The Non-League Reds continued their up and down form, as two deflected efforts were enough to give Lower Breck the points in this local derby clash. The Breck started the game the better of the two teams and won a number of free kicks and corners as AFC came under early pressure. Despite having less of the play, The Reds made sure their opponents didn't have it all their own way and Elliot Taylor had a couple of chances, the second of which brought a good save from Theo Roberts in The Breck goal.
The deadlock was eventually broken in the 39th minute, when a long clearance from Roberts, was headed fortunately into the path of striker Lewis Buckley. He struck the ball well but Dave Parkinson seemed to have it covered, however a deflection off Bobby Murphy took the ball into the bottom right hand corner of the net, to give the home side the lead they deserved at the interval.
The weather took a distinct turn for the worse in the 2nd half, as both sides had to compete against the gale force winds and bursts of hailstone, as well as each other. The Reds started to grow into the game and had good periods of possession and looked the more threatening. In the 66th minute, Caleb Jones sent over a corner from the right. After a bit of a scramble, the ball fell to the feet of Elliot Taylor who turned and slotted home to level the scores. It looked at this stage as though AFC would be able to push on for the win, but fortune wasn't on their side again, as on 71 minutes, Elliot Hughes struck towards goal and the unfortunate Bobby Murphy could only deflect the ball into his net, for the hosts to retake the lead. Despite their best efforts, AFC couldn't find another leveller and although in all honesty the home side just about deserved the 3 points, nobody could fault the effort that the young AFC side put in against a very strong Lower Breck team.
Things don't get any easier for The Non-League Reds, who next face a trip to table toppers Ramsbottom United on Tuesday evening. Kick off is 7:45pm.
Final Score - Lower Breck 2 v 1 AFC Liverpool
Team - 1. Parkinson 2. Cunningham 3. Fisher-Jones 4. Moorcroft (c) 5. Sudworth
6. Murphy 7. C. Jones 8. Mahaffy 9. Taylor 10. Brown 11. Beckett
Subs Used - Giblin, Byron, Cummins
(Pics courtesy of Billy Stirrup)
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