Stretford Paddock 4 – 0 Mersey Valley
By Liam Sheasby
With no VEO camera, Stretford Paddock FC was graced by a rare appearance of yours truly – this time behind the camera rather than on the mic. My record? 2 games attended, 2 wins. That became 3/3 with yesterday’s performance.
Paddock took an early lead thanks to a Mike Taylor free-kick. A dangerous ball aimed at the far post was met with miscommunication in the Mersey Valley defence, allowing the ball to bounce its way in to the net in almost comically slow-mo fashion. Despite that stroke of luck, Howson’s tricky reds were fully deserving of the lead. Pressing was eager, positioning was sensible, and possession was tight, with the defence recycling the ball smartly and alternating between driving runs into midfield or long balls aimed at centre-forward Helder Pires.
The combination of progressive actions kept MV guessing, but they had their own chances to break on Paddock, with their number 9 skipping past Michael Olatunji and Sam Walker in one scary moment to thankfully shoot wide.
Into the second half and Paddock kept up the pressure. The side looked in control of the match the entire time, though there were a couple of flashpoint moments both on the field when Kiefer Cole clashed with two Valley players, and in the dugout when one of the senior MV coaches took umbridge with a Paddock youngster.
That youngster was Leland Irvine, dubbed a ‘crackhead’ by his manager. Irvine was subbed on late for wide forward Cole, and whilst it’ll have been frustrating for Kiefer to come off – having had a solid performance on the right flank, the combination of captain Joao De Andrade’s dribbling and a deep cross from the left pitched a perfect ball backpost for Irvine to head home in the 88th minute and double Paddock’s lead. Where Kiefer is a flair wide forward, Leland is a classic striker in the box. The dazzling setup from Joao was peachy, but too many times this season Paddock have just needed a forward in the right spot at the right time, and Irvine certainly has that nous.
Mersey Valley tried to push back against Paddock’s momentum and the game began to move more end-to-end, but some scrappy dribbling and a fizzing shot from Cam Watters made it 3-0 Stretford Paddock in the 90th minute, sealing victory and a valuable three points to help keep Paddock nearer the top end of the table than the middle.
Four minutes later and Leland Irvine bagged his second of the game, just before the final whistle. A throw on Mersey Valley’s right flank went back to their centre-back but was completely misjudged, forcing the keeper to rush out but not soon enough. Irvine collected the ball, rounded the oncoming keeper, and side-footed home to double his tally and make it a storming home win.
The result was the perfect bounce-back from the Paddock team, having capitulated in woeful style against Winstanley last weekend. The lads will now be hoping to carry this confidence and momentum into next weekend’s home tie against Wythenshawe Reserves, with Premier League winner Danny Simpson expected back in the squad after his debut outing a few weeks ago against Cheadle Heath Nomads Reserves.
Paddock in Pictures: Matchday photography versus Mersey Valley
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