Wyrley Juniors vs. Viper

Result: Wyrley Juniors 3 - Viper 3

Honourable draw between local rivals

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Match Report

Going into this game, both sides had been unbeaten since Christmas with Wyrley having lost only one of their previous eight games and Viper having lost just one of their previous six. During these respective periods, Wyrley had scored 39 goals and Viper had scored 34 with each team conceding only a handful. So with their recent form looking so similar and both sides in such obvious good form, this game would have been a good bet for a score draw on a pools coupon.

In the event however, a draw never looked like a likely result until the final 15 minutes of the game by which time scoring chances had begun to dwindle with the energy of the players.

On a very poor surface which made the outcome of every pass and move unpredictable, each team struggled to string passes together into telling moves. In the opening period it was Wyrley who seemed to have the greatest difficulty getting to grips with the conditions, as a succession of uncharacteristic defensive errors gifted Viper a succession of chances.

In fact, had it not been for two exceptional saves from close range shots by Mark Biddulph, Wyrley could have found themselves two goals down within the first ten minutes. The saves were all the more remarkable due to Mark's ability to hold onto fiercely struck shots denying the opposition the chance of scoring from any rebound.

It was Viper who drew first blood on 25 minutes from a corner when Mark Biddulph did well to get his hands to a header from Phil Green at the near post but was adjudged by the linesman to have not prevented the ball from going over the line.

Wyrley responded within five minutes when the Viper keeper failed to hold onto a fierce shot from Simon Casserley from the the edge of the box. Excellent anticipation by Thomas Evans and Matthew Grendon saw them queueing up to put away the rebound with Thomas taking the initiative and scoring the goal.

On 38 minutes, Wyrley went into the lead when Simon Casserley anticipated Matthew Anstey's run with a defence-splitting pass which Matthew Anstey put past the Viper keeper with a first time strike.

Just before half-time, Wyrley gave themselves some breathing space and a well-deserved lead when Adam Nicholls received the ball from Matthew Anstey near to the touchline about 30 yards from goal. He crossed the ball into the box where it missed everyone and nestled in the far corner of the net - with some credit going to Matthew Grendon whose run prevented the keeper anticipating its trajectory.

Half-time: Wyrley 3 - Viper 1

Wyrley had worked extremely hard in the first half to establish their lead and although they continued to battle just as hard in the second, they found the game more of an uphill struggle both literally and metaphorically.

The pitch became increasingly cut up as the game wore on which took its toll both on the quality of the football being played and on players' legs and lungs.

Each side struggled to put moves together to break down the opposing defence, and it was the conditions again which contributed to the events that led to the game's outcome as Wyrley succumbed to two long-range wind-assisted shots that sailed over Mark Biddulph's head high into the net.

The second half was largely devoid of clear cut chances in either penalty area as Jason Dennerley, Todd Wootton, Edward Marrocco and Adam Nicholls in the Wyrley defence dug in to deny Viper any clear cut opportunities to regain the lead - but without Wyrley creating any clear cut opportunities themselves.

Towards the end of the game, the weather impoved but the game fizzled out with both teams seemingly content to settle for a draw. This was a game that each team could claim to have deserved to win with Wyrley having had the better of the first half and Viper enjoying more possession in the second so on reflection a draw was probably a fair result.

Full-time: Wyrley 3 - Viper 3

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