Fylde coast junior football round-up: Blackpool and District Youth League, YMCA and Blackpool FC Girls

This was a very entertaining and competitive match with both sides going for it.

With the score at 2-1, Foxhall took the initiative and scored a further goal to go two clear.

Kirkham stuck to it and continued their game plan which saw them rewarded with an excellent strike.

They then pushed for the equaliser but Foxhall broke away and scored.

Both teams produced some very good football and credit goes to them for the way they played and fought to the end.

Ultimately, the spoils went to Foxhall who took it with a 4-2 win as Kirkham’s goals came from Will Carter and Joshua Marshall.

Foxhall are now one point clear at the top but AFC Blackpool, who were not in action, have three games in hand.

In the afternoon, the Under-14s division saw second-placed Foxhall meet third-placed FC Rangers Blues at Common Edge.

Foxhall proved to be too strong for FC, who never gave up and fought to the end despite losing 7-3.

That keeps Foxhall in second place, within touching distance of the top.

Squires Gate FC remained top after an 18-0 win over FC Rangers.

Their goals came from Imaan Hussain (7), Will Riding (3), Angelo Di Vinci (3), Rocco Williams (2) and a goal apiece for Dan Fryer, Jack Walker and Donny Barrett.

Squires Gate Reds took on Thornton Cleveleys Whites and came away with a close 2-0 win.

Phase One league champions YMCA Under-13s began their Phase Two campaign against their newly-promoted neighbours Lytham Juniors at Seafield Road last Sunday.

YMCA enjoyed most of the early possession but found Lytham’s defence in determined mood.

As the half wore on YMCA’s pressure began to tell and they scored three goals to lead 3-0 at the interval.

YMCA remained on top in the second half and added another four goals with the visitors notching a deserved consolation as YMCA claimed a 7-1 victory.

Thomas Shuttleworth bagged four of YMCA’s goals with his equally impressive strike partner Thomas Gledhill claiming a hat trick.

YMCA’s Under-15s, who are also Phase One league champions, were 9-0 winners against Layton Juniors.

They entertained their newly-promoted opponents in bright winter sunshine and saw their visitors start well, creating a couple of early chances.

However, YMCA soon found their rhythm and took a 4-0 lead into half-time.

They remained in control in the second half and continued to score at regular intervals to record a comfortable victory.

Jacob Grice notched a hat-trick and also on target were Lucas Miller, Josh Dalby-Armstrong, Jack Robinson, Nathan Crook, Liam Brown, Kian Kelly, Marco Amin, Dimitri Jackson and Danny Inman.

The Under-13s kicked off the New Year by picking up a point in a six-goal thriller at Thornton Reds last Sunday.

They started very brightly and went into a 2-0 lead with strikes by Ruben Shaw and the impressive Jack Byrne.

However, Thornton fought back by scoring two goals themselves to make it 2-2 at half-time.

The home side’s momentum continued after the restart and they netted again to take a 3-2 lead.

The game continued to swing from end to end but it looked like Thornton were going to bag all three points.

That was until Shaw snatched an equaliser for YMCA with a stunning long-range strike from a narrow angle to earn his team a deserved draw.

Toby O’Neil shone throughout for YMCA.

Blackpool FC Girls U13 2

Euxton West 1

Blackpool held on to beat one of their close rivals and claim vital points in the West Lancashire Girls League.

After a goalless first half, Blackpool struck when the highly impressive Mia Lewis fired inside the left post.

Mia was involved again when she beat her marker down the right and passed to Alicia Trewin, whose blocked shot rebounded for Anya Menzies to score.

A goalmouth scramble saw Euxton grab a goal back but Blackpool held on for the win, with player of the match Chloe Chambers shutting Euxton out down the left.

YMCA Girls U14 5 Langho 3

YMCA produced an excellent display to start 2018 with a win at a Seafield Road.

Their confident start was rewarded with an early lead as Annabelle Jackson’s shot was deflected in off a defender. YMCA doubled their lead midway through the first half, when the Langho keeper cleared only as far as Jackson, who found the bottom corner.

Two goals up at half-time, YMCA had to withstand pressure but Ellie Jones, Phoebe Davies, Madison Lucas and Georgia Norman were outstanding in defence. Jones went in goal when injury forced keeper Olivia Neal off but YMCA stood firm and extended their lead with a fine effort by Ellie McNally.

Langho exerted pressure and pulled one back only for the outstanding Jackson to pounce on a loose ball for her second to make it 4-1.

The visitors scored twice to reduce the deficit to 4-3 with five minutes remaining.

But victory was sealed when Jackson found captain McNally to score her second. Honey Griffith, Isabelle Kells, Lara Pilling and Saisha Bracken were all notable.