In the build-up to this game we had said that it promised to be a hard fought, entertaining, game of football. Well even that doesn’t sum up just what happened on Pitch 3 on Broadway this Sunday!
This game literally had everything! Great goals, sloppy goals, bad weather conditions, great play, great goalkeeping, the list goes on.
Despite a positive first half performance Davyhulme Park found themselves trailing 3-0 at the break after conceding three goals in, what manager Mike Jones described as, “sloppy fashion”. This prompted a double substitution at half time with Mike Higgins being replaced by Phil Hayton, which meant Jonny Farrell moved out to the right of the front three for Hayton to drop into the middle, and Stephen Brown making way for Terrell Freeman.
Just 8 seconds into the second half and Joe Halfpenny scored the first of his eventual hatrick and started the comeback. It was the response the manager had craved following some stern words at half time. With the introduction of Phil Hayton, Halfpenny had more freedom and added a second shortly after. His third came from a freekick which, despite peoples doubts, he sent the ball looping over the goalkeeper from a ridiculously deep position and straight into the top corner. The midfielder said “I’m offended people would doubt my ability! Of course i meant it!”. A controversial penalty from Terrell Freeman, in which the initial offence appeared to be outside the box, sent Davyhulme Park ahead before Elvinas Dalala added a fifth.
A couple of lengthy stoppages held the game up and Tom Taylor took to the pitch in place of Adam Mannion. Despite some good play from Davyhulme Park, particularly down the right hand side there was to be more drama as Broadway capitalised on another piece of lapse defending by the DPFC back line to make it 5-4.
There were plenty of nervy moments before the ref eventually blew for full time with a home win secured in the most unlikely of circumstances.
Manager Mike Jones had this to say “Obviously I’m delighted with the win especially having been three goals down. At the end of the day we are in a results business and no matter how it comes about a win is what matters most. However, I am disappointed with the mistakes we made and it will be straight back to the training ground this week to work on eradicating those errors from our game. Next time we won’t be so fortunate as to be able to dig ourselves out of such a hole, besides my nerves can’t take that again!”
When asked what the manager had said at half time to inspire his troops Jones responded with “Lets be honest. Managers can stand here and say they did this and did that but ultimately it’s the players who win football matches. I’m not undermining our position on the sides but as for it being down to some magical half time team talk that’s just not accurate. Basically I made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that the sloppiness we had shown was unacceptable. I reminded them of the type of football we like to play and made sure they all believed in themselves and their ability to turn this fixture around. I made a couple of changes that I felt would change things and it seemed to work.”
Phil Hayton was one of those changes and on the first half the combative midfield said “ It was disappointing to see us concede three goals in the manner which we did. I felt we were much the better team in the first half and were unfortunate to find ourselves 3-0 down to sloppy goals and unlucky not to have a few ourselves. All three goals were avoidable so its obviously something we’ve got to work on and take responsibility for as a team.”
When asked whether he had believed the team could recover from such a deficit Hayton added “Yes I think so, my confidence has been high as of late following a couple of decent performances. I didn’t come on thinking about being 3-0 down, I just wanted to get on the ball and win the match. I knew we were capable of the win because. well, if they can score three goals in a half, so can we. Its that belief that defines a winner. When we grabbed the first goal straight from kick off the whole mood changed, the goal inspired the team; we knew we could win, we just had to make it happen. From then on, in my mind, there was only going to be one outcome; we were going to win no matter what the cost.”
Man of the match Joe Halfpenny admitted he wasn’t quite filled with such optimism “Honestly? At 3-0 i did have doubts, we weren’t playing any where near as good as we can do. I think the weather had an effect on us and it took s too long to settle. I thought the best we could hope for was a draw, and I did think it was just going to be “one of those games”. However, I knew we were better than them, and I knew chances would come. It was just about defending well as a team, and then taking the chances once they come.”
When asked what had been the inspiration behind the comeback the hatrick hero added “I think the changes at half time obviously helped, and the manager gave us a right
bol*%&#ing!! But the goal we scored 8 seconds into the second half was a catalyst of how we wanted to approach the remainder of the game. It was about just going for it at 3-0 down. We had nothing to lose at that point.”
Of Halfpenny, Hayton said “I thought Joe had a magnificent second half and capped it with three well deserved goals. His first and third were brilliant, but the first gets my pick simply because of the timing and importance; it galvanized the team. I really enjoy playing with Joe, he’s a great player and you know when hes got the ball he’ll make something happen, I think we’re building a good partnership through the middle. Sundays display epitomized what Joe is as a player, hes got it all, he can shoot, dribble, create; he can win you games. But we need to make sure that he isnt going at it alone, he needs the players around him to put in a shift and we need to make sure we don’t lean on him and expect him to win every game for us. A well deserved man of the match and a great performance, well done Joe!”
There was equal praise given to Phil Hayton by both manager Mike Jones, described the midfielders introduction as “a key reason to the revival”, and from Joe Halfpenny too who said “Just like the Gaffer said at the end of the match, Phil had a great game. He tracked his men, got tackles in, passed the ball well, and offered himself in attacks. His all round game was awesome. He’s put Mike under pressure to start him next week after a performance like Sunday. I think I should also mention Gentile. He had an awful first half at centre back and was at fault for at least one of the goals. However, he held his head up and came out fighting in the second half. Credit should go to the whole team. It was a great effort to come back, and a great start to the season”
Phil himself was modest about the praise “To be honest I was flattered and humbled to be singled out for praise as I didn’t feel like I did anything spectacular. I just came on and took the game to them, which in my opinion is the minimum you should expect from everyone. It was a nice gesture and I appreciated the praise from my team mates both during and after the match, but its not the kind of performance I hope to be remembered for at the end of the season, I’m a much better player than I shown on Sunday and I just need to get match fit to prove it. Its obviously going to be difficult for the manager to overlook me after singling me out for praise, but there are a lot of other good players at the club that deserve the spot too. I’ll just continue to train hard and play harder, and when I do get my chance, whether its from the bench or at the start, I’ll be playing with the same enthusiasm and intensity that I always do. If my spot was guaranteed I’d be bored, it would just be too trivial. I like to have a desire to train hard and my enthusiasm comes from being needed, not relied on”
In looking ahead to that next fixture Mike Jones has promised changes to his team as he looks to maintain the rotation policy that worked so well last year. He said he prays for an easier day next time out, a view that was echoed by Halfpenny “I don’t want us to concede such sloppy goals. We need to defend better as a team and give the strikers more chances to beat teams more comfortably. It’s nice to win the way we did, but I’d much rather win in a boring 2-0 game!!!”
Davyhulme Park will resume training on Wednesday evening, where we hope to catch up with a couple more of the squad to get their views on the forthcoming game against Urmston Meadowside Warriors.
Davyhulme Park FC 