Having had what seems like too long away from matches, tonight saw Wayne, Callum and Brian take our reserves into competitive action once again – and this time it was a completely different challenge that was in store for the lads. Tonight’s visitors to The County Ground were Bolton Castle – a team who ply their trade in the upper-echelons of the Rochdale & Bury Sunday League – and having watched them play already this summer, the coaches knew what they would be up against. These were a physical side who liked to put it about so this was going to be a good test for our young squad. That said, we have been doing really well over the course of the last few games so if we took that confidence into this, we should fare well. The early evening weather had held off too and with rain forecast, it had decided to stay away from Bolton long enough for our Graham to ensure the pitch was cut and lined beautifully. Not enough respect is given to groundsmen up and down the country but believe us when we say our Graham is worth his weight in gold. So as both teams started arriving. the scene was set for what promised to be another entertaining evening of football down at the County Ground…

The lads set about their warm-up’s with passion but once again, it was a squad of players that hadn’t been together as a group. There were several regular faces missing but that meant that there were chances for others to impress as we gear up to the real stuff starting in 10 days time. So when the starting 11 were announced, once again it saw the boss going with the 4-2-3-1 shape he is looking likely to employ a majority of the time. That meant that Pomf took his place between the sticks and the back four in front of him tonight saw Jake Lord in at right-back and a debut start for Rav on the left. Skipper for the night Matty partnered the returning Robbie Holt in the central area and Callum Chadwick replaced the injured Alex Williams in joining Liam in protecting the spaces just in front of them. With the luxury of lots of choices in the attacking areas, tonight we chose to go with Ste Palin on the right, Brian Millington on the left and that man Tom Robinson in the centre with Ricky once again ploughing a lone furrow up top. That meant tonight we had a strong bench of Adam Webber, Jude, Josh, Brad, Nathan and Faisal to choose from whenever we needed and with that, we were set. The coaches got their troops together and reminded them that to win this game, all we needed to do was concentrate. We knew that they would come and try to bully us – but this was about how we didn’t react to anything and continued to play our football. We needed to play it on the floor to feet and when trying to unlock their defence, it was going to be about sliding it through the channels rather than playing it in the air and challenging the beast that is Alex Derbyshire for the ball. This was going to be about patience, probing and pressing and making sure we made our chances count. The lads knew that and as they trotted out, they looked in a determined mood. This was going to be feisty – but were our kids up for the battle? We’d soon find out…

The game started at a slow pace as both sides tried to work out how the other had set up – but it quickly became apparent that their 4-3-3 might be easy for us to manipulate. Sure – when they had the ball they outnumbered us in the middle of the park – but when Tommo dropped in a couple of yards we soon won possession of the football. Right from the off their intentions were clear and their No.9 showed us all how this was going to be with some early shirt-pulling and leaving his foot in – but all of this is actions that Wayne wants his lads to face – as to be successful, we will have to overcome whatever is in front of us. The referee was doing well already in exerting his authority and as the game began to settle down, it was the County lads that were looking the most likely. Callum Chadwick was working hard in the middle of the park and for a kid so young, he was doing really well in making sure he stamped his mark on the game – making some great tackles and laying off some tantalising passes through the channels – and as the half wore on, it was pretty tight at either end. Ricky was giving their back four things to think about but whenever he headed the knock-on’s, we weren’t anticipating it and that meant the ball was going right through to their keeper. And on 11 minutes, we won what was probably our 10th free-kick already and Matty put it down to take it. As he strolled forward, he swirled his ball in towards the back-post and their keeper seemed to make a hash of palming it away when it looked easier to simply pull it into his chest. That showed the County coaches wanted they needed to see – and from that point on they were encouraging the lads in blue to have a crack whenever they got a sniff of the goal. We decided to make some changes on 30 minutes – bringing Nathan on in place of Tom who had suffered a deep cut to the back of his leg, Jude came on in place of Callum and Adam slotted in on the left in place of Brian and on we went. Using the ball well when we got it down, we started to get in behind them on a regular basis and that’s when we’re at our best – so it was no surprise when we took the lead on 34 minutes. A good move through the middle saw us play the ball into the feet of Ricky and in one movement, he turned his defender and hit the bye-line. From an acute angle, he managed to dink a glorious cross back towards the opposite side and there was Ste Palin steaming in like a train to rise highest and arch his neck enough to connect it flush on his forehead and into the roof of their net. A great goal and just desserts for the effort we had put in so far. 1-0 County…

Still the visitors continued to push and pull their way through the game and the referee had to call the captains together a few times – but to the credit of our young lads, they were not backing down and walking away and this really pleased the boss. He had urged them not to get involved in the shenanigans but they were more than welcome to look after themselves and each other and Wayne, Cal or Brian would never take that away from them. For lads so young, it was great to see them doing it but we needed to focus on the football first and foremost and put this game to bed. Several chances came and went but in truth, it was the team in blue that were looking more likely. Jude had quickly became involved in the midfield battle and for a lad so young in years, he wasn’t afraid to mix it up with the older guys in there. Robbie and Matty were marshalling the back-line well and with Rav and Brad given us that something extra on the flanks, we were looking good. We just needed to relax, get the ball down and play our stuff now. Pomf was hardly called into action during the first-half but what he did, he did well and when the referee decided that he had seen enough for the first-half and blew his whistle for the break, it was County that were coming in with the lead. Good effort lads…

Half-time: BOLTON COUNTY RESERVES 1-0 Bolton Castle

As the players came in for their drinks, they quickly gathered and started listening to the coaches. Sure we were in front but at times, we were not playing the way we all know we can. We were rushing things and when Nathan decided to come over to the right, we were finding ourselves out of shape and that meant that the visitors had an overload in midfield. Just keep to our positions, keep passing the ball and stop panicking. The Castle No.5 was gobbling up most headers in there so let’s think about it and play it on the floor through the channels. Apart from that, we had done well so now it was about going out there and doing it for another 45 minutes. We were not going to change it yet so the lads got themselves ready and before we knew it, we were back out there and ready to go again…

The second half started much the same with the County lads trying to play football and the beefy Castle players doing whatever they could to stop us – but they were also showing a bit more up top and Pomf was forced into making a good save when he punched a shot clear that had been drilled at him from point-blank range. Up the other end came County though and we thought we had increased our lead when Nathan was put clean-through – only to take it forward and as their keeper came out to narrow the angle, Nathan’s shot could only find his feet and the chance was gone. The tackles were still flying in at this point and the referee was putting in a good display in trying to keep a lid on it – but the lads in blue were still giving as good as they were getting and that was good for the coaches to see. And with 58 minutes on the clock, we made a good break down our left that saw the ball land at Adam Webber’s feet. He shimmied one way and then other – loosing his marker with ease – but when push came to shove, his shot was tame and their keeper gladly smothered it into his ample chest. Unlucky but we were still getting sight of the goal with some regularity. And just past the hour-mark, we got the goal that our pressing had deserved. A neat 1-2 down the middle saw Ricky race onto the loose-ball and holding off his marker, he turned towards the bye-line before crafting out an inch-perfect cross to the onrushing Ste Palin and as he jumped high, there was only going to be one outcome. His forehead slammed into the middle of the ball and their keeper was helpless as it rifled past him and into the back of their net. A great goal! 2-0 to Bolton County and another example of Ste being in the right place at the right time. The home coaches were smiling a bit more now…

We made some wholesale changes at this point – going to a 4-4-2 shape that saw Brad in at right-back, Adam drop into left-back and Nathan go into left-midfield. Faisal and young Josh Nicholson came on to be the forward-pairing and on went the game. These changes seems to upset our rhythm for a while though and the experience of the old-heads within the Castle side could sense it. They began finding more spaces in which to penetrate us and Pomf made another fine save when he got on the end of a stinging drive from about 25 yards out to palm it away for a corner. As always, Wayne was demanding a clean-sheet now so this was about defending at all costs. We did see Josh manage to whip in a good shot that looked as though it had gone over – but then slammed against the crossbar and out for a throw – and as the seconds ticked away, it looked as though we were going to win this. Then came a moment of sheer assault that would have even been frowned upon in Bolton Town Centre on a Friday night. Callum had come back into the fray and with the Castle side having just made a sub as well, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But moments later, with the ball at Callum’s feet, their No.4 decided to lunge with both feet at the ball and in the process he almost managed to snap Callum in half. The referee had no choice – or hesitation – in going straight to his pocket to produce the red-card and even though everybody in the ground had seen it, some of their players were still trying to protest about it. Callum simply got up, dusted himself down and got on with it – a huge credit to her tender years. On went the game and with the bosses now urging us to manage this properly, we ticked into the final five minutes…

As we had done all game, we were putting in challenges and making sure that the opponents knew that we were not going to shy away from anything – but as the match ticked into time added on, Robbie was guilty of making a rash challenge on the edge of our box. From the County dug-out it looked like a penalty – so we breathed out loudly when only a free-kick was awarded. About 22 yards from goal, Pomf lined up his wall as Alex Derbyshire placed the ball down and knowing him as well as he does, Wayne was worried about this. True to form, the whistle went – and up stepped their striker to strike the ball with venom under and around our wall and as the ball nestled into the bottom corner of Pomf’s net, the score was now stood at 2-1. Pomf was furious that he’d conceded so late in the game (another good sign for things to come) but in truth, there wasn’t much he could do about it. It was an expertly-taken free-kick from one of football’s good guys and Alex has been doing that for years all over the North West. But this was going to make the last few seconds of this match interesting now…

This was definitely about game management now and every time we got the ball, Wayne, Cal and Brian were urging their troops to hold it or play it simple. Whenever Pomf got it in his hands it was about thinking now and every second was a second closer to the victory. It’s lessons like this that will stand us in good stead for the coming season – so when the referee decided that 92 minutes were enough and blew time to end the proceedings, it was County that were coming away from this one as the victors. A strong performance from our young squad against a set of men that will do well in their division and as the handshakes were done, all of the animosity and vigour from the match was gone. We really do wish the Bolton Castle lads well for the 2022-2023 season and we will be looking out for your results with interest. Thanks for coming down and giving us a game tonight and we look forward to seeing you all again soon. But this was about County now and having played five games in pre-season, we are yet to taste defeat. That could be a really good thing you know – but Wayne is also acutely aware that successful sides are built on how they react and respond – and tonight showed that at least we’ve the mettle to give a good account of ourselves. Special mentions must go to Jude for his battling and tenacity on the middle of the park, Callum Chadwick for his determination to just get on with it despite taking some crunching tackles and Robbie Holt for just being a menace at the back for the full 90 minutes. All the lads played their part out there and as we edge closer and closer to the start of the campaign, there’s plenty to be excited about…

We move on. With no game planned for Saturday yet, it will either be training or a match for the lads and next weekend it all starts for real. Those first three points is what summer has been all about really hasn’t it?

#UpTheCounty