15. One Bad Apple In The Cart
Six wins out of six has propelled us to the top of the Supreme League, but as the old footballing cliche goes, it's a marathon, not a sprint. Can we keep this run going or is it just a flash in the pan?
Match 7: Morley Town v Leeds University 21/10/23
We play host to the students of Leeds Uni in this latest Supreme Division fixture. They have had a poor start to season., lying in 12th place with just three points. We are riding high and name an unchanged XI with Clappison still missing through injury.
Team: McLachlan, Smith, Blakey, Nyame, Alasttal, Agbozo, Wright, Preston, Ellis, Rowe, Pamment
Match Action
After just one minute and 45 seconds we tear through the students’ defence with a move Pep’s City would be proud of. It all started with Ellis bursting forward, before laying it infield to Wright, who finds Agbozo. The Italian then plays a defence splitting pass inside the full-back for Pamment to run onto down the left flank. His simple cut back is tapped home by Ellis first time to complete a scintillating move worthy of a much higher level. The students respond well and a free header from a free kick skims the bar, while Igwe nods just wide from a corner. However Kevin Preston twists and turns on the right flank. His attempted cross is blocked, but does not go out of play. The young winger picks up the rickashay and feeds Ellis who turns and fires home emphatically from the angle into the top corner. The Angel looks in the mood and when he latches onto Blakey’s ball over the top, there was only one result as he cushion volleys confidently past the keeper for a hat-trick in just 15 minutes 21 seconds.
Into the second half and we are sloppy. Firstly McLachlan is forced into a smart save and then Davies beats our goalkeeper to the ball to nod the ball home from an Igwe ball forward. We respond well though and carve out a couple more chances through Ellis and sub De Martin, whose piledriver is well saved. The same player is then upended in the box after a flowing move involving sub Davies and the impressive Preston. The young striker stroked the penalty straight down the middle to put the gloss on a hard fought victory 4-1.
Final Score: Morley
Town 4-1 Leeds University
Ellis 2,14,16 Davies 49
De Martin 90 (pen)
Stat Attack!
Morley Town’s seven consecutive wins is a new Yorkshire Amateur Supreme League Record!
Morley Sign Courey Grantham
As a replacement for Sanchez Payne I have snapped up this
right winger, who can also play as a striker. He has previous with mainly
Basford Town who operate at Level 7 in the Northern Premier.
Morley Town sign
Aaron Smith
An exciting signing for the club, Aaron Smith can play in midfield or as a striker. He has come down the pyramid with spells at 1874 Northwich and Atherstone Collieries after starting his career at Nottingham Forest.
Match 8: Wortley v
Morley Town
A tricky trip to one of the roughest parts of Leeds awaits us. Wortley is only a couple of miles up the ring road, but the difference between the two places is stark. Like a tricky trip in Europe, Wortley is a place you go in, get the job done and get the hell out of there quickly and back down the ring road. As we arrived at the ground a welcoming committee was waiting for us with bricks and bottles... This was worse than we thought. We dashed to what looked like the changing rooms and locked the door before the baying mob could reach us... The match was delayed by 15 minutes until the perpetrators were moved on, allowing my assistant, Joe Lamplough to brave it out the dressing room to swap teamsheets with the Wortley manager.
Anyway amidst the mayhem the board and supporters want a large win.. Getting out alive is my objective today. I name this team.. Big Ben returns to the defence after injury and my two new signings wait patiently for their chance on the bench. Wortley.. don't care in 5th I think..
McLachlan, Smith, Clappison, Nyame, Alasttal, Agbozo, Wright, Preston,
Rowe, Ellis, Pamment
Match Action
We roll our sleeves up and set to work. This is not going to be an easy game in front of a hostile Wortley crowd at their “fortress”, Blue Hill Lane. We quieten the home crowd quickly though when Sam Wright sends Louis Rowe clear. His finish is parried by the keeper, only into the path of The Angel who taps home the rebound into the empty net. On 7 minutes, Kevin Preston dispossesses their full back and races forward into the penalty area before finding the bottom corner with a cool finish. Just two minutes later, Wright lofts a perfect through ball for the Angel to run clear and nearly break the back of the net with a fierce volleyed finish. The home crowd have started to disperse already. The 97 Morley fans who had made the short trip up the A6110 are jubilant and waving at the departing home fans. Both sides hit the woodwork before Nyame and Agbozo exchange passes The central defender plays a superb ball over the top for The Angel to run onto. There’s only one result as he finishes confidently by rolling the ball past the onrushing keeper. 4-0. Wortley have come back into it and when Giles floats a far post cross, their striker Mark Wright chests the ball down takes it past the defender and coolly slots the ball past McLachlan for a well taken goal. 4-1. Sam Wright hits the woodwork twice in attempts to extend our lead. At the other end Seb Howard powers home a header from a right wing cross to make it 4-2. No worries. On the last kick of the game, Josh Nyame rises highest at the far post from a Wright corner to guide a header into the bottom corner to complete another victory. Eight wins out of eight. After the game we sprint to our cars for the short drive down the A6110, past all the car places and right at the roundabout just past the old Drysalters pub to the safety of Churwell Hill..
Final Score: Wortley
2-5 Morley Town
Wright 70 Ellis 3,10,36
Howard 85 Preston 10
Nyame 90
Morley U18s hold
York City U18s
A fighting performance from our development squad saw us hold
York City U18s to a thrilling 4-4 draw Two goals from Sam Kittrick and one each
from Pekka Ikonen and Barry Woods held the team from a club far above us in the
football pecking order. Well done boys!
Match 9 Morley Town
v Bradford United
We host the university based team, Bradford United, who have had a decent start to the season, lying in 5th place. I name an unchanged XI and hope to continue our winning streak.
Team: McLachlan, Smith, Clappison, Nyame, Alasttal, Agbozo, Wright,
Preston, Rowe, Ellis, Pamment
Match Action
As expected we dominate the opening exchanges, but fail to create a significant chance. Lovegrove for them forces a flying save from McLachlan. Bradford come forward again. Scully gets down the left before producing a pinpoint cross for Uda to head home. For the first time this season we find ourselves behind in a game. The lead doesn’t last long. Louis Rowe picks up the ball and sends Faris Pamment clear with a lovely through ball, The left winger lashes home for an immediate reply. Another fine move sees Rowe once more sending Pamment scurrying down the left wing. He checks inside and plays it to Alasttal, who lays it off first time to Josh Agbozo on the edge of the area. The Italian turns and fizzes an unstoppable shot into the bottom corner for a brilliant goal. Normal service resumed. But.... moments later, a volleyed cross from Mills on the right hand side finds the powerful head of Sebastian Uda who powers it into the bottom corner. 2-2. Uda is causing our defence all kinds of problems with his strength and aerial prowess. Some intelligent hold up play allows Mills to run onto the ball and smash the ball home at McLachlan’s near post, helped by some dreadful defending from us. It doesn’t end there. Scully runs again down the left and crosses for Uda with another impossible header which flies past McLachlan to complete his hat-trick Who is this kid? Into the second half and I make two subs. Aaron Smith comes on for Sam Wright and Blakey replaces the hapless Nyame in the heart of the defence, who just cannot cope with Uda. It pays dividends when Smith sends Rowe clear and the Irishman finishes with aplomb into the corner. 4-3. The comeback was not to last as our defence is made to look like mincemeat once again, Wood to the impressive Osman who lifted the ball over the advancing McLachlan... We are being found out here and the Ultras are not happy.. Osman then waltzes through again to compound our misery.. Pamment sends Rowe through and he tucks the ball home, but it’s too little too late. That’s the end of our 100% record and proves we cannot afford to be complacent in this league. A crazy result which came completely out of nowhere. The one bad apple in the cart this season.
Final Score: Morley Town 4-6 Bradford United
Stat Attack!
The 6-4 win for Bradford United against Morley Town was the highest scoring game in Yorkshire Amateur Supreme League history!
Morley U18s beat
Kings Lynn U18s
The kids of Morley beat Kings Lynn U18s, 3-0 in a stunning
victory at Glen Road. Goals from Sam Kittrick, Martin O’Connor and Owen Jones
propelled Morley up to 16th in the table! Well done boys!
Match 10 Littletown
v Morley Town
You don’t get more Yorkshire than the town of Heckmondwike, which after our last result has become a slightly trickier away trip than usual. I love how the people who named the club thought.. well we could be boring and just call ourselves Heckmondwike Town, or United but instead they thought.. We’ll just call it after what we are.. a little town between Leeds and Huddersfield.. and so Littletown was the name. They lie in 11th with just one win all season, while we are a point clear of second placed Middleton, who are now the only unbeaten team in the division. After Nyame’s nightmare against Uda and Bradford United I am resting him and opted for the experienced Dempsey to partner Clappison in defence. Other than that it’s as you were.
Team: McLachlan, Smith,
Clappison, Dempsey, Alasttal, Agbozo, Wright, Preston, Ellis, Rowe, Pamment
Match Action
We start as we mean to go on and attack. On seven minutes, Sam Wright has a free kick beaten away by their keeper. After 10 minutes, Kevin Preston drops his shoulder and fizzes in a low cross which is powerfully half volleyed home from close range by Louis Rowe. Littletown launch their first attack in response to devastating effect. They get down the right and the cross is swung in by Deacey straight onto the head of Claxton who powers it past McLachlan for one each. Then, there are chances at both ends. Their midfielder, Marquis is allowed the freedom of Heckmondwike to waltz through but his effort hits the post when one on one with the keeper. Then Wright sends Ellis through, but the keeper for once is equal to it. We finish the half stronger but could not score. One each at the break. Moments into the second half and Clappison plays the ball into the penalty area. Louis Rowe turns, but is upended Penalty! Up steps the Irishman and coolly sends the keeper the wrong way to restore our lead and his seventeenth of the season. Half time substitute, Corey Grantham is making a real impact on the right flank. His ball to Ellis in the box enables the Angel to round the keeper and slot the ball into the empty net for 3-1. We see out the game, although not without a couple of scares, but it was nice to get back to winning ways.
Final Score:
Littletown 1-3 Morley Town
Claxton 25 Rowe 11, 46 (pen)
Ellis 56
Table After 10 Games
1st Morley Town 27
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2nd Middleton 24
3rd Stanley United 21
4th Bradford United 19
5th Wortley 17
6th Glasshoughton Welfare 16
7th Route One Rovers 15
8th Lepton Highlanders 14
9th Farsley Celtic Juniors 11
10th Leeds City 11
11th Littletown 8
12th Calverly United 6
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13th Leeds University 3
14th Alwoodley 2
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