S & A Under 13’s travelled to The Rookery on Sunday afternoon to take on Southport Trinity Under 13's White in the Craven Premier Division.

A recent performance against today’s opponents should’ve filled the boys with confidence but after last week’s 3-2 Cup semi-final defeat against Redgate, how would the boys react?

Well sometimes in football the cliche “a game of two halves” sums up a game perfectly! The first half from S & A was one to forget…Trinity were first to every loose ball, won every 50/50 challenge and looked a yard quicker all over the pitch - sadly, it was a first half display that was completely out of character from the boys. Dominating the opening 35mins, Trinity looked dangerous with every attack and finished their chances with ease - a solitary goal from Ollie gave S & A a shred of hope as the half time whistle blew…

Ht: 5-1

So after a few honest words with the boys during the break, we asked them to prove they wanted to wear the S & A shirt - would they show some inner drive to drag themselves back into the game?

Hugo gave us the first response by pulling a goal back with 20mins to go - that was after 15mins of dominant, hardworking and much better football from S & A - they had the bit back between their teeth! Ollie then scored another as S & A were camped inside Trinity’s half and it was back to 5-3!

A tactical switch with 15mins to go seen S & A move to a back three and Henry was doing a brilliant job as sweeper-keeper, as Trinity launched long ball forwards to clear their lines and ease the pressure the boys were putting them under. But S & A showed us that they really wanted this - they pressed, passed and ran with so much more intensity compared to the first half and Ollie made it 5-4 with a crisp finish into the bottom corner.

And as the clock ticked down, Liam got his third assist of the afternoon - playing in a more advanced position, he knocked the ball over the top of the Trinity defence and Ollie completed his second half scoring rout to make it 5-5!!!

But just as S & A thought they may have a chance to clinch a remarkable comeback victory in added time, Trinity were awarded a free kick on the edge of S & A’s box, the award of which seemed somewhat harsh to say the least. With what was bound to be the last kick of the game, Trinity’s excellent central midfielder struck a sweet dead ball from 20 yards which was arrowing into the bottom corner…but Henry made a fantastic stop low to his left and was alert enough to react quickly and cling onto the loose ball!

FT: Trinity 5-5 S&A

Overall, a draw was probably a fair result - Trinity were excellent in the first half and thoroughly deserved their substantial lead at half-time…but S&A’s response was fantastic to see…they could’ve easily let their heads drop and been beaten convincingly, but they dusted themselves off and produced a second 35mins that showed tremendous spirit and respect for one another as teammates by working hard to turn things round - well played lads…well, second half!

Chris Lloyd (Manager) & Rob Mace (Coach)