So Near, Yet So Far as Valley’s Fightback Falls Short

Mersey Valley produced a stirring second-half fightback but were ultimately left empty-handed after a remarkable nine-goal encounter with Upton at Banky Lane on Saturday.

Trailing 3-1 at half-time and then 4-2 early in the second half, Valley showed plenty of character to drag themselves back to 4-4, only to concede again almost immediately as Upton eventually left with a 5-4 victory.

There was even time for one final moment of drama deep into stoppage time when Sam Deering’s audacious effort from around 45 yards beat the goalkeeper but struck the post.

It was that sort of afternoon.

Valley started with intent, looking to press high and move the ball quickly, although Upton showed from the opening exchanges that they would provide a serious test.

The visitors struck first after ten minutes. Valley had an opportunity to clear the danger but failed to take it, and Upton capitalised with a scrappy opener.

Eight minutes later the deficit was doubled. An Upton set-piece caused problems inside the Valley area and, after a scramble and a series of deflections, the ball eventually found its way into the net.

At 2-0 down, Valley needed a response – and they provided one.

The hosts began playing some of their best football of the half, finding openings and pushing Upton backwards. That pressure was rewarded on the half-hour when Owen Adams won the initial header, and James Matthews reacted inside the area to turn the ball home from close range.

It was a deserved goal, and suddenly Valley had the momentum.

The frustration was that they couldn’t turn that spell into an equaliser. Instead, just two minutes before the break, an individual error was ruthlessly punished by Upton to restore their two-goal advantage and send Valley into half-time trailing 3-1.

Whatever was said at the interval produced a response.

Valley came out on the front foot and, on 57 minutes, they were back in the contest. Ewan Roach launched one of his trademark long throws into the Upton penalty area, and Pete Greenwood rose to head home.

At 3-2, Banky Lane was alive and Valley had a route back into the game.

Unfortunately, another avoidable defensive moment allowed Upton to restore their two-goal advantage just two minutes later.

Once again, though, Valley refused to go away.

On 61 minutes Deering released Matthews, whose perfectly timed run took him through on goal. The striker kept his composure to beat the goalkeeper for his second of the afternoon and make it 4-3.

Eight minutes later, the comeback was complete.

Deering was involved again, finding Rourke Neal, who produced an emphatic finish for his first Mersey Valley goal.

From 4-2 down to 4-4, Valley suddenly looked the side most capable of going on and winning it.

But football can be unforgiving.

Barely a minute after drawing level, a breakdown in communication at the back saw two Valley players attack the same ball. The resulting flick-on fell perfectly for the Upton striker, who finished to make it 5-4.

It proved decisive.

Upton managed the closing stages well, disrupting Valley’s momentum and making it difficult for the home side to recreate the attacking rhythm that had produced three second-half goals.

George Howarth’s introduction added some extra dynamism, but the clear chances weren’t coming.

Then came one final opportunity.

Four minutes into stoppage time, a poor clearance from the Upton goalkeeper dropped to Deering around 45 yards from goal. He went for the spectacular and, with the goalkeeper stranded, his effort looked to be heading in.

It struck the post.

On another afternoon it might have completed an extraordinary comeback. Instead, it left Valley reflecting on just how close they had come to rescuing something from a game in which they had repeatedly fought their way back.

The result hurts, particularly after scoring four goals at home, but there were positives amongst the frustration.

The match statistics underline just how competitive the game was. Both sides registered 13 shots and three big chances, while Valley had more touches in the opposition box and won eight corners to Upton’s five.

Matthews’ brace continued his goalscoring contribution, Neal opened his account for the club and Deering played an important role in the second-half revival with two key passes in the build-up to goals.

There was also a senior debut for 17-year-old goalkeeper Harry Bailey, while Alfie Howarth was named Star Man after a solid work-rate throughout a difficult afternoon.

The biggest positive, though, was the refusal to accept the situation.

Valley were 2-0 down, responded. They went 3-1 down, responded. At 4-2, they responded again and fought all the way back to level the game.

Manager Jon Hudson accepted that the defensive mistakes have to be addressed, but was unequivocal in his support for his squad.

“This is my team. These are my players and I take responsibility for everything we do together.

We’re obviously disappointed because we’ve scored four goals at home and come away with nothing. There are moments we have to be better in and we know that, but I’m not going to hide from it and I’m certainly not going to start pointing fingers.

What I saw today was a group that kept going. At 2-0 down we responded, at 3-1 we responded and at 4-2 we found a way back to 4-4. That’s something we have to build on.

This is a big week for us. We’ll train, we’ll work hard, we’ll prepare properly for Saturday and we’ll do it together. That’s the only way forward.”

There is work to do, but there is also plenty to work with.

Saturday demonstrated both sides of Valley’s early season – moments that are proving costly, but also a team capable of scoring goals, fighting back and staying in games when the situation looks against them.

The task now is to turn that character into results.

TEAM LINE UP

13 – Harry Bailey
22 – Junior Omorogbe
5 – Pete Greenwood
6 – Ewan Roach
11 – Mike Woolley
4 – Owen Adams (c)
18 – Alfie Howarth
17 – Joel Riley
7 – Sam Deering
10 – Rourke Neal
9 – James Matthews

Subs

25 – Jordan Downing
19 – Kobi Royle
21 – Ted Palmer-Atkins
8 – George Howarth

Referee: Jospeh Killworth

Alfie Howarth

	MATCH STATS
49%	Possession	51%
13	Total Shots	13
6	On Target	9
19	Touch In Opposition Box	16
3	Big Chances	3
0	Big Chances Missed	0
1	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
8	Corners	5