It's 12pm, a glorious sunny October Saturday afternoon, I arrive at the ground and the gaffer is busy bouncing away on the pitch dragger as he prepares the TD Shipley field ready for today's battle. The conditions really don’t get any better for a game of football, an ideal setting for TD reserves first cup game of the season.

The TD dressing room was right up for it today, and the 18 fired up dragons in there let everyone at the ground know that they were before exiting for the field.

Ifield in their Ice Blue kit to their credit where an organised outfit, they started well keeping the ball for decent passages and it was clear they were no mugs, they came here to win.
The TD boys quickly grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck though, the Butler and Truelove CB pair is a thing of beauty and almost telepathic at times. Ifield had a couple of decent wingers, good dribblers that would without doubt give an average full back plenty of trouble, but Conor Smith and Jack Charman kept both doors firmly bolted shut and did not give either winger an millimetre.

20-30 minutes into the game and we are in complete control, at this point we’ve had several opportunities to go 1-0 ahead, Gary Pritchard is pulling strings in the 10 role and Mario is feeding off him like he hasn’t eaten since he last time he won a free meal, Harry Powell was bullying his counter part and we could have gone 2-0 up on another day, Maz even managed to hit the post with a lovely early shot and tickle the goal line from left to right, it just WASN’T GOING IN!!!

It was inevitable, we had missed to many opportunities not to be punished for it, and around the 35th minute we gave away cheap possession in the middle of the park, the midfield & defence where out of shape and Ifield were through for a 1v1, Butler to his credit nearly lost the ability to create life when he scissored the goal post trying to save the chip over a helpless Harry Charman, but we took the first blow. 0-1 Ifield.

We continued our press, 40 Minutes in we finally get our first corner of the game and one that we had prepped for in the dressing room… Communication is key they say, and “they” are spot on.
Coach DK to take the L on this corner routine as he failed to notify a none the wiser early substitute Dan Mac (Corner taker) about our fantastic new corner routine.
The team set up for a short corner and basically handed the opposition the ball back, the TD boys in the box all proceeded to give their best statue impressions as the confusion set in, Ifield attacked with men up and scored a 2nd gifted goal. 0-2 Ifield.

The whistle went and the TD boys refused to lay down, Harry Cope lead the charge with more than a few mean machine style challenges, the next inevitability was also coming as the continued pressure was too much for Ifield to withstand. Harry Powell continued to roast an already well-cooked RB over and over again and finally got his deserved assist after beating his man for pace down the left hand side and swinging a peach perfect cross into a well positioned Mario who slotted home, deep breaths all round.

Half time: Fire 1 - 2 Ice.

Everyone went in and out of that dressing room knowing we shouldn’t be losing the game, the second half whistle blew and again the TD boys hit the ground running, continuing to control the game with some good football. Ifield were resistant for a good 35 minutes in the second half, they wanted this win too, but the 11 men of TD were just too strong for them. Ryan Murphy is up there with one of the most consistent enforcers at the club, once again proving his value when things get tough and gritty, smashing the life out of the Ifield midfield and showing zero mercy.
The Ifield 11 men on the pitch had 18 TD men on their backs, the TD subs were all barking, the manager & coach both on the sideline screaming encouragement (and threats of early coffins), the passion was undeniable...

The TD press continued to work well, forcing a turnover in possession that finally saw Jack Banks thread a lovely through ball into Gary P who very confidently took one touch and smashed home the equaliser…. Keeper static, Ifield stunned, ice starting to melt under the heat… 2-2.

The dragons didn’t let up and continued to breath fire in the Ifield half, press after press after press, 10 minutes from time Jack Banks found himself on the receiving end of a through ball and was himself 1v1 with the keeper, right up until he was completely wiped out by a bowling ball with legs… the referee to his credit had a very decent game but missed this foul in the area and resulting penalty, Banks now with an injury after the clash had to hobble off the field of play.

5 minutes left of the game, both teams coaching staff are counting up our penalty takers ready for what looks to be a shoutout ending to the game, felt like the battle had come to its natural conclusion...

With 1-2 minutes to go there was one bloke however that didn’t fancy pens, he fancied another free lunch……. (for those wondering, Manager and Coach have both agreed that scoring from outside the penalty area wins £20).

Super hungry Maz decided to show the field just how capable he was at scoring screamers. He faffed about with it outside the box for a minute, couple of left & right stopovers, toying with the defence, found a yard and said BOSHHH!!!! Top right hand corner postage stamp, with a shhhhhhh and a calm down celebration to top off, relax guys, the MOM has arrived.

TD Fire 3 - 2 Melted Ice.

This game really did show the character of the men in this team and this club, the regulars and guys that were called up, you should all hold your heads very high after winning that battle in normal time, it would have been very easy to give in at 0-2 down or to settle for pens but not one of you did.

Up the Dragons, that’s three competitive wins on the bounce for the reserves and a decent foundation for us all to work from. Onwards and upwards from here can only mean success, well done chaps.

DK.