Goals and goalkeepers in two games at Gawthorpe
With the first team having played their two games last night, it was time for the youth and under-23 teams to play today with both games at Gawthorpe, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
They proved to be entertaining affairs with the two games bringing a total of 13 goals and two home wins on a day when it was, at times, difficult to keep track of who was in goal and for which team.
Kai Calderbank-Park was in goal for the youth team in the first half against Stoke and he was called into action early in the game. He’d already been alert to one threat but then pulled off a magnificent double save to keep the score at 0-0.
It wasn’t a sign of things to come though and it was the young Clarets who took a firm hold of the game. Almost immediately after that early scare we went in front with a good finish from Mitchell George and just past the quarter hour it was 2-0 when a Stoke defender could only turn a ball into his own goal.
The very impressive Rhys Fenlon added a third on the half hour and it looked as though Burnley were going to get a very big score when George netted his second four minutes before half time to give us a 4-0 lead.
However, Stoke pulled one back right on half time from the penalty spot. If I was being kind to the referee I’d suggest it was a soft penalty, but if I’m being accurate in my reporting I’d suggest it was a nonsense of a decision and certainly the much better placed assistant saw, like us, absolutely nothing.
We made one change at half time, bringing on under-16 keeper Joe O’Shaughnessy. It wasn’t the best 45 minutes for him. He conceded a penalty himself on 53 minutes that saw Stoke pull another goal back and his poor clearance led to them getting a third with 11 minutes remaining. That third goal came after we’d made wholesale changes, nine of them, just after the hour.
We held on for a 4-3 win but anything but a Burnley win would have been unjust against a category one side.
The Burnley team was:
Starting: Kai Calderbank-Park, Kane Patterson, Udoka Chimna, Richard Taylor, Matty Rain, Rhys Fenlon, Joe Conley, Ethan Kershaw, Chris Conn-Clarke, Mitchell George, Michael Fowler.
From 62nd minute: Joe O’Shaughnessy, Udoka Chimna, Dan Moss, Edon Pruti, Matthew O’Neill, Oscar Woods, Kian Yari, Terry Mupariwa, Jaydon Major, Will Harris, Trialist.
We had a two hour break once this game was finished so it was a quick dash for something to eat and then a return to the next pitch and a game against Mexican team Club Deportivo Guadalajara (often referred to as Chivas).
For this one, George McMahon was in goal for Burnley. He’s referred to as a trialist and played at Colne last week but it is believed the Rotherham and Republic of Ireland under-18 goalkeeper will be joining Burnley. But there was a familiar figure at the other end with Calderbank-Park standing in for the visitors who, it was believed, had arrived without a goalkeeper.
The first half of the game was fairly even. Both sides defended well leaving little in terms of goalscoring opportunities and it was no surprise when the half time whistle blew with the score at 0-0.
That all changed in the second half which kicked off with the two goalkeepers having stayed exactly where they were and changed teams. We also made three outfield changes and one of those substitutes, Ntumba Massanka, was soon to make his mark.
With just four minutes of the half gone he opened the scoring with a well taken goal from the edge of the box and four minutes later did really well to get in at the far post to convert Ali Koiki’s low cross.
The game had changed and Burnley were very much on top and just before the hour we took the opportunity to make six further changes and within a minute we were 3-0 up when a Massanka ball across from the left was turned into his own goal.
Then it was all change again for the goalkeepers. Chivas finally found their goalkeeper with 71 minutes gone. He came on, McMahon went back in goal for Burnley with Calderbank-Park finally bringing his long day to an end.
Massanka was not to be denied a hat trick. The striker scored a beauty and his third on 76 minutes and then unselfishly set up a trialist for goal number five. Right on time, Tinashe Chakwana scored from close range to give us a 6-0 win.
The Burnley team was: George McMahon (Kai Calderbank-Park ht, George McMahon 71), James Clarke (Trialist 59), Ed Cook (Teddy Perkins 59), Scott Wilson (Oliver Younger 59), Anthony Glennon (Jaydon Major 59), Olatunde Bayode (Jordan Cropper ht), Josh Benson (Oscar Woods 59), Christian N’Guessan (Terry Mupariwa 59), Marley Blair (Ali Koiki ht), Tinashe Chakwana (Ntumba Massanka ht), Rob Harker (Tinashe Chakwana 59).
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