Review: Longridge Town, Away(Pre Season)04/07/23.

Coasters review made the short 30 minute journey on Tuesday to the recycling lives ground to watch Longridge Town vs AFC Fylde in what was the Coasters opener to pre-season for the 2023-24 season. 

A short hop up the M55 meant that the Coasters review team arrived at the ground 20 minutes before kick-off. A reasonable fee of £7 for both of us was paid upon entry to the volunteer at the entrance hut and we were in for the 1st game of the season. The Ridge’s ground is surrounded by some beautiful scenery on one side of the ground with the Lancashire hills overshadowing the dugout side of the ground whereas new-build houses also surround a large area of the ground. 

For a North west Counties Premier side the ground seemed more than adequate with a stand behind the goals for those who wanted shelter whilst also standing, there was also a seating stand adjacent to the half way line which would be suitable to those who would prefer to sit whilst watching. Further shelter can be provided from the stand with the bet365.com sign above it which can also be used as a place to sit. Refreshments can be gained through the clubhouse and the hut which is at the side of the bet365 stand. Hospitality can also be provided through the Melling 5 suite which is a brilliant tribute to their former captain George Melling who unfortunately died from Motor Neurone Disease. 

 

The Coasters Review team placed themselves at the end where the Coasters were attacking in the first half which had no cover, which wasn’t needed as it turned out to be a lovely summer's evening in the Lancashire sunshine. The Coasters named 3 trialists in the squad for the 1st half of the game as well as a mixture of 1st team and youth players. Debuts were also handed to Gold Omatayo upfront and Theo Richardson in goal who arrived from Kings Lynn and Buxton respectively. 1/2 of the coasters review team quickly realised that one of the trialists(let’s call him trialist A) was none other than a right back who latterly played for Halifax Town and Stockport County. The other starting trialist(let’s call him Trialist B) turned out to be formerly of Barrow and also Stockport County. 

The 1st half was largely dominated by the Coasters with a front 3 of Haughton, Rowley and Gold linking up fantastically and unlucky not to score within the opening minutes of the game. Longridge however did provide a threat on the counter especially with the diagonal balls from the left centre back to the right wing, which did cause the Coasters some problems however nothing really troubled Richardson in the Fylde goal who acted as an extra centre back for much of the first half. One thing that did seem quite impressive for the Coasters was the press across the pitch only allowing the Ridge a certain amount of seconds to pass and not really allowing them to play, the main man who epitomises this was Will Hatfield who linked up well with the Trialist A  and Taylor o’kane on a right hand side which looked as if it had been playing together for a few seasons. However, the Coasters just couldn’t manage to find the ball past Kier Barry in the Longridge goal who seemed to be having the game of his life. Longridge’s style of play was decent to the eye however the Coasters soon switched onto the fact that they were trying to play the ball out from the back and never really got out of their own half. The Coasters were forced into a sub though with Joe Rowley going off after a rash challenge caught the Fylde attacker which received no punishment. However, this seemed to be a blessing in disguise because another Trialist (let’s call him Trialist C) who came on seemed to be sensational. He had bite, attacked the line with confidence and was not afraid to get on the ball and drive forward from midfield. He also was involved in the opening goal, starting it off with a pass forward which eventually led to trialist A laying the ball off to Will Hatfield who smashed the ball low and hard into the bottom of the net and giving the Coasters a deserved lead on the 36th minute. Trialist C carried on this confidence whilst hitting the post twice before half time and linking the ball well with Gold Omatayo who was unlucky not to find himself on the scoresheet. With chants of ‘sign him up’ from the Coasters faithful he certainly impressed more than most and if anyone can identify his name that would be superb. However, as the Coasters were really starting to put their stamp on the game the Referee blew up for half time.

1st half M.O.M. for the coasters: Will Hatfield 

1st half M.O.M. for Longridge: Kier Barry

Half-time 0-1

As the sun descended over the Lancashire hills the players emerged for the second half with a completely different team for the Coasters. Jon Ustabasi and Kieran Glynn both came out for their debuts after arriving from Chorley and Scarborough Athletic, whilst youth player Joel Seargent also made his first appearance for the 1st team. The rest of the team was made up from regulars from last season’s title winning team with Pierce Bird returning from injury as well as Tom Walker. No changes were made by Longridge at Half time. The second half did not follow the same pattern as the first and seemed to start off quite scrappy however the front three of Siya Ligendza, Trialist D(had enough of all this trialist malarky- aka Nathan Delefounso) and Jon Ustabasi seemed very lively. This was proved in the 52nd minute when a Connor Barrett shot was parried by Barry in the Ridge goal and Delefounso was on hand to poke the ball over the line. However, this didn’t change the hosts spirit as they gained more confidence and got into the game more as the game got scrappy and the Referee chirping his whistle for niggly fouls made by Fylde. This momentum did result in a ferocious effort from Longridge’s number 9 Morgan Honsom-smith which did fly over the bar but was still worth the effort. The Coasters defence was breached however in the 62nd minute when a quick free kick caught the coasters defence napping and Brett Mcgovern slotted the ball nicely past the Fylde youngster in goal. Many could’ve argued the fact it was a moving ball however these are lessons that the coasters backline are going to have to learn before the new season sets in. Longridge then made numerous substitutions which included a trialist goalkeeper coming on who didn’t have a Longridge shirt on. These subs seemed to disrupt the home side in a negative way as Fylde managed to gain more glory especially down the left-hand side through Jon Ustabasi who set up a goal which was classed as a foul on the Keeper which looked harsh. However, the Coasters did add to their lead through towering centre back Emeka Obi who glanced a header into the bottom left corner. From our angle it looked like the defender on the line got in the trialist goalkeepers’ way which prevented him from saving it. The coasters then seemed to get in their rhythm with Kieran Glynn pulling the strings from the midfield releasing Barrett and Siya a number of times however the scoreline remained the same. Ustabasi impressed massively with his energetic nature all over the pitch from taking on defenders to putting in challenges with the Coasters backline. This energetic performance was capped off with a well-deserved goal in the 80th minute as Connor Barrett once again the provider as Ustabasi tapped in on debut. The final minutes eventually played itself out as the attendance was announced as 267 with the majority of that from AFC Fylde making it a thoroughly enjoyable evening at a friendly North west Counties Premier division side. The Coasters now face Barnsley FC with their continuation of Pre-season however this is behind closed doors. 

Final score: Longridge Town FC 1 Vs 4 AFC Fylde

Attendance: 267

2nd half M.O.M. for the Coasters: Jon Ustabasi

2nd Half M.O.M. for Longridge: Brett McGovern.