This weekend was a free week, and so we took on Garforth Villa who are presently sat in 4th place in Division A, and so would give us a real test and give us an idea of our current standard.
First team kicked off with a strong line up, and it certainly felt like we had nothing to fear. We played uphill first half and into a slight wind but saw us dominate possession in the first 10 minutes, and were starting to dictate proceedings. The midfield trio of Nathan, Matthew and Andy were in control of the ball and picking passes at will, with twice the ball agonisingly going across the goal, Eugene only just failing to get on the end of telling crosses. Charlie had his hands full with a very quick centre forward to look after, but stuck to the task well, and the longer the game went on, the fewer balls the forward seemed to get. Oliver was his lightening quick usual self and was even finding time to push himself to midfield and create chance after chance. 5 minutes before the break, a hopeful punt forward got caught with the wind and deceived James and dropped into the net to give Garforth the lead they hardly deserved.
Half time 0: 1
A quick chat at half time telling the players to go for broke and they certainly took this on board. For the next 20 minutes they were camped in the Garforth half. Nathan, Matthew and Andy were now running riot and the Garforth players simply could not get near them. Matthew France had a shot from 20 yards which thudded the crossbar, and then Nathan set off on an amazing run, the full length of the pitch beating 4 players before unleashing a shot that was bound for the goal, only for a Garforth player to stop the ball with his hand and a penalty was awarded, to which Nathan smashed into the top corner
Full Time 1:1
Second team kicked off defending an unbeaten run of 5 games and certainly looked like they meant business by playing the best football they had all year. The passing was a joy to watch throughout the side as we continually sliced our way through the Garforth side, but on their first attack, Garforth managed to take the lead. A response was required and it quickly came as Connor and Ryan linked together to send Kieran racing clear, showing great pace, composure and finished with style. 2 minutes after that, more pressure resulted in a corner to which Connor smashed in the loose ball to put us 2:1 up. Sam and Ben were looking strong at the back, especially Ben who was outstanding. Good play from Garforth saw them equalise but straight from the re-start Kieran broke free and again coolly finished. Another equaliser followed.
Half Time 3:3
Second half saw Louis and Joe Lynch entered the fray and we continued as we had in the first half taking the game to Garforth. Joe Clarkson was a constant threat and they simply couldn’t handle his marauding runs and ferocious tackling, but against the run of play Garforth scored again. This brought grit and determination in a game that we refused to lose and a 10 minute spell of Rothwell pressure saw the prolific Joe Lynch score again to give us a deserved draw.

A very satisfying day all round – The future is looking bright for the Dynamo’s