ac milanda afc

Wanderers 3 AC Milanda 5 - Sports Centre, Blantyre

Milanda left Blantrye with all three points after a hard fought display against the Wanderers. Conditions were once again blustery but this week they had less of an influence on the game’s outcome. Milanda boss McMillan decided to go with an attacking 3-4-3 formation and pushed Williamson up front alongside Reid and Fitzpatrick. McKinlay got his first Milanda start and the bench creaked as Dunn made his belated return after suspension.

Unusually Milanda started well and had Wanderers under pressure from the start. Players were finding space and even more surprisingly were being found with accurate passing. Something of a change compared to earlier games. It was from one of these early moves that led to Milanda taking the lead from the penalty spot. A slick passing move found Reid on the edge of the box and as he sidestepped his marker he was brought down. Stonewall penalty and no complaints from Wanderers. Reid picked himself up and gave the keeper no chance as he calmly slotted home into the left hand corner.

Milanda continued to take the game to Wanderers who were struggling to get any kind of fluency in their game. It should have been two for Milanda when a cross fell invitingly for Callender on the edge of the box but he couldn’t keep his shot down and it went well over. Shortly after Fitzpatrick was unlucky when arriving at the backpost to finish off a Reid cross but the defender did just enough to put him off and his shot went narrowly past. Captain Fitzpatrick did get his name on the scoresheet shortly after when another swift Milanda move saw Reid release Williamson on the right and as he moved into the box he saw Fitzpatrick at the back post and his cross across the six-yard box left him with an easy tap in. At this stage Milanda were in complete control and Wanderers, who had lost 9-0 the previous week, could have been forgiven if they had let their heads go down at this point. To their credit they fought hard to get back into the game and were rewarded with a goal after a long throw in wasn’t cleared by the Milanda defence, it fell kindly to a Wanderers player standing unmarked 8 yards out and he accepted the gift to pull his side back into a game they had looked well out of.

The goal seemed to shake Milanda’s confidence but they should have restored their 2-goal lead when Reid was sent through one on one with the Wanderers keeper but a weak shot trundled past the left hand post. An odd sort of hesitancy seemed to spread throughout the Milanda team and unforced errors were happening all over the park. Half-time gave Milanda time to regroup and to sort themselves out.

The start of second half saw Milanda take control of the game once again and Fitzpatrick made a great run into the box only to be denied by an excellent save from the Wanderers keeper. Coyle who had a relatively quiet first half began to see more of the ball and his trademark runs were worrying the Wanderers defence. Addison, who had a quiet game, was replaced by Wilson and shortly after Scott came on for McKinlay. After a number of half chances and almost constant Milanda pressure goal number three finally arrived and it was virtually a carbon copy of the first. Once again Reid found himself on the edge of the box and with only one man to beat was again brought down. Wanderers thought the foul was outside the box but the referee pointed to the spot and again Reid was clinical in dispatching the ball into the top right hand corner and bringing his total for the season to seven.

Milanda looked to finally kill off Wanderers challenge and Williamson should have made the game safe when a left foot pass from Fawns, I’ll say that again, a left foot pass from Fawns, saw Williamson beat the offside trap but his lob over the keeper bounced past the right hand post. A couple of minutes later the same player was unlucky when a front post flick just failed to find the corner of the net from a Reid cross. Despite Milanda looking the more likely it was Wanderers who scored next and again Milanda were left scratching their heads. A harmless looking near post cross managed to evade both Fawns on the post and Harper in goals and somehow found its way into the net and suddenly it was game on again.

Milanda made their final change in bringing on Dunn for Fitzpatrick who had had an excellent game and looked none too pleased to be subbed. With Wanderers threatening to steal a point Milanda finally sealed the game with 2 quick fire goals. The first came from Callender after Wanderers failed to clear their lines. IThe ball bounced around the wanderers box before eventually falling to Callender whose left foot shot hit Dunn on the way in and who subsequently tried to claim it for his own but the goal was given to Callender. Dunn did get on the scoresheet soon after when he got the touch from a long throw in by Fawns and it was enough to beat the keeper at his far post.

With the points seemingly safe Milanda stepped off the gas and let Wanderers in for a consolation third goal after another mix-up at a corner but there was no way back this time for Wanderers and Milanda picked up their first league points of the season.

Not an entirely convincing display for Milanda, despite a good start they struggled when Wanderers made it 2-1 and again when they made it 3-2. Statto Hyslop at the side of the park counted 22 chances for Milanda and it’s clear we need to convert more of those chances and kill teams off when we’re on top. Good things to come out of the game were the fact we made so many chances and more players were playing closer to their potential.

Man of the match – Unlike last week we had some real contenders this week. Early at the back is beginning to forge a solid partnership with Fawns and although the defence took a bit of stick they were generally reliable. Coyle looked more like his old self in the second half and Reid upfront just can’t stop scoring but this week’s web man of the match is Fitzpatrick. He played as part of a front three but was happy to take on defensive duties when tracking back and making some vital interceptions. Took his goal well and was unlucky not get another couple and was always willing to try and hold the ball up and bring the midfield into the game.