City Win Usual Hyde Pre-Season

Hyde United 1 - 2 MCFC Reserves

City travelled to Hyde United's Ewen Fields for their usual pre-season game. The game was also played for the Ray Stanley Memorial Shield. Hyde were not the force that they have been in previous seasons and goals from David Ball and Ben Mee made it a comfortable game for City despite Hyde scoring a fine strike from Mark Innes in the second half.

The game was played in the warm sunshine of a summer's evening and so the pace of the game was not electric; but you could see that City's player's had the edge in the fitness stakes. City had a good shout for a penalty early on when Karl Moore played a ball into the box that Wayne Maden caught with his arm; but I think the referee was unsighted and Moore did not make a strong appeal.

City did take the lead in the thirteenth minute when a strong run by Moore on the left crossed the ball into Adam Clayton who feinted to shoot but slipped the ball through to Ball who ran through and shot into the far corner of the goal.

Both teams pushed forward to create chances; but neither team tested either goalkeeper again before the end of the first half.

City started the second half with some good play and were able to double their lead in the fifty second minute when a Clayton corner was not fully dealt with by former Bury goalkeeper Craig Dootson and Ben Mee ran in to head into the goal.

Hyde reduced their arrears in the sixty fourth minute when a corner was cleared out to the unmarked midfielder Mark Innes who fired in a fine twenty yard strike into the top corner of the goal past Richard Martin.

That score brought Hyde to life a bit and the game became more physical and the referee had to show his yellow card to a player on either side for two over zealous challenges but with Hyde being without top scorer Gareth Seddon they perhaps lacked that little bit of spark up front to capitalise from more of the possession. However it was City that nearly added another goal in the eighty eighth minute when James Poole was put through; but Dootson did well to cover his near post.

Hyde United had invited City executive chairman Garry Cook to present the shield to the winning team and so it was City's captain Sam Williamson who stepped up to collect the award for the team on the pitch from Garry.


Hyde United: Dootson(GK), Maden, Lynch, Morley, Williams, Bailey, Innes, Harrison, Tipton, Dean, Clee.

Subs: Cartwright, Bernstein, Simm, Bunting, Buckary, Rick.


City: Martin(GK), Vidal(Morris 70), Williamson(Capt.), Mee, McDonald(Ramsey 63), Clayton, Weiss, Marshall(Tsiaklis 70), Ball(Daly 70), Poole, Moore(McDermott 70).

Subs: Hartley(GK).

Att: Approx 200.