Author: Website Editor

By Casey Evans

Stretford Paddock are hitting the road again for their next fixture against Urmston Town Juniors this Halloween and Stephen Howson’s men will be hoping to get a win against the current 10^th placed side.

Paddock will be looking to end their three-game streak without picking up three points, where they have lost twice and drawn once, leaving them in 4^th place and three points off the top spot.

In the last game, Paddock fell to defeat late on against Moston Brook after coming back from two goals down. Strikes from Nosa Iyamu and Reza Ul-Haque allowed got their team back into the game after two goals either side of half time for Moston had put them ahead. However, any chances of Paddock getting all three points were snuffed out when Moston met a cross unmarked on the back post and headed it home. The game ended 3-2 to the away side.

Urmston Town Juniors will be looking to pick up their second points haul of the season, as they are sat in 10^th having only won only one game in four this season and losing the other three. There last game was against 11^th placed side Signol Old Boys and their 3-1 win was their first positive result of the season, having also lost all their other games.

Manager Stephen Howson said: “I’m looking forward to the Urmston game, as I see it as an opportunity to get back to winning ways. 3 games without a win isn’t acceptable. Injuries haven’t helped, but they are no excuse. Every side I put out I believe in, and I know is capable of taking 3 points.

“Injuries are starting to fade, and players starting to come back into the squad. I’m delighted that I’ll be seeing club captain Martin Parker back with the squad this week. His experience has been sorely missed. I doubt it’s a coincidence that we last won, the last game he played. His leadership and organisational skills are in short supply in what is a very young squad, otherwise. We’ve lacked positional discipline and organisation lately, despite good individual performances, there’s been a glaring lack of team cohesion.

“There will be some changes to the XI this week as we try to find the sweet spot balancing defensive sturdiness and the free-flowing attacking, one touch football that we are so good at.”

The match will be played at Lostock Playing Fields in Stretford; fans are discouraged from attending the game due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Stretford Paddock FC will face current joint league leaders Moston Brook on 24^th October. Moston are currently are on the same points and goal difference as De La Salle Reds, so any result from the game may see them go top, however with Stretford Paddock also on ten points, a win for either side will obviously be the desired result.

Stretford Paddock unfortunately were unable to win last time out against Hadfield Athletic AFC, drawing 2-2. Hadfield went ahead early on from a well worked free kick routine but Rivaldo Brown managed to bring the scores back level, with his first goal of the season. Rivaldo could have put Paddock in front straight after, but his shot was high.

Hadfield went back in front through a penalty caused by a mistimed Aaron Hopley challenge, and unfortunately the Paddock player was injured as a result and is likely to miss Saturday’s match.

Jay Phillips continued his fine goalscoring form however, slotting home a fine finish after being released by a fantastic pass by Paddock’s new signing Gabriel Fernandes. Paddock created a number of chances throughout the match but again their finishing let them down.

Stephen Howson was unhappy with the result as he was hoping that the team in his words, would ‘fight back’ from their loss last week with a win.

Moston Brook lost their game against North Walkden 1-0 and will be disappointed in that result as it was North Walken’s first points of the season.

Unfortunately, due to the change of Manchester to Tier 3 and current restrictions, Stretford Paddock’s game will not be played at our home ground. The Tameside Council has closed The Butchers Arms Ground to spectators, and have also prevented us from playing the game behind closed doors.

As a result, we will be playing our fixture against Moston Brook at a different location. You can find the address below:

Wright Robinson College, Abbey Hey Ln, Gorton, Manchester, M18 8RL.

Fans are discouraged to attend the game due to Greater Manchester’s Tier 3 restrictions.

by Casey Evans

Stretford Paddock FC were made to rue missed chances again in their home fixture against Hadfield Athletic last Saturday, and after a hard-fought game the honours were even in a 2-2 draw.

Set pieces were a big part of Hadfield’s game and this was obvious from the get-go, as they set up in the box for a long throw to make use of their tall, powerful players and within 5 minutes they were ahead as Hadfield swung in a free kick and it was met in the box and slotted home. The visitors were up 1-0.

Paddock struggled to find their feet early on but soon they were able to string together a nice move which put forward Rivaldo Brown clean through on the right-hand side of the box and he calmly slotted home to level up the scores and make it 1-1.

Rivaldo had a chance to double his tally soon after, breaking through and finding himself again one on one with the keeper, but this time he went for power and unfortunately blasted it clean over.

The story was much the same from the week prior, where Paddock were creating high quality chances but unable to slot them home. Adam Ashton unfortunately fell trying to get on the end of a good ball in and couldn’t get it in the back of the net in the resulting scramble.

Paddock went into the half with the scores tied at 1-1 and Stephen Howson, who was back in the technical area for this game, would have been disappointed as he would have wanted his team to go in front first and stay in front.

The second half showed much of the same, with both sides making good chances and a few last ditch challenges from Hopley and Hobson being the difference in the state of play. Unfortunately in the 59^th minute, Hopley tried to dispossess Hadfield in his own box and gave away a penalty to Hadfield which they converted to make the score 2-1.

To add more of a headache to the coaches in the Paddock dugout, Hopley unfortunately suffered an injury whilst making a challenge and had to be subbed off with Paddock again searching for an equaliser.

New signing Gabriel Fernandes looked good on the ball and almost found the equaliser with a stunning free kick which seemed to dip out of nowhere, but unfortunately the ball struck the cross bar and Hadfield were able to clear.

In the 83^rd minute Paddock got their chance. Fernandes received the ball in the centre of midfield and made an inch perfect pass over the defence to find Jay Phillips, who controlled the ball well and found himself clean through and slotted it home, taking his tally to five for the season and putting Paddock back in the game with around ten minutes to go.

However, neither side were able to capitalise with a deciding goal and the game ended in a 2-2 draw. This was disappointing for both sides as it saw Hadfield remain in 3^rd and Paddock remain in 4^th with four sides in the league now on 10 points.

Manager Stephen Howson said: “Yeah I didn’t want to bounce back I wanted them to fight back and I wanted them to fight and work hard for what was hopefully going to be a win, obviously it wasn’t a win and the draw feels like a loss”

“Obviously there was a lot of fight shown in that. What we did do is play some wonderful football today, some wonderful one and two touch which is obviously what we’re all about and I think some teams come here and think they can play football against us and after ten minutes, it’s no coincidence everybody sits back on their laurels.

“The problem we’ve got at the moment is that it works when they do that and you can nullify us by getting everyone behind the ball. We got done by a set piece again and a penalty but like I said but like I said the result is all that matters.

“Ultimately we’re here to win and we didn’t win today so I’m not happy.”

Stretford Paddock will continue their campaign at home on the 24^th of October against Moston Brook.

By Casey Evans

Stretford Paddock FC unfortunately fell to a 2-0 defeat to Newton FC in their first of their three consecutive home fixtures but will be hoping to bounce back with a win on the 17th October against Hadfield Athletic AFC.

Missed chances were the order of the day for Paddock in their first loss of the season, they created multiple chances to get back into the game after suffering two goals in the first half, the second of which being a freak deflection which hit the post then went in off the back of Hart. However, Paddock were unable to convert any of these shots and that is something they will be hoping to improve on, against Hadfield.

Hadfield on the other hand are coming into this game on the back of a win against Signol Old Boys, where they dished out a 6-2 defeat to the away side. They currently sit just above Stretford Paddock in the table in 3rd, with one more goal difference than Stephen Howson’s side.

A win for either side could see them move up into the top spot in the table, so it will be a tough fixture for Paddock.

Manager Stephen Howson said: “It’s good to be back in the dugout this weekend after my brief stint in isolation, for the visit of Hadfield Athletic, looking at their results so far this season, it looks like they’ll be a formidable opposition. It seems like the game is going ahead despite the talk of Manchester heading towards a Tier 3 lockdown.

“We’ve been asked to discourage people from attending, but those who do, are able to do so in a socially distanced and safe manner as there is plenty of space around the pitch.

“I was extremely disappointed with the failure of the team to convert chances in to goals last weekend, and I’ve had the lads working hard on rectifying that in training this week. Bouncing back from a defeat is important. The ability to do that shows resolve and character and I believe in this group to do just that.

“We’re still without several key players due to injury and suspension, but we also have newly registered players who will be making their debuts this weekend, too. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes at the club to be excited about. I’d like what happens on the pitch to start reflecting the work of the players and staff, too.”

To echo the words of the manager, we ask that if you or anyone in your household is suffering from COVID symptoms, please do not attend the ground so we can continue to operate safely in these uncertain times.

We also ask that you have the NHS Track and Trace app downloaded on your phone, as we will be scanning them on entry.

by Casey Evans

Stretford Paddock FC fell to their first defeat of the season against Newton FC on Saturday after winning their first three games in the Lancashire and Cheshire League.

The fixture marked the first of three matches that Stretford Paddock will be playing back at the Butcher’s Arms Ground and before kick-off midfielder Jay Phillips was presented with the player of the month award in front of the 179 fans that had made the journey to the ground.

Paddock suffered from a lapse of concentration early on and it allowed Newton FC to break forward and their player cut inside and curled it into the far side of the net to make it 1-0 to the away side. There was nothing goalkeeper Jonny Hart could do to stop the chance as it was an excellently taken shot.

Paddock had numerous chances throughout the half to get back in the game, a goalmouth scramble which saw shots from Adam Ashton, Louis Fitzpatrick and Nosa Imayu was kept out by the Newton defence and keeper and a fierce shot by Jay Phillips later in the half which unfortunately hit the underside of the cross bar and stayed out.

Disaster struck in the 40^th minute however as a freak near post shot from Newton hit the post and bounced off the back of Hart and into the net. Paddock went into half time for the first time in their short existence, 2-0 down.

The second half was very much the same as the first, with Paddock creating multiple chances, but unable to capitalise on them. Substitute Denzel Kuzakwawo had many chances to score, but either saw them well saved, or sail just over the bar.

Blows were traded throughout the half, with both sides up for the physical battle. 32 fouls were committed throughout the match, giving the referee a lot to do.

Paddock however were unable to make any of their chances count and when the full-time whistle blew, the score remained as it was at half time, 2-0 to the visitors. Stretford Paddock FC had suffered their first competitive taste of defeat.

Manager Stephen Howson, who was unable to attend the game as he was isolating, said: “Watching from home was an incredibly frustrating experience. As I’ve stated following all of our recent fixtures, I remain unimpressed with our performances. I know we can do so much better.

“We controlled every aspect of the game, but switched off twice and lose the game on those moments. We have to understand how important concentration is, in football, as those lapses have cost us 3 points, and a perfect record.

“The most frustrating thing is the lack of penetration. As a team we played some great football, yet we didn’t create or finish enough of the chances that presented themselves.

“We are a young team, but a talented team and I believe in this team to get it right. This entire season is a massive learning curve and this weekend was no different. We’ll take our medicine. We’ll learn from the mistakes and we’ll put them right on the pitch.”

Stretford Paddock FC will be hoping to bounce back with a win in their next game against Hadfield Athletic AFC on the 17^th October.