Stalybridge Celtic Blues 1v 1 Hough End Griffins ............By Alun Ireland.... A battling performance from the Blues saw them pick up a point against a physical Hough End side. The boys were unlucky not to take all three points, only conceding late in the game after having had chances to put the game beyond the Griffins. The Blues started well, and the best move of the half – a Deacon kick to Connor, who played William in perfectly to score – resulted in the opening goal. Deacon had to be alert to save with his feet, and even though some sloppy throw ins put the Blues under pressure, James was always on hand to clear the danger. The second half followed the same pattern as the first – Griffins aiming to put on pressure, the Blues looking dangerous on the break. A mazy run from William nearly got a goal, but he shot wide, and Connor almost scored from a James cross. Deacon had to be brave diving at the feet of the Griffins striker, but Daniel S nearly do... Read the rest of this article...

Brendon Bees B 3 v 1 SCJFC Blues...............By Rob Dolan.............  In the opening minutes, Connor went on a solo run and slotted the ball in to the bottom corner of the net leaving the BB goalie with no chance. The Team then passed the ball around well particularly in the first 15 minutes of the first half.  Following one of these passing moves, Archie headed to Will who neatly volleyed just wide of the target.  At the other end, Deacon was on hand to save the ball on to his post to keep the score at 1-0.  Will, Archie, Connor and Adam then combined and forced the keeper to pull off a quality save.  However, the Bees then took the sting out of the game, breaking down the Blues defence to equalise and then just before half time they scored again to make it 2-1.  There was just enough time for Daniel L to get a good shot in which went over the bar.  In the second half, Deacon pulled off a great save from a close range effort, it looked... Read the rest of this article...

Stalybridge Celtic Blues 0 v 7 Reddish Vulcans...By Alun Ireland......... The Blues struggled against an excellent Vulcans team who gave them a lesson in passing and movement. Whereas Stalybridge never really got their passing game going, Vulcans were well organised, first to most loose balls, pacy up front and made few mistakes. The boys seemed down at the start of the game, when they were warming up – even though with 10 minutes to go until kick off there were not enough players to make up a team. And once the game began, it was one way traffic. Blues struggled to get out of their own half for long periods, and it was no surprise when the first goal came thanks to a good finish from the right. Tom saved with his feet, before Stalybridge had their first pressure of the match, Jack I fouled on halfway, leading to a long free kick causing the Vulcans trouble in defence. Tom then pulled off two outstanding saves, clawing a shot onto his post and out, before Vulcans posses... Read the rest of this article...

Marple Athletic B 2 v 0 SCJFC Blues................By Rob Dolan.......... Once again, there was a very strong wind blowing across the pitch which made it extremely difficult to complete passes.  The Blues applied good pressure and Marple found themselves defending for most of the first half, however, very few goalscoring opportunities were created.  Once again, James and Owen defended resolutely at the back, Tyler showed some good skill on the left and Adam, Dan S and Dan L applied pressure and got back and defended when necessary.  In the second half, Jack I came on and helped out the defence but they were unable to keep Marple out and they scored to make it 1-0. Adam and Tyler linked up well but there were very few opportunities to test the Marple keeper.  Following a period of prolonged pressure, Marple scored again to make it 2-0.   The Boys worked hard in difficult conditions, particularly James, who deservedly was man of the match due to his tac... Read the rest of this article...

West End Boys 4 Stalybridge Celtic 4................By Alun Ireland... West End through on penalties Stalybridge went out on penalties after leaving themselves too much to do to turn round a four goal deficit. In the first game, a poor first 25 minutes saw West End take a four goal lead. The boys deserve credit for not giving up, but a combination of some poor concentration at the back, and struggling to break down a well organised defence when attacking, left them playing catch up. The Blues started well, Jack almost breaking the deadlock with a shot from distance, but Tom was soon called into action to save with his feet, then James cleared off the line as West End built the pressure. There were signs of a goal as Oscar and Will combined well, but their opponents gradually took control. Firstly Tom forced their attacker wide when he was left one on one, but the Blues did not learn and when the same thing happened again the striker made no mistake. They doubled the l... Read the rest of this article...

Glossop North End 1 v 1 SCJFC Blues.............By Rob Dolan................ The Blues started the New Year with a great team display against Glossop with all players contributing. The Team had a lively start, forcing a number of corners. Then Daniel L combined well with Adam, and Tyler coolly slotted the ball home to make it 1-0. The way the team were set up at the back seemed to work very well, on the rare occasions that Glossop got past James, Owen was on hand to provide cover. Owen’s tackling was superb throughout the game and James consistently made accurate passes to his teammates. With the defence so solid, the Blues were unlucky to concede a goal just before half time. In the second half, Tyler had a long range effort which was just wide, Connor controlled the ball well and had his shot saved and Adam put the Glossop keeper under pressure and was unlucky not to score. Glossop were now benefitting from having the wind behind them and the Blues were stuck in their own half... Read the rest of this article...

Dukinfield Youth 5 Stalybridge Celtic Blues 0......By Alun Ireland................. The Blues were second best to a fantastic Dukinfield team, as they struggled to a 5-0 defeat. Dukinfield passed and moved all the game, with Stalybridge struggling to get the ball from them, and then struggling to hang on to it. The day started badly when with five minutes to kick off there were only just enough boys there to make up one team. And the lack of preparation showed as Dukinfield took control from the first minute, their striker volleying wide and then forcing Deacon into the first of many saves. It was only a matter of time before they took the lead, and even though the boys had defended well until this point, the goal was a sloppy one to concede from a weak cross. When the ball was again lost in defence, Dukinfield quickly doubled their lead.Jack C came close when he hit the Blues’ first shot over, but Duky got a third when the Blues lost the ball in attack, and within three p... Read the rest of this article...

SCJFC Blues 3 V 0 Curzon Ashton B....................By Rob Dolan                Curzon were Stalybridge’s opponents on the first day of the season and on that day they inflicted a double defeat on the Team.   However, today was a completely different story.  The Blues played some great football and showed 100% commitment.  They won an early free kick which Dec floated in to the box, Connor leapt to meet the cross and was unlucky to head narrowly over.  A few minutes later, Connor returned the favour crossing from the left and Dec hit the target from close range to make it 1-0.  Connor and Dec then combined again, Connor   turned the defender and crossed for Dan S who hit the post with his first effort but then did well to slot home the rebound.  Deacon saved well just before half time to keep the score at 2-0.  In the second half, the Blues put together some grea... Read the rest of this article...

Stalybridge Celtic Blues 0 West End Boys 4..............By Alun Ireland........  The Blues were second best as they struggled against an impressive West End team. The boys struggled for large parts of the game, and only a fine performance from Deacon kept the score to four. West End almost went ahead as early as the fourth minute, hitting the bar before Deacon pulled off the first of many saves. Only Will carried any forward threat, and West End dominated possession with the advantage of the strong wind. That wind helped when they curled the ball in directly from a corner to take the lead, and they would have had their second had it not been for Deacon tipping the ball onto the post. The second goal did come just before half time though when the Blues again struggled to defend a corner, and the ball was lofted back into the net from well outside the box by West End. The boys started better in the second half, having their first shot of the match when Dan L passed to Connor i... Read the rest of this article...

Avros B 1 v 2 SCJFC Blues.......By Rob Dolan....... This was a closely fought game with very few chances created early on.  Tyler looked like he was going to break the deadlock but the keeper came out to save well.  Connor then had a strong run down the right wing and finished with a shot which the keeper managed to block.  At the back, Jack I and Niall ensured that Avro’s chances were limited and on the one occasion that they did break through, Deacon pulled off a great save.  Dan S was looking dangerous and he created an opening for himself but once again the Avro keeper kept the Blues at bay.  There was some good one touch passing particularly between Archie and Connor but at half time the score remained at 0-0. In the second half, Niall and James defended well and the Blues were unlucky to concede a goal from a scrappy corner.  Almost immediately, Dan S made a great run down the right, the keeper could not keep hold of his powerful sh... Read the rest of this article...