special mention to the midfield who are at the moment are doing everything I ask from them, working tirelessly for the whole 90 minutes and it’s pleasing to see that the extra pre season and Dignans ‘dam’ sprints are paying off!!! Cheadle’s opener came as ours did in the first half against the run of play, when Malpus uncharacteristically spilt a shot and our defence was slow to react, allowing their striker to tap in from 5 yards. The game was still there to be won though and we were level for only ten minutes before Gemmell hit a trademark strike from outside the 18 yard box to net and make it 2-1. The last part of the second half saw both teams soaking up the pressure and counter attacking each time, indeed many people after the game said it was thrilling to watch, and showed the standard of the reserve division!! The last blow came from cheadle though when a looping cross met the head of the cheadle striker who had slipped his marker and made the final score 2-2.

I couldn’t have asked for anymore from the players, this was by far and away our toughest game yet and we were under pressure for a good proportion of the game, however the lads withstood everything and indeed had Cheadle on the back foot many times. I hope we can continue with this work rate for a season as I know it is only early days, but I’m sure the lads will relish the challenge and carry on in the way they’ve started. There seems to be a great positivity and good feeling about the performances of the reserves and due to the sheer numbers in our squad, competition is fierce. I can only see this being a good thing for both us as a team and Whaley Bridge as a club.

Team: C.Malpus, D.Stenson, M.Newton, D.Turner, J.Burton, J.Gemmell, J.Bailey, B.Lomas, J.Mellor, A.Airey, C.Marsh

Subs: L.Shuker, J.Shuker, S.White, J.Dailley, A.Robinson

After the Ponyton game, my main observations to the lads was that we are trying to do the right things, we just needed to keep trying to play the football and eventually it would all just click!! Well on Saturday it clicked!!!

Safe to say that our squad issues are well truly behind us, as again we had 4 substitutes and a variety of ages ranging from 16-23.....and 31, keen to be in a Whaley shirt and out on the pitch. After our first 3 games, Barney and I have decided that formation wise we look more threatening when we play with two up top and so this was how we started and the team seemed to respond well to this. Whaley started as they finished this game looking lively, playing football and dominating possession and it wasn’t long before Tom Scorer broke the deadlock with a typical gutsy run and cool finish. Golborne however, who has to be said had a depleted squad still came to play football and it remained 1-0 for a long time, with Whaley’s defence looking comfortable. Mike Newton was giving what would be later seen as a man of the match performance and on a personal note I was a lot happier being back where I belong, at center back, my Cafu style days are well behind me!! The game was quite competitive throughout the whole first half and we managed to slot two more before half time, with Scorer adding to his tally and Mellor getting on the score sheet.

No changes made at half time and the main message from the management was that we had to set the tempo of the game, we were still trying to rush and force the issue and we controlled the speed of the game better in the second half. It was not all one way traffic though and another reason where you can see the difference in the step up into the Cheshire League is that Golborne never once gave up, indeed if it wasn’t for Connor Malpus (who is looking more and more like he’s back to his old self with every game) then Golborne could have easily been level. An evenly matched contest for the first ten minutes, but then Ben Lomas eventually slotted one of his chances home and gave us the breathing space we needed. With 60 minutes gone it was time to make the changes and start using the rolling subs rule to our advantage, something we need to become used to this season. We brought on all four of our subs seeing two 16 year olds enter the fray, young Ben Jackson and Charlie Marsh both who look like they have bright futures ahead of them, Josh ‘yaya’ Dailley and a welcome return of the veteran Adam Robinson at 23?!! Even with the influx of new players, Whaley looked like a team who were starting to realise their potential and more goals followed, with Airey getting off the mark and a rare Tom Scorer hat trick!!!

Golborne had players away and although the score line suggests otherwise, competed for 90 minutes, something they should be happy with and also something we as a young team should look at and remember for future outings. I was very pleased with this result mainly for our first three points in this new league, but for two other important reasons. The first one was our disappointing performance second half on Thursday, and secondly and more importantly for the goals that we scored........we have been threatening in all of our games so far and it was just pleasing to see us take our chances on the day!! It’s also of some note that we are undefeated at home since last October; I am hoping that strong home form can stand us in good stead this year. Now for Cheadle which will be another tough test next Thursday!!!

C. Malpus, D. Stenson D.Turner, M.Newton, J.Burton, J.Mellor, J.Gemmell, J.Bailey, B.Lomas, T. Scorer, A.Airey

 Subs: J. Dailley, C. Marsh, B. Jackson, A. Robinson

Whaleys first home game of the season saw a local derby against Ponyton, in a match which saw both teams share the points. August has been a tough month for us with absences, holidays and having a much depleted squad, however rarely on Thursday we had a full complement of players, sporting no less than 5 subs!!

The game started in a pleasing fashion if you were a Whaley fan, with the reserves dominating possession and looking threatening in a variety of positions. Jay Mellor and James Gemmell on either flank were delivering dangerous crosses into the box and looking lively down the wings. Whaley had come out in a 4-5-1 formation as we were not sure what to except, but with Josh Bailey again dominant in midfield, it was soon dropped in favour of 4-4-2, (a formation that suits us and Alex Airey much better). The breakthrough came after 20 minutes when Gemmell whipped in a fee kick which left everybody including the Ponyton goalkeeper a bystander, and slotted into the bottom right hand of the goal. A promising start and Whaley continued to push forward, however Ponyton began to come back into the game and just before half time one of their attacks proved fruitful. Whaleys defence was caught holding onto the ball for too long and were caught out, (which is a shame as the back 4 had played some nice football up until then) giving their striker time to go through and score. A lesson that must be taken from this is that in our first 3 games we have had possibly 7 clear chances against us, from which 5 goals have come.........something that we must start to realise and copy!!!

The second half was a much duller affair and saw Ponyton share possession and create a variety of chances on our goal. Whaley also created chances and I refer back to my previous point that in order to progress, then these chances must result in goals in future games. Unfortunately in the second half we began to force the issue again rather than just playing football and is something we must get out of our system. Impatience is a characteristic of a young squad, but it is a learning curve we must overcome if we are to finish teams off and leave with maximum points each time. Credit has to be given to Connor Malpus who was the man of the match for two good, late saves that allowed us to take a point and to Ponyton who grew in stature as the game went on and battled hard for the 90 minutes.

C. Malpus, D.Turner, A.Hunter, M.Newton, A. Brown, J.Mellor, J.Gemmell, J.Shuker, J.Bailey, B.Lomas, A.Airey

 Subs: L. Shuker, J. Dailley, C. Marsh, T. Scorer, D. Stenson