An extremely windy day at Hough End for Chorlton's first ever encounter with Platt Lane (set to join MAFL in 2015-16). Chorlton had decent support given the weather, and a couple of MCR Nexus also watched, with six Division 1 teams in action on adjacent pitches.
Platt Lane, in green, started nervously. Despite a confident start, Chorlton struggled through the first 30 minutes, with the occasional attack down the right wing - Burov doing a top job of both defending and attacking.
Platt Lane made the breakthrough in the 17th minute, when an unfortunate deflection off Donnelly left Langley diving in the opposite direction. As Platt Lane grew in confidence, they started making more use of the wind, and shots began flying in at Langley's goal. The standout save from several stops came in the 22nd minute, when an decent speculative drive from distance was matched with an equally impressive finger tip save at Langley's near post. Chorlton went in at HT 1-0 down, a result that everyone agreed was not too bad given the conditions.
With the wind in their sails, Chorlton began the second half on the front foot. Langley continued to keep Chorlton in the game, but the Platt Lane attacks dried up with a strong wind helping the blues to keep the pressure on. A reckless tackle from greens central defender Simon on Judge resulted in a Chorlton penalty, which Judge dispatched well. More good work from Burov sent J through into the box, who took on Simon and crossed for Boardman to calmly slot in the second. The final goal came after a sublime flicked assist from Brightmore on the halfway line (Knoxlade-Chamberlain-ESQUE) that put Jay in one-on-one with the keeper - and a calm outside of the boot finish ensured the points for Chorlton.
It was an excellent performances across the pitch and a strong comeback supported by all four substitutes, with MOTM going to Judge, DOTM to Burov, and a mention from the opposition manager for Dempsey.