Crewe U18′s went into their match against Coleraine sitting 4th in the table and looking to push on as they seek to challenge for promotion in the IFA Youth League.
CREWE U18 V COLERAINE U18 – 12/11/11
CREWE COP OUT AGAINST COLERAINE
An eager Coleraine side got what was expected to be a close encounter underway. Immediately, Coleraine looked sharp and lively against a Crewe side who were lackluster.
Almost from the kick-off Coleraine broke through the Crewe United defence which left the Coleraine front man free to pass the ball into the net only to be denied by the Crewe United goalkeeper. This pattern continued for the next 10 minutes with chance after chance going begging for Coleraine. The best chance of the game came when a Coleraine man was left free at the back post to tap home from 4 yards into an empty net, but Crewe United goalkeeper Stephen McDowell leaped across his line to pull the ball away with a fantastic save.
This seemed to spark a bit of life into the Crewe United boys who began to play smooth football, which the Coleraine players couldn’t cope. Almost immediately, Crewe’s top goalscorer, Ben Armstrong was through on goal only to be denied by a great save from the Coleraine goalkeeper.
With both goalkeepers intent on keeping a clean-sheet, the first half ended at dead lock with both teams having their fair share of chances to take the lead.
HALF TIME 0-0
The second half began and almost immediately Crewe lost the ball and Coleraine capitalised on defensive errors all over the pitch. Chance after chance went begging before Coleraine took the lead with a well-placed finish. Crewe heads began to drop despite the scoreline only being 1-0. However, this scoreline didn’t last for long as the Coleraine captain took advantage of a quick free kick to catch out the Crewe goalkeeper, 2-0.
The Coleraine momentum was shaken momentarily as Crewe instantly hit back, making their mark on the game. A shaky Coleraine defence failed to deal with a corner and central defender Craig Bailie rose to power home a header from inside the box, 2-1.
The Crewe inspiration was short lived as luck struck Coleraine once again, a defensive error from the Crewe defence saw an own goal leave the Crewe goalkeeper stranded and helpless, 3-1.
Coleraine added to the Crewe despair, taking advantage of a shell-shocked Crewe United defence only to produce another 1 on 1 save from Goalkeeper Stephen McDowell. The adrenaline was short lived however as Coleraine added to their tally making it 4-1.
With Crewe disheartened, it was Craig Bailie again who gave hope, taking advantage of a shaky Coleraine defence from a corner to slot home for his second of the game and season.
Crewe began to come to life, finally finding gears and putting Coleraine under extreme pressure, Ben Armstrong came close as he broke through to hit the side netting. Midfield men Mark McCullough and Sam Walsh were dominating the midfield as they had been for the whole game, and the wide men were beginning to come into play.
With Coleraine on the back foot Crewe continued to play exceptional football producing chance after chance which all went begging.
Crewe were given yet another glimmer of hope as a cross was deemed to be handled by a Coleraine defender. Ben Armstrong converted the penalty and Crewe were back in the game with 5 minutes go.
With the score line at 4-3 Crewe continued to pile on the pressure but to no avail as the final whistle sounded on what was a fantastic game from a neutral perspective.
