Match of the week: Thornton Cleveleys U12 Whites v Thornton Cleveleys U12 Reds

Three players scored two goals apiece as the Reds won this all-Thornton Cleveleys contest at Common Edge.

It was agreed that the match would be nine-a-side, though as it turned out the Whites could only field eight players.

And they held out strongly for a while and trailed only 1-0 at the interval after conceding midway through the first half.

The Whites had chances in the first half, and manager John Drake said they could have changed ends 2-1 up after a couple of efforts which looped over the bar.

But with the wind in their favour in the second half, the Reds pulled clear and there were two goals apiece for Sam Adshead, Louis Johnstone and Nathan Beckett, with Armin Khodobahsh and Amos Oliver competing the tally.

Some of the goals were long-distance strikes as the Reds took full advantage of the strong wind in their favour, with Khodobahsh’s goal a memorable long-range thunderbolt.

The Reds brought a player off for the final 20 minutes but emerged comfortable winners.

Winning manager Keith Johnstone now hopes for regular fixtures for the rest of this weather-affected season.

He explained: “This was only our eighth league game and it’s not easy for players at this age when they play one weekend and then don’t have another match for a month.”

The Whites have managed a few more matches but this has been another disrupted campaign as boss Drake explained: “We’ve lost so many players that we haven’t been able to field the same squad two weeks running.

“But if we keep on playing like we did on Sunday, there’s no reason why we can’t win a few more.”

Central midfielder Nathan Beckett was the Reds’ man of the match, while Whites boss Drake couldn’t single out one individual in a brave team display.