Central put to the sword by Avro at Seashell

Avro Reserves continued their march towards promotion to the Premier Division next season, sweeping Manchester Central aside at Seashell Trust.

Central’s two match winning run in Division One was brought to a swift end in their return to the competition after being knocked out of the Murray Trophy by Division Two side De La Salle the week prior.

The hosts welcomed promotion chasers and long-time rivals Avro Reserves to their home turf on Saturday afternoon and suffered a disappointing 3-0 defeat as the season begins to reach its conclusion.

The away side took a slender lead into the half-time break after Central keeper Danny Whiting brought down the onrushing forward, awarding a penalty to Avro who made no mistake from the spot.

With the game still on a knife’s edge heading into the second period of the match, Central were still within distance of the visitors, but a poor second half display saw Avro extend their advantage securing all three points.

Chris Tomkinson has often struggled to have consistency with his line-ups this season and at the weekend it was no different. The squad once again saw some new faces with Scott Anderson starting out on the right of the front three, whilst Thi-Reece Lenihan sat just in behind the forward line.

Familiar names and brothers Ruben and Jefferson Abreu both started for Central at the front end of the pitch through the centre and on the left respectively, whilst the remaining names and numbers on the team sheet were relatively the same from Central’s defeat to De La Salle.

Elvis Amoakwa and Kaine Martin started as a pair in midfield, whilst captain Daniel Dolling, Aria Asqari and Josh Grant all retained their places, with the only change being due to the absence of Adam Gunel who was replaced by Emmanuel Sholabi.

It was a quiet start the fixture with both sides trying to get into a rhythm of play, the opening 20 minutes saw a few half chances for both teams who couldn’t convert early on.

Avro almost had the perfect start at Seashell, as a header flicked on from an indirect free kick was glanced just past the far post, meaning Central avoided the worst possible start. Meanwhile Central began slowly, with their first opening come just inside 18 minutes, involving a neat passage of play between Lenihan and Anderson that set the wide man away down the right, only for his cross to be intercepted by the keeper.

In typical Division One fashion however, it didn’t take much for a breakthrough to come. An Avro forward raced in on goal, only for Whiting to bring him down in the box, giving the official no choice but to point to the penalty spot.

Whiting ended up guessing the right way, but the connection and precision of the strike were too much for the keeper to deal with, seeing the away side into a narrow lead as the game reached the halfway point of the first half.

The Central number one just five minutes later kept his side within reach however, after a mistake by Asqari set the Avro striker away on the break. A strong save by Whiting kept the lead at 1-0, but Central would have been counting their blessings that the forward did not see his teammate in space in the box, where it would’ve been harder to miss than score.

The hosts struggled to muster up anything of note in the half, but were still in the game, thanks to Whiting, who once again stopped Avro in their tracks, producing an even better stop.

A cross from the right was flicked on towards the six-yard box, falling to the Avro striker who looked destined to double his sides lead, but a stunning reaction save by Whiting somehow kept Central within reach heading into the interval.

A somewhat pedestrian half by Central saw little activity in and around Avro’s goal, where Whiting was the much busier of the two keepers. Boss Chris Tomkinson perhaps would have felt relieved to head into the break just a goal behind, but pre-match urged more performance out of his side, which was nowhere to be seen in the first half.

The restart saw no changes, but it was a lapse in concentration that was to cost Central once again. A pinball on the edge of Central’s box bounced around and through towards the Avro number 11, agonisingly evading the sliding Dolling. The forward composed himself and tucked a cultured effort into the far corner to hand the home side the worst possible start to the second half.

It was a blow for the hosts, who weren’t awarded with the chance to get going in the second period after conceding so soon. It ultimately shifted all the momentum in favour of the visitors, who continued to march on.

Whiting was forced into another save, tipping over a powerful strike from a free kick, whilst the tricky number 8 chose to get in on the act.

Avro once again were afforded space down the left flank, and it proved costly. With acres of space to pick out his man, the forward squared to the onrushing winger, who could not miss the open goal.

It was almost déjà vu just minutes later, as the same pattern of play almost got the number 8 an identical goal but luckily for Central the wide man arrived just seconds too late, sparing Central’s blushes keeping the score at 3-0.

The final half an hour was managed well by the away side, a period which saw wholesale changes by Tomkinson, who sought for some respite on another difficult day.

Ruben Lawal, Luca Navarro, Tom Janney, Michael Taiwo and Dennis Jerome all stepped in, but none could provide a significant enough difference. Just to rub salt in the wound, captain Dolling went down with an apparent ankle injury, but it is unclear the severity of the blow.

That ten minutes before the whistle was the final moment of note in the game, which set on display what the case has been for both sides this season.

Avro spirited, together and efficient, whilst Central once again looked disjointed and confused on the pitch, leaving more questions to be answered as they prepare for pre-season.

Central will now begin their road trip to round off the campaign, starting with Tintwistle Athletic in a middle of the pack clash, whilst Avenue look to continue their push for promotion when they visit Hindley Juniors once Division One returns in just a few weeks' time.