Last weekend's good 1-1 draw at Lymm showed that when we are 'up for it' then good things can happen. The lads played well in Cheshire and for one mistake throughout the 90+ minutes cost us two points - so the plan was to put that right here today. It was a trip over to Rochdale - and Burton Park - for our first-ever encounter against St Clements Development and we knew that we'd have to be 'at it' again if we wanted more out of this one...

There were plenty of faces missing for this one as well - with Robbo, Rav and Chris on their jollies and Spencer having been ruled out for a period of time with the injury he's been carrying for a few weeks - so we knew before we got there that we'd have to tinker with the team again. News filtered through late on Friday night that today's hosts' first-team didn't have a game so as is happening a lot lately, there were the questions of 'are we playing the team we're supposed to be playing here?'. As always though, we can only play against what's in front of us - so the focus had to turn to what we could do rather than worrying about others - and as the lads got themselves ready, there seemed to be a good focus in that changing-room...

As Wayne set the cones out for the warm-up, it became evident very quickly that we'd be doing this with a hill right in the middle - but you can only work with what you've got - so the lads came out and were put through their paces as the new owner of Rochdale FC decided to 'park' his helicopter on the field the other side of the trees - twice . With the legs suitably stretched and the hears pumping, it was time to go back to the dressing-room and name the team. We were sticking with the 4-3-3 shape that served us well at the start of the season and with the personnel available to us today, it didn't seem right to change the formation we are used to. That meant Mitch was in net and the back-four tasked with protecting him was to be Keegie and Jack at centre-halves with Nathan on the right and the left-back berth today was taken by young Ben Schofield. Wayne had spoken to him in the week and said that if we did this properly, he'd really enjoy it. Liam and Alex were to be the engine-room in the middle of the park - with Mark tasked with sitting in front of them and knitting things together - and with a front-three consisting of Charlie, Lewis and Yatesy, surely we had enough firepower up there to cause them trouble. Today's bench was pretty bare - with Robbie joined by Gatesie, Brian and the incoming Brad Moden to choose from when needed - and with the lads ready, we were out there about to go to battle...

It was a shame then that we had to wait almost 20 minutes to kick-off - as the referee hadn't arrived - and when he did eventually get there, it was due to his 'bus' being late. But with the man in black stood in the middle - where he seemed to not move from for the entirety of the match - it was time to go. With it being Remembrance Sunday tomorrow, a minutes' silence was impeccably observed by the players, coaches and supporters of both teams before the referee called the captains together and with Alex winning the toss and electing to start the game, both teams were ready and the whistle went - and within 20 seconds, we'd already made a great move down our right. Charlie linked up well with Yatesy but across came their huge No.5 to force the ball out for a throw. Already it is obvious that we needed to keep the ball on the floor as these were massive at the back so today was going to be about quick, neat passes and getting in behind them with our pace. It's a shame the lads didn't clock it as quick as the fans did though...

Just past the two-minute mark, the hosts should have taken the lead - and it was only really poor finishing that stopped them. A long punt up top seemed to catch us out and as their striker raced clear, he only had Mitch to beat - and thankfully he blazed his shot high over the bar when it looked easier to score. Signs that they were just going to pump it long though and that was something that we would need to work out how to deal with early doors. Both teams were battling hard at this stage and there were some great challenges going in that showed the importance of these points to both sides. Who would break their duck first though?

When we did get the ball down and worked it the way we know we can, we were creating chances and some of them were first-class opportunities. On 14 minutes we worked it well down our left and as Ben fed Lewis in, he managed to curve his run to get past his marker and as the ball came into the danger-area, once again their defence dealt with it well and cleared the danger - but yet more proof that when we did move the ball quickly, we could get it into the areas where we wanted it. But less than a minute later, it was the hosts that should have gone in front. Another long ball over the top caught us flat-footed and as the ball found it's way to their striker, he hammered it -- only to see the ball slam against our crossbar and back into the penalty-box. Another shot was rifled in but this time Mitch got down well to make a great save - however the ball fell directly to their other striker and thankfully his finishing was woeful as he struck the ball wide of the mark when it looked easier to score. A let-off for sure - and we needed to keep concentrated at all times to stop chances like this from coming...

The next golden opportunity fell to us - and we are still scratching our heads as to how we didn't take the lead. Winning another good challenge in the middle of the park, we fed the ball to Mark who did what Wayne had asked at the start - by sliding the ball between their full-back and centre-half for our wingers to run onto - and this time it was Lewis that got in behind them to fire a great cross into the heart of their danger-area to find Yatesy stood on his own about 10 yards from goal. But rather than do what we know he can and slam the ball home, John seemed to hesitate slightly - and all he could do was fire his shot straight at their keeper when literally a yard either side and we were 1-0 up! Training has been used for the last month or so on our finishing - so it looks as though there needs to be a lot more of it as well!

The tackles kept flying in and at one stage, it did feel as though the only time the whistle was actually going was when it was a yellow shirt that had fallen to the floor - and on 29 minutes, it looked as though they had a good shout for a spot-kick when their striker seemed to fall under the pressure of a challenge - but thankfully this time the referee kept his whistle out of his mouth. We had to wake up and stop allowing them so many opportunities near our goal - whilst also making sure we were more clinical when we got the ball into their 18-yard box. Yatesy saw another half-chance smothered well by their defence and as the minutes ticked by, it was clear that the first goal here could be all-important...

We then saw a concerning moment when Jack went up for a challenge and as it looked as though he'd won the header, we just saw him crumple on the floor - with the full weight of their No.10 landing on his neck. Jack was in a lot of pain but thankfully it wasn't his head and on went the game. The hosts were ramping up the pressure in their final-third now though and won a flurry of corners around the half-hour mark - with one of them seeing Jack defend it well by flicking a header away from danger - but as it fell at the back-post, there was their No.11 unmarked - but thankfully all he could was fire it into the side-netting and the game was still scoreless. The home fans gathered screamed as they thought it was in and that created a laugh on our side of the pitch at least...

As we've mentioned , some of the tackles flying in were near to the bone and with Wayne urging the referee to keep a closer eye, it seemed to fall on deaf ears. Some of the challenges looked as though there was no intention on going for the ball either and on 34 minutes, we saw the first glimpse of a yellow card coming from the referee's pocket as their No.2 rightfully earnt one with another harsh tackle. About time that the referee picked somebody up for it - but as Wayne reminded his troops, that meant we needed to be careful now as there was no doubt he'sd level it up as soon as he was given the chance. And as the half was drawing to an end, the plan was to get the lads in, regroup and tweak a few things so that we came out in the second-half ready to surprise them. What we didn't envisage was them taking the lead - and what a spawny goal it was to concede as well. The coaches had spent nearly 45 minutes telling their lads not to give away silly free-kicks or throws in or around our box due to the height, size and physicality of the hosts - but on 43 minutes, we were guilty of it and they won a free-kick about 22 yards from our goal. The ball was swung in, flicked on and as it came back across our goal-line, it was a case of whose boot would get to it first - and it happened to be a St Clements sock that tapped it home from about 2 yards out. Despite having enough chances to be in front, we were now 0-1 behind and there was going to be a lot of work needed in the second period if we wanted to turn this around. Then we saw something that not only seemingly deceived our eyes - but also made us wonder where on earth we were - as a flare was set off by the home supporters and it made it feel as though they thought they were in the Champions League Final! Sure - getting a goal against us is always something to celebrate - but really? It left a bitter-taste put it that way - and made Wayne and Brian even more determined to try and get back in this now...

Half-time: Rochdale St Clements Dev. 1-0 BREIGHTMET UNITED

As the lads came in, the pleasing thing was that they didn't look dejected. Sure - we'd conceded right at the end having worked hard for the first period - but we had enough chances to have been coming in with the lead so it was about being more fruitful in front of goal now. We needed to keep the ball away from their big centre-halves - so why are we continuing to launch any free-kicks long into the middle of their box? Their No.5 was gobbling up everything in the air - and so he should as he towered about a foot above Yatesy - so it was about decision-making now and making sure we slid the ball into the channels as asked before the game. The two times we'd done it we'd got in behind them - so why would we not continue trying to do that? We needed to cope better with the long ball over the top but all in all, we'd been playing alright out there. The next goal was important because if we got it, this would be a different game but if it was the hosts that scored, then we'd have a lot of work to do to get back into it. Keep plugging away, keep listening to the instructions - and let's see where it would leave us in 45 minutes time. No changes were made and the lads were back out there ready to go again. Shame the referee wasn't - as we were left waiting for about 7 minutes (again) before he made his way back out of the changing-rooms and into the middle of the pitch...

And within the first couple of minutes, Mark showed he had been listening as he played a glorious pass through the channel into the space in front of Yatesy - but our striker just didn't read it quick enough and before we knew it, the St Clements defence had gobbled it up again and launched it long. At least our midfield were trying to get things gelling in there though...

However on 50 minutes the hosts should have doubled their lead when their No.15 - who had been subbed on - was put clean through by yet another long ball over the top. As Mitch came out quickly to narrow the angle, he must have put their guy off - because all he could do was panic and smash his shot wide of the target from about 12 yards out. We were living dangerously at times and needed to stop giving them these chances to go further in front. This was proved yet more on 52 minutes as this time the hosts did managed to score their second goal of the game - or rather we did it for them. Another long ball straight down the middle seemed to cause confusion amongst our ranks - but we still looked favourites to clear it. That was until some miscommunication saw Keegie try to welly the ball out of our area - only to see it slam into the shins of our Nathan - and the ball flew past the helpless Mitch and into the back of our net. No way had we been the masters of our own downfall again? 0-2 down and both goals had once again been avoidable. When will this stop? As expected, out came the flares again and the home supporters danced up and down as though they'd just seen a stunning overhead kick goal from 30 yards - not a spawny own-goal kicked off one of our shins. Could we come back from two goals down? That was the challenge now...

To our boys' credit, they didn't give up and shortly after, Mark seemed to have a good chance when he strode through and from 25 yards out, he let fly - only to be taken out just as he connected with the ball and as expected, the referee gave nothing. The ball flew over the bar by about a foot and despite the protestations to the man in the middle (still - in the middle) nothing was given. It seemed to be getting silly now...

Jack then set off on a mazy run that took him from just in front of our box to just inside theirs - driving past several challenges on his way - and as he looked up, he played a great cross into Yatesy in the middle but rather than shoot first-time, John seemed to take that bit too long to make up his mind and that was enough for their No.5 to come across and cut out the space for the shot. It is things like this that we need to be more 'natural' about - and rather than thinking, we should use our instincts and smash it at goal to at least make their keeper save it. At least we hadn't rolled over and given up already though as there was still over 30 minutes or so remaining. Yatesy had yet another good opportunity when he slammed the ball over from about 16 yards out and as the game wore on, most of the good chances were now falling the way of us. Nathan saw a rasping effort from all of 22 yards out come about six inches off the floor - but also go about six inches the wrong side of their post - and then Charlie was put through to see his effort rise high over the bar rather than busting the back of their net. We were getting the chances to get back into this now - we just were not taking them...

Then we did. Just past the hour-mark, we were awarded a free-kick after yet another naughty challenge in the middle of the park. This time our skipper placed it down with purpose and as he looked up, he knew to keep it away from that mountain that was their No.5. In came the ball and as Liam worked hard to get to it, he seemed to flick the ball past their defenders - to find that man Keegie free at the back-post and he did the rest - slamming the ball into the roof of the net from about 8 yards out! A lifeline! We were back in it at 1-2 and there was still a lot of time to go for us to get the leveller. The lads grabbed the ball out of the back of their net and it was definitely game-on again. Keegie is in a rich vein of scoring form recently so it was good to see him get on the scoresheet again - but surely it's now over to the attackers to fire the bullets we'd been providing them with all game...

Then came a period of about 10-15 minutes where all of the attacking play seemed to come from the team in black and white. We won a corner on the left and as it was swung in, Ben rose highest to get his head to it - only to see it flick off their full-back for another corner - or not! The only person that didn't see it come off the yellow player's head was the one that counted - the match official - and as he signalled for a goal-kick, it just felt as though this was going to be another one of 'those days'. We were playing alright, we were competing well and we were not just rolling over and going home happy with loss - all great signs really - and with Alex, Liam and Mark still working hard to create things, we were always in with a shout of getting back into this.

We then made changes that saw both John and Charlie come off - in a move that saw Jack slot in up front and Ben go to right-wing - as Gatesie came in at right-back (Nathan switching to the left) and Robbie go in next to Keegie in the heart of our defence - and almost instantly Jack was given their defenders something else to think about - as his height and size was different to what they'd encountered so far. One good move saw the ball fed into Jack's feet and he dug it out before laying it off to Liam who struck his shot just over the bar from about 22 yards out. 73 minutes gone at this stage and the feeling was that if we could get an equaliser soon, there was every chance we could go on to claim all three points still...

Ben and Jack had worked hard - as had all of the lads out there today - and although we were still behind, that was not through the lack of trying. Lewis had shown glimpses of what he could do with their full-back if we gave him the ball in space and all over the park, the lads could not be faulted for their efforts. It just wasn't clicking for us in the areas that mattered and that was due to a lack of sharpness in front of goal and some good defending from the lads in yellow. One of those days really. And that was further compounded on 87 minutes when the hosts grabbed their third goal of the game - and the clincher - after yet more poor decision-making. Rather than lump the ball downfield, we elected to stick it out for a throw - about 25 yards from our own goal. In came the long-throw and as the bodies all went to get to it first, it was a yellow shirt that managed to get on the end of it and divert the ball past Mitch and into the bottom corner of our net. That was that. 1-3 and there wouldn't be enough time for us now. The hosts celebrated by letting off yet another flare - this place must be lit up if they ever win any trophies that's for sure - and as they came back for the re-start, they were delighted. Must be great beating a team like us that couldn't finish our dinners today eh? Our lads looked deflated now...

There was still time for more shenanigans as Gatesie was wiped out by a horrendous tackle that was shin-high and left cuts and grazes on his leg even behind his shin-pad - and with the home fans celebrating as though they'd scored again (we're surprised they didn't let a flare off for that assault as well!) the referee seemed reluctant to even pull the yellow card out of his pocket let alone the red that it deserved. It was time to go home now...

So when the final whistle went - and we'd lost the game 1-3 - the only pleasing thing was that the hosts did actually shake hands. Fair play to their big No.5 - he weas respectful and a delight to chat to after the game - and as the players left the pitch, it was another case of 'what should have been' if we could have finished our chances today. As Wayne always says though, he can take a defeat if we have put the effort in and that is definitely something we can say about the boys here. Sometimes we will lose - it's the manner of those losses that matter - and we did alright here today. But one point out of the last possible nine isn't good enough and we need to stop that rot as soon as we can if we want to finish as high up that table as we can...

Alex was awarded the ROMAC Logistics Man of the Match today - with Jack and Ben also stand-out performers on the day - and as we got ready to go back to Bolton, all thoughts turned to next weekend already. The visit of Ince Central in the 3rd round of the LFA Amateur Cup is a 'biggie' - so we will be hoping that the boys will be firing on all cylinders for that one - and we'll look forward to hosting these lot at Moss Park sometime before the end of the season. Who knows - we may even get fireworks in ourselves for that one!

A massive thanks to the Breightmet fans that made their way across the A58 to cheer us on here today and we're sure you'll agree that the lads worked hard in patches out here - so make sure you get to that crucial game next weekend and are loud and proud once again. Win that and we're in the last 8 of the County Cup. Sounds good that doesn't it?

Onwards and upwards it is then. Training will be used in the week to tinker with a few ideas before that huge Cup game next Saturday and if the lads perform as we all know they can, there's every reason to believe that we'll be in that hat for the quarter-final draw. Fingers crossed eh?

Another one to put behind us - and back to the drawing board we go...

#OnceUnitedNeverDivided