Armley CCFC v AFC Pathfinders 13/10/18

Today saw Armley welcome AFC Pathfinders for a home league tie on a perfect autumn day made for football.
The game kicked off at 10:30 sharp, with Armley adopting their usual 4-4-2 formation.
As predicted by Manager Kris Broughton before kick off, Pathfinders struggled to cope with Armley’s ingenious and relentless footballing flair; right from kick off Armley dominated possession and sent wave after wave of attacks against a Pathfinder defence left wondering how to cope.
On 15 minutes the Armley pressure finally paid off. A quick corner taken when the Pathfinders were expecting yet another high ball being sent into the box instead led to a low ball delivered with precision along the six yard line by Ryan Haigh, and turned in neatly by Lee Wade for a typical poacher’s goal.
On 25 minutes there was the first Armley substitution, with Kris Broughton coming off and being replaced by Ashley Sykes.
The 29th minute then saw Armley’s second goal of the game, with an assist from Benn Broadhurst allowing Ryan Haigh to loft a high curling ball from the left wing touchline straight over the hapless Pathfinders keeper and into the net; Armley 2-0 Pathfinders.
The 30 minute mark saw Armley’s second substitution, with the departure of Jake McCormack and entrance of Jack Hill into the game, followed by Greg Hill replacing Ryan Haigh on 35 minutes.
On the very stroke of half time, and totally against the run of play however, Pathfinders scored, with the ball nutmegging two players and leaving Ryan Hunn totally unsighted and the score Armley 2-1 Pathfinders.
Half time came with the score still at Armley 2-1 Pathfinders, but the Pathfinders attacking statistic for the half of one attempt on goal, one goal scored, and as so often before in this season, Armley were left scratching their heads as to how they hadn’t scored a hatful of goals, a situation made all the more frustrating by the fact that each and every Armley man had clearly been a better player than his opposite number.
The second half kicked of with two further Armley substitutions, Kev Brown and Lee Wade being replaced by Jake McCormack and Ryan Haigh.
Despite continuous Armley pressure, the first real chance of the half fell to Pathfinders, when one of their players, three yards out, simply had to score, but was foiled by a heroic point blank save from Ryann Hunn, the Armley keeper, a save all the more impressive for the fact that Ryan had barely touched the ball up to now, yet had rigidly kept his concentration.
Two minutes later, on 55 minutes, Armley had increased their lead to 3-1, with arguably what may well end up as one of the best goals of the season, and which was accurately described by the injured Joe Kendrew, supporting the team today from the touchline, as a worthy rival to Arsenal’s third goal against Fulham in a recent Premier League match. The similarity was plain to see, the move which led to the goal being both beautiful and sublime, and involving four Armley players synchronizing perfectly, culminating in an assist from Benn Broadhurst and a shot from Jack Hill driven low and hard beating the keeper.
In quick succession, and in the space of two minutes, Armley scored two more goals, but both were ruled offside, despite the second disallowed goal, scored by Greg Hill, being clearly onside.
By now, Pathfinders spirit was clearly becoming broken and, like a boxer whose best attacks never seem to put his opponent on the back foot, a good illustatration of this occurred when, time after time, every high ball they put into the Armley box was repeatedly headed out by Neil Griffiths, which in turn started yet another Armley attack.
The 62nd and 65th minutes saw two further substitutions, with Tom Wilson being replaced by Jake Newton, and the unfortunate Greg Hill suffering a hamsting injury necessitating his substitution by Lee Wade.
The 70th minute saw yet another Armley substitution and a personal landmark, with the departure of Lee Chadwick and introduction of Richard Sowden for his much anticipated debut this season, and just 3 minutes later Armley scored their fourth goal, this time a through ball from Jack Hill enabling Ryan Haigh to shoot past the keeper; Armley 4-1 Pathfinders.
Armley’s final substitution was made on the 80th minute, with the excellent Si Yeadon being replaced by Tom Wilson.
On 86 minutes, the last meaningful act of the game proved to be a personal moment to savour for Jake Newton. Just as Armley’s third goal will be remembered as a wonderful team goal, this goal defined one man’s individual appetite and determination to succeed; closing down a Pathfinders defender, Jake caught him in possession inside the area and, now on his own with just the keeper to beat, calmly struck the ball to the keeper’s right and into the net, resulting in a wild celebration for what was his first goal of the season.
90 minutes. Full time. Armley CCFC 5-1 AFC Pathfinders

Armley CCFC

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