Yorkshire Amateur League Division 1 – Saturday 23rd February 2019
Full-time: Whitkirk Wanderers FC 0 – 4 Idle FC
Goals: J. Strudwick (x2), A. Maitland, G. Collins
MOTM: R. Mitchell
The Idle lads faced Whitkirk Wanderers for the second time in two weeks this Saturday, running out convincing winners in complete contrast to the previous week.
It was another long away trip to the other side of Leeds to Whitkirk Cricket Ground near Temple Newsam. However, it was a nice little set-up at Whitkirk and a lovely day for a game of football!
Whilst Idle were forced into a couple of changes in personnel again this week, it quickly became apparent that Whitkirk had played a couple of first-team players in the previous fixture with Lee Cookson’s favourite striker playing for the first-team on Whitkirk’s main pitch.
Idle played with the sun in their eyes throughout the first half (probably the only complaint about the weather was the lack of cloud cover) but defended relatively well with Tom Simonett moving into the centre of the back three.
The Blues had much more control over the game this week and went 1-0 up early on with a deflected clearance rebounding straight to Jack Strudwick’s feet who dribbled into the box and found the far corner with an accurate shot. There was a hint of offside with the rebound but the referee played on and Idle took full advantage.
There was a lot of hard-work in the wing-back areas with Tom Holmes and Ash Maitland covering a lot of ground on the left and right. However, Idle couldn’t manage to maintain any rhythm and Whitkirk began to find a foothold in the game.
The home side were awarded a contentious penalty midway through the first half too with Simonett sliding in to win the ball just outside the 6-yard box, however, the referee awarded the spot kick.
The good news was none of the Whitkirk players seemed to want to take it, eventually the young striker stepped up to the plate but struck the ball poorly and almost directly down the middle. Marcus Strudwick stuck out a leg to turn the ball over the bar and maintain Idle’s clean sheet.
The rest of the half passed by without any major incident and Idle went into the interval 0-1 to the good. This is where things got interesting with arguments a plenty on the sideline, something of a trend this season which is proving tiresome. Imagine being a team of grown men?
Anyway, back to the football. The lads took to the field for the second half and it seemed that the arguments had put some fire back into the Idle players!
The press from the Blues was much better with Adam Medley, Ryan Mitchell, Carl Dawson and J. Strudwick all winning the ball back quickly in midfield and attacking areas. Jordan Broadbent was also having a great game up-front, holding the ball up well and bringing his teammates into play.
It was Broadbent who got the assist for Idle’s second with a deft flick-on at the near post which Maitland converted at the back post. 0-2. Broadbent got his second assist of the game shortly afterwards, this time with a deft touch on the edge of the area which landed perfectly into the path of J. Strudwick who didn’t have to break his stride, striking the ball cleanly into the top corner. It was poetry in motion!
Idle were very much on top now, moving the ball well around the pitch but also snuffing out any threat from the young Whitkirk forwards. Simonett, Luke Gray and Jamie Allen were keeping the opposition quiet when they attacked, tracking runners, stopping crosses and tackling solidly. M. Strudwick also showed safe hands behind them, claiming crosses and sh*thousing when required.
Idle manager, Rob Brook added fresh legs with Conor Swales, Danny Rosconie and George Collins entering the fray. Swales got himself involved straight away with a couple of crunching tackles and Rosconie having possibly the greatest 10 minutes of his career…
In all, he managed to achieve:
- A hilarious swing and a miss clearance
- One dodgy slide tackle
- Managed to be out sh*thoused by the opposition centre midfielder. “This is the highest level you’ll play at Danny…”
- And finally tried to sub himself back off for the last 2 minutes
*Round of applause for Rosco*
It was Collins who added the icing on the cake, securing the comfortable victory Idle deserved. Collins arrived late at the edge of the area (it was like watching Frank Lampard in his prime to be fair) and stroked home a lovely volley which floated beautifully into the bottom corner!
Some late drama could have seen Idle extend their lead too as Broadbent was denied a much deserved goal for his performance. The Idle forward saw his header cleared off the line by the defender who had blatantly handled the ball! A penalty and a red card if I’ve ever seen one.
As it turned out, it didn’t have an effect on the end result as Idle ran out 0-4 winners. A couple of goals scored, another clean sheet and Luke Gray winning the football card in the clubhouse! Glorious.
By Jamie Allen
The Playmaker 
Posted on February 27, 2019
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