Good luck this week

To;
U14 playing at Wellacre Academy on Tuesday 20 September at 3:30pm in the ESFA Cup.
U15 playing at Wilmslow High on Thursday 22 September at 3:30pm in the ESFA Cup
U16 playing at St James', Bolton on Thursday 22 September at 3:30pm in the Greater Manchester Schools Cup.

Good luck this week .......

to the senior teams who are heading to Shrewsbury School on Wednesday.

The coach will leave at 11:30am and should return to school for 6:30pm.

And to the U'15s who are going to Ackworth School in Pontefract on Thursday to play in the first round of the Investec ISFA Cup. Kick off is at 3pm. The mini-bus will leave at 1:30pm and should return for 6:30pm.

Good Luck

The U'15 play Repton School in the second round of the ISFA Rensburg Sheppards cup at home on Tuesday 5 October, 3pm kick off.

U'15 against Bolton

Obi Ebizie’s first half goal gave Hulme a glimmer of hope with the score 3-1 in Bolton’s favour. The second half score-line could have run into double figures were it not for several fine saves by goalkeeper Laurence Gard. For his never say die attitude and intelligent running Adam Wilk was named Man of the Match. In the end, Bolton’s forwards dominated and Hulme endured an emphatic defeat in miserable weather.

U'15 lose to Shrewsbury

A valiant cup run came to an end when the U'15 lost 7-1 to Shrewsbury in the 3rd round of the Resnberg Sheppards ISFA cup.

For the offical cup report on ISFA click this link.

U'15 against QEGS

Our season continues to be plagued by injury, but it was good to have Ben Rothery back in action up front. QEGs played good football in the first half but Hulme created their fair share of chances, especially from set pieces. Most notably, Ben Rothery’s thundering header from a corner was just cleared off the line. The breakthrough came after QEGs cleared a Hulme corner downfield which was seized upon by their centre forward whose pace took him away from the two remaining defenders and whose composure saw him beat goalkeeper Chris Claydon. It was all to play for after half time as Hulme had their tails up and mounted the pressure. Ten minutes into the second half, Sam Clark fired a shot just over the bar which could have brought us back level and changed the course of the game. However, QEGs dealt us a sucker punch with a soft second goal, followed by a much more worthy third from an excellent free kick. Hulme fought back with character thanks to Captain Sam Clark who fired home spectacularly. Alex Jackson then hit the post as Hulme tried to get back into contention but two more QEGs goals sealed their victory. Although they were well deserving of the win, the final result of 5-1 rather flattered QEGs. Lewis Taylor’s gritty performance was narrowly eclipsed by Sam Flanaghan who was Man of the Match for his effective man marking and trademark tackling.

U'15 draw brings a big report

For the first 15 minutes, Hulme were dominant and took an early lead against last season’s Oldham Schools’ Cup winners. Bradley Cryer reached the byline and pulled back a low cross which was confidently converted by Sam Mellor from the edge of the box, a move rehearsed in training earlier in the week. Crompton House fought back hard and equalised largely thanks to an unfortunate deflection off Sam Flanaghan and an untimely slip by Chris Claydon which left us watching the ball trickle over the line as if in slow motion. Crompton House then enjoyed a sustained period of pressure and took the lead shortly before half time.

Hulme started the second half as they did the first, and the pendulum swung back in their favour. An excellent header back across the face of Crompton’s goal was volleyed home magnificently by Bradley Cryer. Hulme had their tales up and narrowly missed a number of clear cut chances to take the lead but it was Crompton House who converted next from a poorly defended corner. Hulme rallied and were determined to take something from the game. A trademark long free kick from Nathan Coverley saw Man of the Match Jake Riley beat the defence and drive a low shot home for a well deserved equaliser with one of the last kicks of the game. An excellent match for all involved, although it is worth noting for the future that oCrompton House had 6 players missing for this fixture as they were playing for the town team.

The story so far:

Leading goalscorers: Jake Riley (4) Brad Cryer (3)
Most Man of the Match Awards: Sam Fanaghan (2) Jake Riley (2)
Highest match performance scores: Sam Flanaghan (8.5)
Nathan Coverley (8.429)
Jake Riley (8.4)

U'15 against St Joseph's

An injury depleted Hulme team started brightly against St. Joseph’s but couldn’t maintain the pressure and St Joseph’s started to take the upper hand. A goalmouth scramble found Hulme a goal down, and our stand-in keeper was unable to prevent St Joseph’s from extending their lead. At half time Hulme were 4-1 down. Hulme started the second half more agressively and managed to claw their way back to 4-3, but took their foot off the pedal and allowed St. Joseph’s to take control once again. The match ended 7-3 to St Joseph’s. Nathan Coverley was named Man of the Match.

U'15 Manager looks back on Grange match

Calvin Wong and Luke Hopkins grasped the opportunity to step into the breach as our numbers had been depleted by injury and illness. Also, in the absence of goalkeeper Andrew Tarpey, Ben Rothery and Bradley Cryer agreed to do a half each in goal. Hulme created several clear cut chances in the first half but, against the run of play, Grange’s centre forward narrowly beat Ben Rothery to a speculative long ball to give Grange the advantage. Ben jogged off to retrieve the ball from the back of his goal while the centre forward lay polaxed on the ground. Brad Cryer’s well placed header into the top corner converted Jake Riley’s perfect cross to bring the scores level. Sam Clark’s strong run into the box beat four players and his cool finish gave Hulme the lead come half time.
There were chances for both teams in the second half but Hulme were determined to keep Grange at bay, giving Brad Cryer a clean sheet in goal. Sam Flanaghan’s efforts were commendable once again and Jonathan Lobley put in a gritty display in his first full game of the season. Hulme should have converted from Nathan Coverley’s fantastic free kicks from deep and Jack Shepherd’s long throws into the box. There was no doubt that the outstanding player on the day was Jake Riley who was named Man of the Match. He received a well deserved round of applause from his team and the supporting parents who had turned out in force.

ESFA U'15 - the Boss has his view.

Having overcome the intimidating physical presence of the Calderstones team, Hulme began to match their footballing ability, but by this stage the opposition had already taken a two goal advantage through unforced errors. Calderstones extended their lead but Hulme faught back bravely before half time to 4-2 with Sam Mellor’s excellent free kicks creating several opportunities. The second half was a much more evenly balanced affair and a superb free kick from Tom Taylor brought Hulme back into contention. They created more opportunities from long throw-ins but Calderstones scored a fifth to seal the victory in the latter stages. Had we not been so intimidated in the first ten minutes, and gifted them two soft goals, this match would have been much more closely contested.

Mr P reflects on U'15 @ Bolton

Both teams were missing key players for their first games of the season played in glorious early Autumn sunshine. The first ten minutes were evenly balanced with chances at both ends, but thereafter Bolton gradually found their form. The commitment and discipline shown by the Hulme team was encouraging, exemplified by the work ethic of Ben Rothery up front. A string of fine saves by Andrew Tarpey kept the scores level come the half time whistle.

Bolton’s dominancy grew in the second half but some last ditch tackling and the impressive goalkeeping of Man of the Match Andrew Tarpey illustrated Hulme’s determination not to let Bolton score. With only minutes to go Sam Mellor’s excellent strike would have secured an unlikely victory but for an excellent save by Bolton’s goalkeeper. The final result was 0-0.