A warm sunny welcome for Moss Bank Blues to New House farm this morning as the Legends look to continue their ever improving pre season form against a very good Moss Bank side who played two leagues above us last year.

With Ste working and Barlow off on his own pre season get away it was Neil and Mike at the reigns this morning, but what the Legends coaching staff had done was delve into the European loan market and bring in Captain Fantastic Antoni Chokrek's cousin Bart for a trial - he would start on the bench along with Riley E, Jacob, Oliver and Bobby.

The starting 11 for this one would be Riley B, Riley O, Jak, Bentley, Trey, Dan, Elliot, Antoni, Zak, Roman and Connor leading the line up top.

Pre season is all about getting that fitness up, and ensuring the whole squad is ready for the real work to begin once the season begins, that said, the Legends have improve each week as they get used to the 11 aside format and Neil and Mike were hoping to see the same again against a very capable and competitive Moss Bank side.

With the pleasantries over and the team talks complete the two teams took to the pitch and before we knew it we were off!

Moss Bank took the game to the Legends initially with Riley B standing firm in the goal to keep the score line level, and the first ten minutes were wave after wave of attack from the opposition, but Jak and Bentley were in no mood to concede just yet, they were clearing away all that was thrown at them.
Neil and Mike then made a couple of changes which saw Jacob and Riley E enter the fray and this seemed to help the Legends get a grip of the game, they started passing the ball around and gaining ground on Moss Banks goal. Connor was working hard up top on his own while Zak down the left was up and down the pitch like never before putting in a proper shift for his team.

The extra pressure soon brought rewards, with a corner being earned on the right. Elliot whipped the ball in across the 6 yard box and the Moss Bank defender could only stick his hand out to stop it. PENALTY!! The ref pointed to the spot and it was our new signing Roman who had the confidence to grab the ball and take the kick.
SAVED!! Roman went low to the keepers left, but the Moss Bank stopped got down really well and parried away, when it looked like Elliot might find Connor with the rebound the defenders scrambled the ball clear...........

More changes made by the Legends as Bobby was brought on in defence and Bart in midfield, and it didnt take long for Bart to make his mark as he lofted a beautiful ball over the top for Roman to chase, and this time he gave the keeper no chance !! GOAL!! 1-0 to the Legends!!

There was still time for Moss Bank to create another chance of their own, but a wide awake Riley B tipped a great strike onto his cross bar which was then ably cleared by the defence.

Half Time 1-0

Second half

Moss bank quick out of the blocks with a very well taken equaliser early in the second half.

The Legends though settled back into their rhythm and began knocking the ball around expertly with Zak again putting in a superb effort on either wing.
That said, an innocuous looking cross saw Trey get his feet mixed up and knock the ball passed Riley B into the near post. 1-2 to Moss Bank.

With the two teams very evenly matched Neil and Mike made a few more personnel changes, firstly to ensure the whole squad was getting the minutes needed fitness wise but also to see if we could get ourselves back into this game - and they certainly did!!
With a corner won on the right it was Zak to float one over to the far post, and there was big Jak at the back to power home the equaliser with his head! GOAL!! 2-2

The Legends continued to press hard for a winner and Jacob was unlucky not to get one at the death with a great double save being made from the Moss Bank No.1

FULL TIME 2-2

A great game and another improved performance from the home team. There was some great individual performances as well, with Riley B back to his best between the sticks and Zak working tirelessly down the wings putting in the kind of performance we know he's more than capable of, but todays player of the match, sponsored by Adel Warren, was defensive kingpin Jak Robinson. Jak never put a foot wrong in defence today with two different partners and then popped up with the equaliser late in the game, a deserved award for our second new signing of the summer!

The Legends are looking stronger every week which is great to see, and they are really getting to grips with the 11 aside format and the bigger pitches, allowing the ball to do the work but also realising their positional responsibility's - with a few more pre season run outs to go yet, the future looks very bright for this superb bunch of lads.

#Upthelegends