LIVER FLYING HIGH AS FALCON COME CRASHING DOWN Humphray the Hero in Jekyll and Hyde performance. This one was always going to be tasty. Avid readers will recall the two sides met for the original tie just under a month ago, the game was abandoned with the sides dead locked at 5-5 after 115 minutes of football in what was a fantastic game for the neutral, and given the way the last game finished we were expecting another enthralling game. It was a typical miserable winter Sunday, Wind blowing a gale, rain driving and the pitch was slow and heavy as a result, to make things worse the Liver found themselves down to the bare iron yet again in terms of personnel and it was looking like it was going to be a tough morning for the lads. Despite having a shadow squad to pick from the away team started by far the better of the two sides; both Josh McKenna and Josh Davies had early chances as the Liver appeared to catch the Falcon cold. The pressure continued and after 5 minutes came the breakthrough, a quick counter attack from the Liver ended with Josh McKenna in acres of space 40 yards from goal, the Tricky forward showed exactly why he was brought in to the side- intelligently holding the ball up as he waited for support, it came in the form of a piercing run from midfield, John Humphray powering through from deep to join the attack, as Humphray burst passed him McKenna released a beautifully waited through ball right in to his run, Humphray took the ball confidently in his stride, burst past the last defender- who simply couldn’t keep up, and rifled a lot shot across the keeper and into the far corner. 1-0 The Liver- Humphray (5 minutes). The game opened up a little after this, the Falcon seemingly shocked into action, stand in keeper for the day Craig Scott was forced into a string of fine saves as the home side threatened pull themselves level and it wasn’t long before they did. After his early goal Humphray should have been full of confidence and driving his side on, this wasn’t the case however as the midfielder got caught up in a number of unsavoury incidents, the Falcon targeted him in the last game and he took the bait time and time again and today wasn’t any easier for him, he lost his head completely after 20 minutes and looked more likely to be sent off than to go on to become the match winner and his attitude seemed to rub off on his team mates as all of sudden The Falcon took control. After 30 minutes the inevitable happened. After a period of sustained pressure The Falcon picked up the ball wide in the right back position, having worked the ball well through midfield, they swept a deep cross to the back post were two or three supporting players were waiting, badly outnumbered The Liver couldn’t get near the cross and it was easy for the Falcon forward to pick out a team mate in the middle who made no mistake with his finish firing high into the liver net and giving Scott no chance. 1-1 (30 minutes) Humphrays Frustration became more and more visible as his side struggled to impose themselves on the game and he was becoming an increasingly negative influence on the team. The Liver needed a break badly as the Falcon continued to push and after a couple of late scares salvation came in the form of the referee’s half time whistle. The Falcon 1-1 The Liver FC- Half Time. After getting to the half time break still well in the game the Liver came out in the second feeling confident, Much like the first half they started the better of the two sides and had a number of early chances to get themselves in front, both Humphray and Joe Purcell blazing wide from 20 yards with the best of the early chances. As is often the case when you don’t score while on- top however, The Liver were severely punished after 60 minutes. The Falcon who had failed to create anything worthy of a mention for 20 minutes of the 2nd half hooked a long ball forward into the Liver penalty box- the ball was half cleared to the edge of the box and after some quick feet from one of the falcon forwards, The Livers worst nightmare come true. A last ditch tackle from the in-form Michael Grundy- who had again been a rock all game was cruelly deemed to be a foul by the referee (who failed to stamp his authority on the game throughout) and gave the Falcon a golden chance to take the lead. They made no mistake with the spot kick and took a somewhat undeserved lead into the final 20 minutes of the game. 2-1 The Falcon (65 minutes) In saying the goal was undeserved that doesn’t mean the Liver were by far the better side by any means, both sides pretty much cancelled each other out second half and a draw was just about the correct result at this point, but football is a funny and sometimes cruel game as the Falcon would soon find out. The Liver hadn’t really looked like scoring apart from a few early half chances, but after the injustice of going down to a questionable penalty they set about taking their revenge. With the next attack a sweeping move started by jack Colton at the back found Mark Nolan- pushed into midfield to allow Humphray to get further forward, in bags of space down the left hand side he slid a beautiful ball right into the run of Humphray who was coming onto it perfectly from 12 yards out, With the goal gaping and only the keeper to beat the forwards topsy-turvy day took another turn for the worst as he lost his footing and slipped at the crucial moment to let the Falcon off the hook. It looked like the moment had gone and with just 10/15 minutes remaining seemed like it was going to be one of those days for The Liver despite the Character and spirit they had shown. But they weren’t finished there. Humphray seemed to be sparked into life by his slip after being taunted and jeered by the horrible home side and set about his own one man mission to take them apart. Determined and focused for the first time since his goal after 5 minutes the forward dropped deep into the left back position to collect the ball from his keeper, after a quick one two with Nolan in midfield and another with Jay hall, Humphray continued his run down the wing and found himself on the edge of the Falcon box with time and in space, he chose to deliver a low first time ball into the run of the on rushing McKenna who made no mistake with a beautifully waited finish, using the pace already on the ball to guide it past the Falcon keeper and net his second goal in two games for his new club and possibly one of the most important he will score. 2-2 (McKenna 80 Minutes) The Falcon looked demoralised and dejected after the late sting from The Liver and didn’t seem to fancy it anymore, The Liver buoyed by the equaliser and continuing to press for the winner looked like the only side capable of going on to win it, and after 85 minutes the goal they were craving came. Humphray looking much more of a threat since being pushed up front had pulled off the Falcon right back on the left wing, Jay Hall had the ball in the right midfield position and looked up to see Humphray galloping in behind and demanding the switch. Hall spotted and duly attempted the difficult pass but with the weather against him the ball got stuck in the wind and seemed to be holding up nicely for the falcon keeper to collect at his near post- Humphray however, had other ideas. He kept his eye on the ball while it hung in the air and continued his run from the left wing position, as the keeper came to claim it the forward had somehow managed to make up the ground and get himself between Man and Ball and with an extraordinary leap, he out jumped the keeper and managed to flick the ball over his head. The Falcon had a man who tried desperately to get back at him but Humphray wasn’t to be denied of his moment- coolly dispatching his volley into an empty net from a tight angle in one motion. The Falcon 2-3 The Liver FC (Humphray- 85 Minutes) There were 6 minutes remaining at the time of the goal, but the Falcon looked beaten, their heart ripped out by the one player they really didn’t want it to be! (making it all the sweeter :-)) The Liver saw out the remaining minutes confidently and ended the game the better side the Falcon having lost it completely and now seemingly trying to get the game abandoned again by slapping and pushing players and at one point even throwing the ball in the face of one of the Liver lads (yours truly :-) ). The Liver stood firm and saw the game out and can be proud of the spirit and resolve they showed against a side un-beaten in the league this season and in treacherous conditions. The Liver should now feel they have a real chance of winning this trophy having knocked one of the two favourites out themselves and hearing later on that the other had also been beaten and can now look forward to the visit of the Village inn in the quarter-final. Full-time: The Falcon 2-3 The Liver FC (Humphray 5, 85 McKenna 80) MOM: Craig Scott outstanding in goal in his first game back for the club since pre-season. Special mention: Jack Colton and mick grundy (solid again at the back), James Hall ( A General in midfield and worked tirelessly on a less than ideal pitch) and Mark Nolan ( The Skipper the only one who kept his head when all around him had lost theirs and showing why he wears the armband)
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 11:51:17 +0000
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