AFC Manchester

The U9’s were in action again on Saturday playing 3 match’s in the Mid Season Cup festival. They faced some strong opposition against Curzon Ashton, AFC Manchester and Woodbank. There first game was up against Curzon Ashton and from the start Haslingden showed some really good promise. The usual set up was Amelia Warburton in goal with Madeleine Bland taking up her usual defensive role. Fern Ashworth, Georgia Berry, Niamh Gilmartin, Grace Wilson and Gemma Fahey took it in turns to play in midfield and attack. Curzon attacked in numbers and was soon was on the score sheet scoring for short range. However with Haslingden growing in confidence they started to have some shots of their own, coming close on a number of occasions, losing only by a short margin. In the second game they faced another new side in the league AFC Manchester. Looking to improve on their first game, Haslingden was starting to see the majority of the ball. Their first goal in competitive game came when Grace Wilson won the tackle on the half way line and sprinted towards goal. She was being chased by the opposition and shouts by the parents to shoot. She just got her toe to the ball to poke it past the keeper and the parents went wild. AFC Manchester had a few chances but Amelia managed to block their shoots. A second goal came for Haslingden that sealed a well-deserved victory. Their third game against Curzon was a much closer encounter and both sides managed to score in the fist half but it was Curzon that went on to snatch the victory, but nothing was going to take away the joy of Haslingden’s U9’s first win of the season. If you are interested in playing for Haslingden then go the www.hglfc.co.uk and fill in the application.