Deflation was visible on the faces of the Men’s Football 1sts after a 5-1 defeat to table-topping Sheffield Hallam 1sts at UCLan Sports Arena on Wednesday.

The majority of the Hallam goals were scored in the first-half on a typically chilly afternoon as UCLan found themselves 4-0 down by the interval, despite competing well in the early stages of the game.

It was the visitors who created the first clear-cut chance with barely five minutes on the clock after their headed effort was cleared off the line by UCLan’s Daniel Morgan.

The hosts then came close on the ten-minute mark when Joe Shelmerdine struck a beautifully curling free kick, thumping the Hallam post before rolling out for a goal-kick.

The first of the goals came after Sheffield’s Callum Ward was brought down in the area – leaving the referee no choice but to point to the spot. Striker Matt Wooley then converted to give the visitors the lead with 19 minutes of the game played.

UCLan came out battling from the restart with Sheffield having goalkeeper Liam Flynn to thank for keeping the score as it was after a superb half-volley by Jake Forshaw was tipped over the bar from 25 yards out. The resulting corner was once again saved by the Hallam keeper after a strong header from defender Will Monks.

Minutes later the hosts were ruing their missed chances after Hallam midfielder Zach Bayarch nodded in from close range after a well delivered corner kick to double his side’s lead.

UCLan heads then seemed to drop as the frustration crept in, however little could have been done to prevent the visitors third of the match. A floated corner found its way to Dan Fradley, who half-volleyed the ball into the top left-hand corner of the net from the edge of the area, leaving keeper Matthew Bell with no chance.

Attacks from the home side on the opposition goal were restricted to long shots in the remaining minutes of the first half as the visitors began to get a real hold on the game.

On the stroke of half-time the fourth Hallam goal arrived after a great first touch and strike by Wooley could only see Bell get fingertips to the ball as it bounced in off the post into the back of the net.

UCLan came out after the break in a far more attacking fashion; closing down players quicker and using the wings much more productively to create chances.

On 50 minutes a strong penalty claim was turned down by the referee after stand out performer for the hosts, Joe Lolley, made a darting run into the area and looked to have been dragged down by a Hallam defender.

The game saw a lot of the ball in the middle of the park for a large remainder of the second half as UCLan began to break up the Sheffield attacks, with both keepers at each end having little to deal with. A neat finish from right back, Daniel Dasololu, on 75 minutes reduced the scoreline to 1-4 after a well delivered corner kick; giving the hosts a chance of making a game of it.

The home side were unlucky to not grab a second five minutes later after some last ditch defending prevented them from hitting the back of the net as they entered their best spell of the game.

Cruelly, it was Sheffield who grabbed the sixth and final goal of the match, as the result of another corner kick. This time the set-piece was headed home by defender Sam Dave, to seal the victory for the away side.

UCLan captain, Matthew Bell said afterwards, “We gave them too much respect”.

“We were much better in the second half, but we really need to concentrate on conceding less and today we just weren’t good enough”.

By Joe Angove

Preston North End will host Rochdale later this afternoon as they continue to look for their first win eight games.

The Lilywhites lie 13th in the League One table and have taken just one point from the last seven games.

Striker Neil Mellor could be fit to play after been out for a month with an ankle injury, while Juvhel Tsoumou is also likely to return.

Preston will be looking to kick start their season on Saturday, as they welcome a Rochdale side currently sitting 21^st in League 1.

The Lilywhites haven’t won in the league for seven games, a run that stretches back to the 27^th September, when they triumphed 4-3 away at Wycombe.

Despite this poor run of form, North End are only five points off the play-off places, and a win on Saturday would give the team a huge lift as the season enters one of its most hectic periods.

Phil Brown will be hoping Iain Hume and Neil Mellor are available for Saturday after making tremendous strides in the last two weeks, although the game will come too soon for Jamie Proctor as he recovers from Hernia surgery.

Should Hume or Mellor not make the game, Southampton loanee Jonathon Forte is likely to lead the line with Juvhel Tsoumou a viable alternative up front.

Rochdale make the short trip to Deepdale in similarly bad form to their hosts, having not won in the league for six games, where they also beat Wycombe.

However that result was at home and it’s on their travels where the Dale have found life difficult. The Spotland side have only won once away from home, losing the other six and drawing one.

In that time they have conceded 19 goals, the worst of any team in the league and are yet to keep a clean sheet.

Manager Steve Eyre has no new fresh injury concerns ahead of the game and will be hoping for a positive result to inject some life into Rochdale’s season.

The teams met as recently as the 8^th November in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy. The game ended 1-1 after Harry Bunn had cancelled out Adam Barton’s opener for North End. Penalties followed, with Phil Brown’s men coming out on top 4-2, after youngster Luke Clark  struck the winning spot kick.

That game will have little bearing on Saturday’s encounter, although Rochdale would be very pleased to leave Deepdale with a point. On the other hand, only three points will do for North End, and it’s games like these they will have to win, if they have aspirations of a play-off position come the end of the season.

By Richard Evans

UCLan 3rd’s followed up their embarrassing loss to the 4th team last week with another defeat, this time at the hands of Salford in the Conference Cup.

Salford are in the division below UCLan and goals from Matthew Collum and Craig O’Neil looked to have given the home side an expected win. But a late Salford equaliser ensured that it went the distance with the underdogs winning on penalties, despite being reduced to 10 men in extra time.

Despite the near perfect playing conditions the game began in a very scrappy manner with neither side being able to get a foot on the ball. UCLan skipper James Makki looked to be the biggest threat, the pacey winger getting in behind the Salford back line on a few occasions.

Inevitably it was Makki who had the first sighting of goal in the match on 20 minutes. A long ball forward from right back Steve Yates saw Makki baring down on goal, only for his shot to be blocked by a heroic Salford centre back.

Salford posed very little threat in the first half, resorting to long range efforts which UCLan goalkeeper Tom Massey had little trouble in dealing with. As the first half progressed UCLan began to gain control with wingers Makki and Ross Dennison causing the visitors’ defence problems.

On 26 minutes Dennison’s well struck 25-yard free kick whistled just over the bar with the keeper beaten as the home side looked to make their superiority pay.

 UCLan’s pressure finally told ten minutes before the half time whistle. Striker Matthew Collum showed how clinical he can be after being fairly anonymous until this point. After latching on to a ball played into the right channel he skipped inside the Salford left back before unleashing a ferocious drive across the stranded goalkeeper into the far corner of the net.

It was nearly 2-0 seconds before the break after the increasingly influential Dennison striking the woodwork with a looping free kick.

With a goal lead at half time and Salford looking toothless in attack, a place in the next round looked assured.

Salford came out in the second half with a renewed vigour and needed just a minute to get back on level terms. Out of nothing, midfielder Matthew McDermott found himself through on goal, needing no second invitation to slot past Massey to stun a previously redundant UCLan defence.

It went from bad to worse for UCLan a minute later when adamant penalty appeals were turned away by the referee despite it looking as though Collum had been felled in the area.

Salford’s revival continued as they continued to look more dangerous. Their big striker found himself through on goal on 53 minutes, only to muster a weak shot on goal which Massey easily fielded.

After a lively start to the second half the game began to resume its scrappy nature with several passes from both sides going astray.

The next action of note came on 70 minutes when goalscorer Collum was found by the dangerous Dennison in space. He surprised everyone by shooting early on his unfavoured left foot. The striker was incredibly unlucky to see his effort come back off the post with the keeper left grasping at thin air.

Salford failed to heed this warning and were made to pay a minute later.

On 71 minutes the ball broke to substitute Craig O’Neil who lashed the ball left footed past the Salford keeper’s despairing dive from just outside the box.

This looked to have won it for the home side until three minutes from time. The UCLan defence finally caved in to a barrage of Salford pressure when they failed to deal with a long ball in to the box. It fell kindly to striker Loris who poked the ball into the top corner to force 30 minutes of extra time.

The extra time period only brought about one incident of note but it was a big one. After a contentious offside decision was given against his team, a Salford centre back went too far in his dissent, being shown a straight red card for foul and abusive language.

UCLan failed to make the man advantage count meaning that the tie went all the way to penalties.

In a cruel twist of fate, man of the match Ross Dennison saw the first penalty of the shoot out saved as the keeper got down well to block his well struck effort.

The Salford penalties were all well placed, leaving Massey no chance before UCLan’s 4th penalty was skied by the centre back. This gave Salford savour Loris a chance to enhance his hero status by scoring the winning penalty which he took with aplomb, sending Massey the wrong way.

The result sees Salford march on to the next round while UCLan 3rds must stop the rot by avoiding a 3rd successive defeat next week.

By Will Rivers

Women’s Football 2nds were on the wrong end of a 5-1 score-line against an impressive Edge Hill Women’s 1sts in the Northern Conference Cup at the UCLan Sports Arena on Wednesday, despite battling hard for the duration of the game.

Edge Hill looked to push forward straight from the kick-off with some impressive passing moves to put the home defence under immediate pressure which they dealt with well.

However, on the ten minute mark UCLan found themselves 1-0 down after a well distributed ball over the top from the Edge Hill midfield found striker Lauren Horsefield;  putting her clean through on goal, striking the ball just to the right of keeper Laura Miller and giving the visitors an early advantage.

UCLan picked themselves up and started to play some impressive football which questioned the Edge Hill defence. Captain Stacy Partridge came close with a delightful curling free-kick just outside the box, edging just wide of the post on 22 minutes.

The hosts maintained the pressure and tested the Edge Hill keeper for the first time with an impressive effort from Mel Metcalfe after the number eight’s great run down the right wing.

The game began to feel quite edgy as both teams battled for possession just after the mid-point of the first half with a lot of the play in the middle of the park. But it was Edge Hill who began to produce the clear cut-chances, most notably Harriet Goon; who found herself with the goal at her mercy after a long shot had been parried by the home keeper into her path but the striker fired just wide.

On 40 minutes Edge Hill extended their lead after a free kick from just inside the UCLan half was delivered into the area falling to the feet of Anna Quintaid who made no mistake, powering the ball into the right hand corner to make it 2-0 to the visitors.

Edge Hill once again began the second half in an attacking fashion, producing some swift passing up and down the flanks and this created all sorts of problems for the UCLan defence. A majestic ball from captain Harriet Lewis found Chelsea Goon who steadied herself to rifle the ball into the far left of the goal, increasing the score-line to 3-0.

UCLan immediately hit straight back on 57 minutes after a well delivered free kick just left of the penalty area resulted in a messy clearance at the back which kindly fell to Stacy Partridge who finished well to lift give her side a chance of producing a  comeback.

Minutes later chances of a UCLan comeback were struck down after a superb long range strike from Edge Hill’s stand-out performer, Harriet Lewis, struck the inside of the post on its way into the back of the net.

UCLan continued to battle bravely into the latter stages of the game before Goon got her second of the game for Edge Hill on 82 minutes, sliding the ball past the oncoming Laura Miller just inside the penalty area to make it 5-1 to the visitors.

Captain for UCLan Woman’s 2nd Stacy Partridge said she was “happy with the work rate of her team”.

She added: “We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game, they are a league above us and we had a few players out, but it just wasn’t our day again”.

By Joe Angove

Goal scorers – UCLan- Stacy Partridge

Edge Hill – Lauren Horsefield, Anna Quintaid, Chelsea Goon (2), Harriet Lewis

Men’s Tennis 2nds put in an impressive performance as they walloped the Manchester Met 1sts in a 12-0 win at the South Ribble Sports Centre.

James Silson starred in a five-star showing as there were just six games dropped between the side.

Doubles partners Silson and Ryan Forrest started the rout by smashing the Met’s Spencer Bailey and Shu Sim 6-0, 6-1. That was matched by George Tilford and Matt Maloney, who recorded their own 6-0, 6-1 win against a lacklustre James Rogers and Robert Johnson.

Hard-hitting Maloney returned to court right after to dispatch of Sim 6-0, 6-0, with an awesome display of power and precision. And teammate Tilford on the court beside breezed past Johnson with a comfortable 6-2, 6-0 triumph.

There was also a win for UCLan captain Adam Goble, who beat the Met’s Bailey 6-1, 6-1. However, Silson stole the show in the final singles match with some superb serving in a relentless 6-0, 6-0 battering of Rogers.

Goble praised the performance from Silson, who hit more than a dozen aces during the day. He said: “He came through a tough match, against one of their better players, so he did very well.

Silson reluctantly agreed with the comments of his captain.

“I think I played well. I hit some decent forehands and I did not have to hit many backhands. I hit some aces off of my second serve. I would say it is because of much practice over the years”.

The 2nds next opposition is Liverpool Hope University on November 16th, who Goble believes will be their toughest match of the year. “We are joint second and they are top so it is going to be a tough one”, he said.

By Sam Gilliland

A single strike from Ashley Cranston was enough for Women’s Hockey 1sts to defeat Lancaster 2nds 1-0 and progress to the second round of the BUCS Cup.

In truth, the final score line rather flattered the Lancaster second string as UCLan dominated the contest throughout against a team three divisions below them.

They could already have been comfortably ahead by the time Cranston scored in the ninth minute, but the anticipated opening of the floodgates never materialised.

Instead UCLan’s finishing left a lot to be desired as they, despite having a total of 20 attempts on the Lancaster net, could not find a second goal, an inspired performance from the visiting goalkeeper pulling off a number of cracking saves.

With such a slender lead, there was always the chance of Lancaster grabbing an equaliser.

But despite late pressure and a couple of penalty corner’s in the final few minutes, they held on comfortably enough, while an anxious captain Stacey Bell watching from the sidelines as she continues her recovery from injury.

“It was a bit nerve-racking, especially against Lancaster 2nds, but we held it together,” She said afterwards.

Cranston could have opening the scoring inside the first minute, but scuffed her shot when one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

Georgina Ivens had scored twice in the 2-1 league win over Manchester Met 1sts the previous week and saw a shot blocked.

Siobhan Docksey also had two chances and the second brought the decisive strike.  Her effort was cleared only as far as Ivens, with Cranston was on-hand to flick her pass into the net.

Ivens continued to use her pace and power to get through the defence, only to be denied another five times before the break alone; first by a great block on the goal line, and then by the keeper on four separate occasions.

UCLan keeper Katie Radford had almost been a spectator for the first half, with just a single save to make from a rare Lancaster break.

The pattern of play continued in the second period as Gabrielle Gaynor and Ivens forced an outstanding treble save from the visitors’ keeper and Gaynor also shot wide from a penalty corner.

As the match entered the last quarter, the visitors sensed a chance to take advantage of UCLan’s inability to extend the lead and grab a goal of their own that would have taken the tie into extra time.

They forced a couple of penalty corners, but the home defence held firm with Radford dealing comfortably with the two attempts she had to deal with.

A final chance came and went, with a shot blocked in the final seconds as UCLan secured their place in round two.

UCLan team: Katie Radford, Taya Milman, Gabrielle Gaynor, Natasha Hale, Natasha Hynes, Georgina Ivens, Anna Mcintosh, Ashley Cranston, Laura Bury, Kate Gregory.

By Ciaran Thomas

It was a match of complete domination as the Netball 2nds thrashed Cumbria 2nds 55-19 at the Sir Tom Finney Sports Centre.

Goal shooter Jen Winters opened up the scoring after a through pass from Wing Attack Lily Thistle found centre Verity Scholes in acres of space.

Despite the initial fight back from the away side, UCLan defended in numbers with Thistle and goal keeper Vanessa Woods who put in a shift at the back.

UCLan continued on the attack soon after with Thistle the pick of the performers, goal attack Hayley Butterworth applied the finish for 8-3.

As the first quarter drew to a close, the battle between Winters and the strong opposing goal keeper was becoming apparent. Numerous decisions were directed in the way of the away side, to the bemusement of the bench. Despite this, UCLan ended the first quarter 14-6 ahead.

As the second quarter got under way, the home side began to show their total dominance. Thistle with the pivotal pass which found Winters who finished for 17-6.

Soon after it was Thistle’s pass again which this time found substitute goal attack Rebecca Shaw. UCLan’s tails were up as they went on to score six goals in a row. The away side failed to score a single point until the closing stages due to a tight defensive partnership between Woods and goal defence Hayley Vincent.

The heated battle between UCLan’s Winters and the opposing goalkeeper was due to get a whole lot more intense which sparked a discussion about her misconduct at the break. The home side lead 28-8 after a shot from Winters rubbed more salt into the away side’s wounds.

The whitewash continued as we entered the third quarter, wing defence Sophie Pilkington found substitute centre Zoe Astin who had a solid 15 minutes. She then set up Winters again who finished accordingly.

Defensive training appeared to have paid off after the home side could only draw against Keele 2^nd’s two weeks ago, and as a result, they kept Cumbria at bay, allowing them to only score four throughout the entire quarter. Goalkeeper Woods, again intercepted the pass and put Astin well on her way to set up Butterworth, who finished the quarter 45-12.

The final quarter saw the away side pick up the pace for the first time in the match. The shooters showed good agility to work the ball around the goalkeeper for Butterworth to finish. At 50-15, the home side were in an astounding position and with 5 minutes to go, Butterworth was given a foul for contact again by the keeper and finished 55-19 at the final whistle.

Speaking after the game, captain Verity Scholes said “We played well, I thought Jen handled the pressure from their goalkeeper very well.

“She held her ground and that is all we can expect her to do.”

By Laura Howard

Phil Brown will welcome a break from league action as his Preston North End side take on Southend United in the first round of the FA Cup with Budweiser at Deepdale.

The Lilywhites have only picked up a single point from the last 21 available and dropped into the bottom half of the table after last Saturday’s crushing 5-2 defeat at top of the table Charlton Athletic.

Cup competitions have provided the club with some relief in a difficult few weeks, and are just three games away from Wembley after progressing to the area semi-finals of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, although both the wins over Morecambe and Rochdale required a penalty shoot-out.

An extremely leaky defence has been a major factor in North End’s torrid run, conceding 18 in just five games as Brown has struggled to settle on a consistent back four, eight players having lined up at the back in that period.

Brown also has injury problems in attack with the trio of Iain Hume, Neil Mellor and Jamie Proctor still absent while Jonathan Forte, signed on loan from Southampton on Tuesday, has not been given permission to play.

With confidence at Deepdale ebbing away after every defeat,  in Southend they face a side on top form, riding high at the summit of League 2, with 11 wins from the last 12 in all competitions under the stewardship of Paul Sturrock.

The Shrimpers have also progressed to the JPT area semi-finals, after overcoming Oxford United 1-0 in a bad tempered contest which saw three red cards.

 The visitors will be without the suspended Anthony Grant, after the ex-Chelsea youngster was sent off while Blair Sturrock, Paul’s son, is also a doubt after going off with an abductor strain.

Sturrock senior is expecting his side to face a big challenge if they are to cause an upset: “Their whole team is full of first division, Championship players, so it will be a tough game.”

It is the first time in 12 years that Preston had featured in the first round of the FA Cup, while they last met Southend in Championship in 2006/07 season, where two late goals saw the visitors snatch a 3-2 win at Deepdale after the match at Roots Hall had finished goalless.

This weekend’s visitors were relegated at the end of that season and dropped into the basement division in 2009, however look set to challenge for promotion this year after former Plymouth manager Sturrock took over in July 2010.

A tough challenge awaits PNE on Saturday but if the FA Cup does provide the relief that they are looking for then it may also deliver a welcome victory.

By Ciaran Thomas

Well on top: UCLan 2nds were too good for Manchester Met. Photo: Gracy Cappy

UCLan Rugby Union 2nds 25-7 Manchester Met 2nds

A strong defensive performance gave UCLan Rugby Union 2nds a solid win at the UCLan Sports Arena, as they recorded a 25-7 win over Manchester Metropolitan 2nds.

The home side had eight players missing from the main squad, however they strived forward with the players they had to maintain a very impressive 16 month unbeaten home record.

The game started edgy, with both teams trying to work an opening and with the ball being played in the middle of the park for some time before the first real opportunity arose.

Both teams kept battling away, and a bit of pressure from Man Met forced a penalty. UCLan’s Simon Lomiiko was caught offside but the ensuing kick was a poor one and the score remained 0-0.

The momentum had soon shifted to the home side four minutes later, as UCLan’s Joe Stanley opened the scoring following some great build up play. Unfortunately Phil Beard failed with the conversion, so the score was 5-0 with 15 minutes still left to play in the half.

The good spell of possession was to continue, and with less than a minute left in the half, UCLan were awarded a penalty. Phil Beard duly converted to send the 2nds into an 8-0 half time lead.

The away side kicked to UCLan to start the 2^nd half, and they were soon on the defence, as the home side came charging forward with a kick that gave them good field position. Simeon Doyle then powered forward to score another try for the home team, but the conversion was missed.

Man Met tried to get back into the game, and were dominating the midfield like they did for the most part, but they could not find the vital breakthrough they needed to get back into the match.

A scintillating pass and move play by Lomiiko and James Farnsworth, set up Ross Mellor-Clark to burst through the middle of the Man Met defence and score yet another try for the home side, to further emphasise their control.

The resulting conversion was good, and UCLan led 20-0 with just over fifteen minutes to play.

An action packed last five minutes would result in both teams scoring a try, with Mellor-Clark nearly heroic at the other end of the pitch, making a brilliant try saving tackle. Nevertheless it wasn’t to be, as the away side scored seven with a close range try and a brilliant conversion.

The 2nds wrapped up their impressive display in style, when Danny Frost mirrored the Man Met try just minutes after to give UCLan a notable 25-7 victory.

Captain Simon Webb was ‘delighted’ with the performance:

“I was happy with the lads that came in and played their first game today.”

After commenting about the team’s lack of possession, Webb said; “The team’s strongest point is actually the defence!”

By Chris Kynoch

Try Scorers:

Joe Stanley

Simeon Doyle

Ross Mellon-Clark

Danny Frost

UCLan team:

1. Ady Sutherland
2. Simon Webb
3. Phillip Shimmin
4. Jason Dyson
5. Danny Frost
6. Greg Barnes
7. Joe Stanley
8. Simeon Doyle
9. Sam Cotter
10. Phil Beard
11. Simon Lomiiko
12. Max Sturgess
13. Ross Mellon-Clark
14. Adam Murphy
15. James Farnsworth
16. Josh Large
17. Arron Sullivan
18. John Gitau
19. Bradley Ellis