Match report: Idle FC 1 – 0 Whitkirk Wanderers.

Yorkshire Amateur League Division 1 – Saturday 16th February 2019

Full-time: Idle FC 1 – 0 Whitkirk Wanderers FC

Goals: J. Strudwick

MOTM: L. Cookson

Idle faced Whitkirk Wanderers this week in a game that turned into a bit of a bad tempered affair against a group of young lads.

Idle started the game with a change in formation, lining up in a 4-5-1 with the main changes being to the back line with Lee Cookson returning to the side at centre-back alongside Jamie Allen. Luke Gray and Danny Rosconie occupied the left and right back positions respectively.

Midfield also saw some minor adjustments with Ryan Mitchell returning to the side with Conor Swales still absent through injury along with Adam Medley and Tom Holmes who were also absent. Tom Simonett lead the line once again.

Whilst Idle began the game slowly it was indifferent in terms of the flow of the game which turned into a midfield battle. Idle had some defending to do early on with the youth of Whitkirk using their pace to good effect.

However, the idle defence was well marshalled and played the offside trap perfectly all half, frustrating the Whitkirk attack on a number of occassions.

The Idle attack was lacking in the first half with Jack Strudwick and Jonny Dearing dropping deeper and deeper to pick up the ball.

The first half came to a head after several strong challenges in the centre of the pitch saw some of the Whitkirk players react badly. Cookson and Rosconie ended up being the wind up merchants, specifically with Whitkirk’s big forward who sounded more and more like Tyson Fury as the incident progressed.

Anyway, after the hand bags and shithousing was done, we eventually returned to the football. Idle saw out a defensive first half at 0-0.

The second half saw the home side revert back to the 3-5-2 formation which the Blues had become accustomed to over the course of the season.

This seemed to have a small but positive effect as Idle began to grow into the game offensively with Mitchell dribbling at the Whitkirk defence and Cookson pinging diagonal balls like he “played for Real Madrid”. The opposition players were now starting to blow smoke up his arse after their handbags in the first half. Not bad for a lad who only turns up once every 4 weeks…

Chances came and went for Idle with Rosconie almost getting lucky with a first time volley lob/cross and J. Strudwick having several efforts from long-range saved by the keeper.

Defensively Idle looked strong and well organised, batting away the majority of Whitkirk’s attacks. The one shot on target they had was saved spectacularly by Stephen Kelsey who made a return to the side for the first time in over a season. It was certainly a welcomed return as the Idle keepers communication, kicking and shot stopping were all spot on for 90 minutes.

The game seemed to be heading for a draw until Tom Simonett had one of his “Eden Hazard” moments in the box, drawing the challenge from the defender and winning a penalty late in the game! This was Idle’s chance to take all three points after a disappointing attacking performance and J. Strudwick stepped up and smashed the ball into the corner with ease. 1-0.

And that was how it remained as Idle saw the game out, wasting time where needed much to the annoyance of the Whitkirk lads.

Whilst the performance wasn’t there, getting the 3 points was the most important thing for the Blues as they continue to push for promotion and a potential trophy.