Heys bow out of Lancashire Challenge Trophy at Lancaster

Report by George Knight

An extremely disappointing night at The Giant Axe Stadium saw Prestwich Heys lose 3-0 to Lancaster City in the second round of the Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy on Tuesday night.

The first half saw Lancaster come out of the blocks fast, taking most of the ball and creating most of the chances. Despite that, the Heys stood tall and weathered the storm until two goals in six minutes saw them loose their footing.

The 19th minute saw the first goal of the game with a nice move giving Charlie Bailey a clear shot from inside the box which he effortlessly slotted into the bottom left corner.

Only a few minutes later, a poor Nathan Bartam-Conway tackle just outside the box on the left-hand side gifted the Dolly Blues a free kick. The scorer of the first goal, Charlie, managed to squeeze a cross into the box to which his brother Samuel tucked into the goal.

Then, some smart saves by Russell Saunders (pictured) kept Heys in the game.

At half time, the main positive outcome was Connor Brotherton’s debut for the side, slotting into the team with ease. The second half was a tight battle with the substitutions of debutants Sam Freakes and Hayden Ravenscroft keeping the game in sight. Both helped to contribute to the side creating chances and showing their worth. A disallowed offside goal by Greg Daniels for the Heys saw to frustrate the team more.

Then, all the teams hard-work came crashing down when Rio Clegg got a straight red card for lashing out on Simon Grand after he had won a foul for the Old Boys.

Eight minutes later, a well-timed passing move split the Heys defence in two, leaving Dominic Lawson with space on the edge of the box. He took the ball inside and finished to the bottom left corner ending any remaining chance of a result in the match.

The match ended 3-0, with the biggest disappointments being the end of a cup run and the loss of Clegg.

TEAM: Russell Saunders, Kyle Jacobs, Nathan Emery, Pa Jenkins, Nathan Bartram-Conway, Aaron Chalmers (Capt.), Connor Berry, Connor Brotherton, Greg Daniles, Matt Davies, Rio Clegg Subs: Saidkhon Khamidov, Sam Freakes (for Jenkins 60 mins), Hayden Ravenscroft (for Daniles 70 mins), Brad Sixsmith, Ryley Smith (for Berry 70 mins)