Irlam FC’s fiery clash with Greater Manchester neighbours, Maine Road FC, ended in defeat and a cup exit for the away side, providing all in attendance a shock result with the supposed lesser ranked team coming out on top.
“It was almost like men against boys!” were the words that came out of a frustrated Adam Green after the game. The first team coach’s disheartening words were a fair judgement of the team’s performance.
In contrast to Green’s post-match words, before kickoff the morale of the group seemed good, with the sound of laughter and chatter amongst the lads, they seemed relaxed and ready to put on a good display in front of their travelling supporters.
The teams took to the turf with big flashes and bangs of Diwali firework celebrations all around the field of play, a feeling Irlam wouldn’t be feeling come minute 90.
With the home side in their sky-blue strip and Irlam FC in their red away kit, the ‘local derby’ was underway.
The team for Irlam FC saw a return for their number 9, Saul Henderson who returned into the side after serving a three-match ban and was joined by Millon Brown upfront to form a partnership up top.
Player/Manager, John Main started on the left wing with Jack Mitchell on the right flank and the back four consisted of Connor Phelan, Alex Francis, Jacob Holt and Levi Lewis (right to left).
The early stages of the game were dominated by strong spells of possession by Irlam, however with a lack of a cutting edge, not many clear-cut chances came to light.
The home side set up in a 4-3-2-1 formation with their fullbacks’ stamina and ability to get forward seemingly set to play a major role.
However, Irlam became too comfortable on the ball and in the 12th minute, a moment of miscommunication between left back Levi Lewis and centre back, Jacob Holt, created a chance for Maine Road’s, Fran Fransisco.
The opportunity was easily parried away by Irlam goalkeeper, Tom Goodwin, but the moment seemed a catalyst for what was to come for Irlam.
The warning signs continued up to the 33rd minute where a seemingly simple chance for Maine Road was blasted over the bar and away into the bushes behind the goal.
Just before the interval, a goal was ruled out after Irlam’s, Saul Henderson was caught in an offside position after a well-crafted move down the right wing led to a hard cross meeting the target man’s right boot.
After the break, the fireworks came back, seemingly reintroducing the teams back to the pitch.
In the 52nd minute an impressive use of body shielding by Maine Road striker, Fransisco saw the forward get past three Irlam players before finally being stopped in his tracks. However, the player was a standout in the game and impressed with these entertaining moments throughout the fixture.
After all of Irlam’s effort in hanging onto a clean sheet, Maine Road’s centre back, Louis Edwards opened the scoring, breaking the deadlock in the tie that always felt like a goal was inevitable.
The goal came through sloppy defending at the near post, giving Edwards a simple header from a corner kick.
It went bad to worse for the Salford side when the lead for Maine Road was doubled by number 9, Fran Francisco after a scramble in the box a chance opened up for the forward to poke it home.
Despite the long way back for the Salfordians in red, Irlam created a couple more chances with one coming from an ambitious strike from player/manager John Main from about 25 yards out. Missing his target marginally, a chance that all but summed up Irlam’s performance.
Maine Road’s captain, Ben Mooney sealed Irlam’s cup knockout fate with a good finish into the bottom left corner after another mismatch at the back for Irlam.
The final whistle blew, and the Maine Road fans rejoiced cheers clouded over the drained and disappointed Irlam players whose own mistakes helped contribute towards their opponent’s victory, with the score finishing 3-0 to the home side.
FT @MaineRoadFC 3 @IrlamFC 0
We bow out of the @Manchester_FA Premier Cup at the 1st round
Best of luck to @MaineRoadFC for the next round— Irlam FC (@IrlamFC) October 24, 2022
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