Oxenhope u18s 3

Steeton u18s 1

STEETON Under-18s suffered defeat at the hands of Oxenhope in a scrappy affair were the pitch and conditions were poor for both sides, so it was a case of who was going to grind out the result.

The first-half was a tight, scrappy affair with Oxenhope’s striker causing Steeton's defence a few problems with his pace latching on to the long balls over the top.

But with last-ditch defending and Max Pearson, Steeton's midfielder playing in goal, they managed to keep the scores level until the 30th minute when a back post cross was met with a powerful header into the Steeton net.

Steeton looked to hit back quickly but their final pass was letting them down time and time again, but they did get level from the spot when Tom Crossland’s determination saw him upended in the Oxenhope box, coolly dispatched by Harry Farnell into the bottom left-hand corner.

Oxenhope gained the lead with the last kick of the ball in the first-half when a free-kick was headed home at the back post taking Oxenhope into half-time with a slender 2-1 lead.

As the conditions deteriorated then so did any of the football that was being attempted to be played.

Misplaced passes were plentiful with Steeton still failing with the final ball and Oxenhope still firing balls up to their frontmen.

It was a misplaced pass from Steeton defender Reece Hird straight to Oxenhope striker that led to the third and final goal of the game, the striker took full advantage of the pass and fired the ball home into the bottom right-hand corner of the net past the stranded Steeton keeper.

The game finished with a positive note for the Steeton midfielder Max Pearson in goal, when he firstly brought down the Oxenhope striker in the box but then saved the penalty with a flying save down to his right-hand side and out for a corner to top off a fine performance.