Stretford Paddock 3 (Damani Hall 10’, Joao de Andrade 69’, Mike Taylor 90’)
Beat
Wigan Town 0
Stretford Paddock once again brought out their scintillating best in a high stakes match against Wigan Town, beating the home team by 3 goals, with Damani Hall, Joao de Andrade and Mike Taylor registering their names on the scoresheet. It was a significant moment for the youth ranks of Stretford Paddock as well, as Kiefer Cole came on in the 76th minute to become the youngest player to make an appearance for the first team at the age of 16 years and 1 day.
Following a statement win in the JA Walton Challenge Cup against Cheshire Football League leaders St. Helens Town, Stretford Paddock were riding high on confidence. However, they had drawn their last league game against Newton Athletic, and had hit a bump in the race for automatic promotion. Only 3 points separated Stretford Paddock and Wigan Town heading into this game, and it was expected to be a tight contest.
Jalal Anware came in to replace Florin in goal for Paddock, with the latter suffering a knock to the knee. 16-year-old Alfie Derry also made his debut in the starting XI for Stretford Paddock, with Fullwood taking the armband. The away team wasted no time as they were on the front foot from the first minute, and they reaped the rewards soon as Damani Hall put the ball into the back of the net in just the 10th minute of the game. In the 22nd minute, Paddock went close once more, this time through Mike Taylor, but his shot was blocked by the Wigan Town defenders. Chances were at a premium from that point on, and both sides went into the half-time break with everything to play for.
Paddock came out of the blocks just as intensely as they did in the first one, and they narrowly missed out on a penalty as Joao de Andrade was brought down in the 55th minute but the referee waved away any claims for a spot-kick. However, Paddock were not to be denied for a second time, as the referee pointed to the spot soon after, with Joao stepping up and slotting the penalty home in the 69th minute, giving Paddock a little bit of breathing space.
This allowed coach Stephen Howson to shuffle the pack around the little bit as well. Kiefer Cole, one of the brightest prospects in the Paddock academy, made his debut for the team one day after his sixteenth birthday, as he came on for fellow 16-year-old Alfie Derry in the 76th minute. In the 90th minute though, stalwart Mike Taylor put the icing on the cake as he scored with a fantastic volley to put Stretford Paddock 3-0 up. He was rightfully awarded the Malhi Convenience Foodstores Player of the Match award for his commanding performance in the middle of the park.
With this win, Paddock moved to third in the league table and within 2 points of Mersey Valley, who will be feeling the pressure from the reds breathing down their necks. Stretford Paddock have won 4 of their last 5 matches, and they will be looking to continue this great run of form against Warrington Rylands Dev., who are currently languishing amongst the bottom 3 teams of the league. Another huge game awaits Paddock on Saturday, 15th of February at the Project Solar Stadium.