Pilks crash out of the League Cup

Eagle Sports FC 1-0 Pilkington FC
Cheshire League JB Parker Cup, Saturday 27th October 2018

Pilks crashed out of the Cheshire League JB Parker Cup at the quarter-final stage after a 1-0 defeat away at Eagle Sports.

The game started well enough for Pilks as Luke Sephton’s cross was narrowly missed by Graham Boylan. Five minutes in and they had the ball in the net. Some neat play in the middle released Mateusz Prokopczuk on the outside and his cross was tapped in by Sephton however somehow it was ruled offside.

As the game grew, Eagle got into the game and were getting some joy down the right hand side but not really enough to trouble young Sam Tickle in goal.

Halfway through the first period Deklan Hill saw a free-kick sail over and minutes later some of the Pilks best play saw Hill strike a shot that the Eagle keeper did well to keep out. From the corner, the ball again stayed out of the net as Sephton and Hill somehow became tangled on the line.

The game itself was a scrappy affair and this in some part was down to a very fussy referee. He seemed insistent on punishing every bit of contact and ten minutes into the second half he gave a decision that ultimately was to decide the game. Another soft free kick and right on the edge of the Pilks box that Lee Boardman dispatched into the top corner to give Eagle the lead.

Straight from the kick-off and Pilks should have equalised. Matty Taylor was released down the wing and his ball into the box left Sephton with a simple tap in until he was crashed into from behind by a defender. The referee amazingly gave a goal kick as he somehow judged it a fair tackle!

A minute later and Sephton’s shot hit the post and Pilks were starting to dominate possession but their play lacked their usual composure. There were too many straight balls that the opposition could easily defend. Taylor had a few glimpses at goal with his closest hitting the side netting and Sephton went close again with a header from a free kick.

As the game closed out Pilks kept knocking on the door, young Harry Nevitt had a snapshot go wide and Sephton’s header in the dying minutes was easily saved by the keeper.

Overall it was another tepid performance from the Pilks who lacked the guile and composure to get anything from the game.

Managers’ Comments:
It’s easy to blame the officials when they make mistakes but at the end of the day we lacked the leadership to win this game. It’s hugely disappointing as we felt it was a great opportunity for some silverware this season.