3rd Team Vs North Staffs 5

Old Wulfs 3’s turned up at North Stafford to play their re-arranged fixture, (postponed from January due to bad weather), with some regulars missing and 12 players to field. In contrast, North Staffs 5’s had 15/16 players, keen to take the air at Newcastle -under Lyme school.

North Staffs also cunningly sapped our strength by making us walk half-way back to Stafford before we could find the entrance to the pitch (the product of a security obsessed headteacher apparently).

The game got off to a brisk start, but with less than 10 minutes gone we were a goal down after a shot that was initially stopped, fell straight to one of their players and was bundled in. However, Old Wulfs were holding their own and beginning to take the game to North Staffs and after about 25 minutes we got a well-earned equaliser from a sharp shot from Martin Jandu. Regrettably “even stevens” only lasted about 5 minutes before North Staff re-took the lead and this was the score at half time. However, we were still very much in this game and playing better than we probably had in other recent games.

The second half saw chances at both ends, but North Staffs extra players/ fitter legs began to tell and gaps began to open up. The result was 2 more goals for them, before our debutante, James Clarke, got a good second goal for us with a few minutes to play.

So, we are still winless in 2023, but a better performance against a strong side on the day. Excellent performances from Rithick, Vish and Ahmed and a great debut from James, gave us some positives to reflect on on the journey home.

Next week Leek away!