Irlam 1-1 Widnes F.C.

Jay Cooper’s 18th minute individual opening goal was cancelled out by a penalty converted by Irlam captain Steve Mills shortly after the hour mark.
Widnes came into the game in a good run of form. The away side had gone three matches unbeaten in the league after Wednesday’s 5-3 victory of Cheadle Town, whilst Irlam came into the game in inconsistent form – a pattern that has plagued their league campaign thus far. In their previous outing, they beat Barnton 2-1.
It was a tight start to the fixture, with possession being contested in the middle of the park for large amounts of the opening ten minutes.
The first real chance of the game fell to Widnes and winger Bradley Williams. He managed to opportunistically win possession deep in Irlam’s half before seeing his shot blocked.
It wasn’t long before the away side threatened again, as good interchanging play in midfield between Ronnie McCarthy and James Ludgate ended with Ludgate trying his luck from distance with a shot that just whistled over the bar.
It was a really sloppy start to the game for Irlam, as they were routinely sloppy with the football allowing Widnes to create multiple chances. The next chance fell to Paul Carney who opened up space for the shot just outside the penalty area. However, his shot was tame and it went wide of the post.
Widnes then went in front Irlam’s sloppiness in possession played a huge part. Jordan Smith’s pass was intercepted by Jay Cooper, who went past two midfielders with ease as he powered into the area before slotting home past goalkeeper Lee White. It was Cooper’s first ever goal for the club.
The away side went close shortly afterwards, as Graham Molloy couldn’t get his shot off. He did well to pull the ball back for James Ludgate, who forced an excellent save out of White.
Widnes dominated the first twenty-five minutes of the opening half as the home side struggled to get anything going in what was a really poor start. They had the first chance moments later, as Gareth Mooney forced a good save out of David Nevitt before his opportunistic back heel was cleared of the line by Paul Carney.
Irlam’s struggles were confounded by an early tactical change as Isaac Illidge replaced Kevin Masilika. It didn’t have an instant effect as Widnes were the next to threaten. Graham Molloy did well down the left to find Ronnie McCarthy, who played a great cross to the back post that Bradley Williams met on the half-volley. However, he couldn’t get his shot on target.
It was an excellent first half from Ste Hill’s men that really should have ended with them 2-0 up. Bradley Williams played a fantastic ball to Graham Molloy who turned his shot over the bar from close-range. It was a chance that Molloy really should have converted.
The second half started in a similar fashion to which the first half ended. Williams once again did well to find Molloy, who scuffed his shot to once again miss a golden opportunity.
Another Widnes chance went begging minutes later, as Molloy turned provider as he pulled the ball back to Joel Douglas who fired over from ten yards out. It was a third chance that would have put the home side to bed had it been converted.
The away side had missed their last three chances, and that came back to haunt them as Irlam were awarded a penalty as Tom Mitchell fouled a surging forward Gary Prescott. Irlam captain Steve Mills stepped up and duly converted the penalty.
That equaliser seemed to breathe new life into the home side as Mills went close again as he headed over the bar after Prescott flicked on a cross.
Irlam started to dominate and pile on the pressure as the game began to draw to a close. Irlam substitute John Main went close as he couldn’t hit the target with his close-range shot.
Widnes began to become increasingly frustrated with the referee as he had made some questionable decisions that seemed to ire the away side’s players and coaching staff. However, he got a decision spot on thereafter, as Ben Tollitt was caught through in on goal by goalkeeper Lee White. The referee made the decision to send the goalkeeper off as he deemed White as the last man.
As Irlam had used all of their three substitutes up until this point, Alex Barlow went in goal for the home side. He was not troubled by Ronnie McCarthy’s free-kick, which was over-hit as it went high and wide.
The home side thought they’d won it two minutes from time, as Isaac Illidge headed in a Connor Martin corner. However, the goal was ruled out for offside.
Widnes then began to pile on the pressure as they pushed for a late winner, which they very nearly had deep into stoppage time, as the ball fell to Paul Carney towards the back post, who had a shot that struck the foot of the post. That proved to be the last chance of the game, as Irlam hung on to draw 1-1.
Ste Hill was disappointed with the fact that his side had so many chances but still couldn’t win the game. “Two points dropped. That should have been a massive 3 points. I don’t see how you can create that many chances and obviously fail to win the game. We’re creating good chances now and we just need a cutting edge to our game.”
Hill was asked about the referee’s performance following the game. However, he refused to criticise his performance despite his obvious frustrations. “I don’t like talking about referees. He’s learning, just like the players are learning and that’s for him to deal with as I can only deal with our players and our discipline. We’re not going to start heckling referees as it a tough job to begin with without us jumping on the bandwagon.”