match date: Monday 9th April

posted by: W Dodd - Wednesday 11th April, 2012

Easter blues for Irlam


After a promising start to Irlam FC’s Easter campaign, beating Formby on the Tuesday night at Silver St, the weekend’s fixtures away at both Abbey Hey and Darwen were to end in defeat, leaving the Silver St side stuck in sixth position in NWCFL Div One.

Victory against Formby, a 2-1 win courtesy of goals from Danny Butters and Ben Young was just what was needed on a bitterly cold night at Silver St as they prepared for the short trip to high flying Abbey Hey.

Despite a decent start on Saturday against Gorton based Abbey Hey, a defensive mix up at the back for Irlam with just 15 minutes gone led to Abbey Hey forward Jonathan Hardy needing just a tap in to open the scoring.

A couple of chances came Irlam’s way via a Danny Butters effort as well as a spectacular overhead effort from midfielder Darren Green that went just wide of the Abbey goal. However, a second goal for the home side, courtesy of a Liam Murray header after the break left Irlam with a mountain to climb in the game, and with 75 minutes gone, Abbey no11 Hardy wrapped things up with an unstoppable free kick to seal a comprehensive 3-0 win on the day.

Bank Holiday Monday saw a much depleted Irlam squad head to Darwen, a mixture of work commitments, injuries and suspensions leaving manager Nick Parker with a makepiece side on the day, a situation that the home side exploited to the maximum.

With Irlam’s entire back four unavailable, it wasn’t long before Darwen Bobby Langford tried his luck, and a straightforward run thru on Irlam’s goal led to Langford shooting unopposed to hit the opener.

A second came Langfords way on 25 minutes, the Darwen forward given too much space as he fired in his second of the day.

At the other end, Irlam’s Liam Sweeney and Danny Butters both came close with Sweeney nearly blocking a clearance from the Darwen keeper, and Butters through on goal only for his shot to cannon off Danny Frad in the Darwen goal.

At the other end, Irlam’s misery continued as Darwen skipper John Leeming headed in unchallenged at Irlam’s far post to make the score 3-0

The stroke of half time saw Darwens Langford achieve a first half hat trick, as he fired in a loose ball after Irlam’s Dean Tymon blocked an initial shot, although the Silver St side felt hard done to as the players believed a foul had taken place in the lead up to the goal.

The second half saw Irlam begin to play some neat football, but the momentum was very much against them, and a further two goals, courtesy of Darwen skipper Leeming for his 2nd of the game, and a sixth goal from a close range shot from Ryan Steele made the Bank Holiday a day to forget.

The one bright spot of the day was a well taken goal from young Irlam player Jordan Iceley, who rose early to meet a cross into the Darwen box, his angled header, nestling in the far corner of the Darwen goal to make it 6-1 on the Day.

This weekend, Irlam are on the road again, as they make the short trip to Wigan Robin Park, whilst Irlam FC reserves are at home to Silsden FC for a 3pm kick off at Silver St.

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