Match report: Farsley Celtic Juniors FC Reserves 0 – 1 Idle FC. Both sides battle the elements but the Blues come out on top.

Yorkshire Amateur League Division 1 – Saturday 12th January 2019

Full-time: Farsley Celtic Juniors FC reserves 0 – 1 Idle FC

Goals: J. Strudwick

MOTM: T. Simonett

Idle faced tough opposition in their first league game of 2019 with an away trip to Farsley Celtic Juniors Reserves. Farsley had proven to be a decent outfit last season with Idle just managing to edge both games. The weather conditions added further difficulties to compound what was already a tough fixture. Howling wind would cause havoc for both teams.

Idle won the toss and chose to play against the wind in the first half, which turned out to be a good decision. The Blues battled hard against the elements and defended staunchly as Farsley piled on the early pressure. The communication between Marcus Strudwick, Luke Gray, Tom Holmes and Luke Chandler was spot on throughout the early stages as they batted away all of Farsley’s attacks.

Jonny Dearing and Carl Dawson worked hard to cover the ground in centre midfield and Ryan Mitchell and Adam Medley didn’t shirk their defensive duties with tireless running up and down the wings.

A couple of first-half chances were squandered by Farsley with the left-back sneaking in at the far post early on but shanking his shot into the side netting. M. Strudwick also pulled off a top class reaction save from a corner which was accidentally headed goal-wards by Jack Strudwick. The Farsley defender following up the save could only head the ball high into the sky such was the pace on the ball at the time.

And they were the only two chances of note for Farsley who had the weather advantage in the first 45 minutes. There were some really good spells of Idle defending with Holmes, Dawson and Mitchell putting in the yards and to stop crosses and shots on the edge of the area.

The major flash-point of the opening half was definitely M. Strudwick’s head falling off (shock). Idle’s sh*thousing had certainly got to the Farsley striker and M. Strudwick in particular seemed to be living in his rent free. A clearly frustrated number 9 chased down a loose ball which was cleanly by the Idle keeper before leaving a boot on him for good measure.

M. Strudwick’s reaction was certainly a sight to behold with the Idle keeper flopping to the floor like a fish out of water before bouncing right back to his feet and getting the forwards face like he’s thrown a punch before in his life…

Both players ended up being booked for their part in the incident but Idle certainly felt the Farsley forward’s challenge may have deserved a harsher punishment.

Here’s footage of Aaron Irving remonstrating with the referee at the incident…

There were a couple of half-chances which came Idle’s way in attack with Tom Simonett putting in some solid pressing and winning the ball back from the Farsley centre-backs who weren’t exactly comfortable in possession.

J. Strudwick was also putting in some dangerous deliveries from set-pieces along with Medley delivering what was probably the best cross of his life from the right-wing, unfortunately, everyone had anticipated the usual spooned effort into touch… the first half ended 0-0.

The second half was all about taking that same attitude forward and really stamping authority on the game and Idle certainly did that despite some of the Farsley first team being drafted into the reserves for this game.

The away side enjoyed a lot of possession in the second half and penned Farsley in their own third of the pitch for large parts but just couldn’t manage the breakthrough.

The lads seemed to be lacking a bit of composure at the final moment and were struggling to make their pressure count. The Farsley keeper was struggling kicking into the wind and the Idle players were beginning to get into the head of the young keeper.

Eventually, it was a J. Strudwick freekick which broke the deadlock. In all honesty, it was a decent effort from the freekick but the keeper made an absolute meal of the save and ended up fumbling the ball into his own net. It was however, a deserved lead for Idle.

Unfortunately, the lads weren’t able to kick on from this and add to their goal tally. Chances came and went for Dearing, Simonett and Ash Maitland but the score remained 0-1.

The second half was a more professional display but 0-1 is a precarious scoreline for any game and the lads know they have to be more clinical when dominating games like this.

Overall though it was another important 3 points on the board and another clean sheet for the defence! And with Amaranth losing to Woodkirk saw the gap at the top reduced and with games in-hand for Idle.

By Jamie Allen