Insight Into Central's Pre-Season Preparations

As the start of the new season draws ever closer, we take a look at Central's pre-season preparations so far, and what's still to come before the Division One campaign kicks off.

With three matches already completed, Central remain unbeaten in pre-season having picked up two convincing wins and a hard fought draw.

Chris Tomkinson's side kicked off their warm up matches with an impressive 6-1 win away at Eccles United.

Some quick thinking by Kelson Basilva saw the Eccles goalkeeper beaten at his near post to give Central the lead, before Dennis Raposo doubled the lead after dispossessing the last man and calmly rounding the goalkeeper to put Central in a commanding position at the break.

Jurgen Sade then got in on the action early in the second half, latching onto a Dan Dolling clearance before calmly slotting home to make the score 3-0. Central continued to press forward, and were rewarded again as Raposo took the ball past a sprawling Eccles goalkeeper once more before rolling the ball into the empty net for his brace.

The hosts then pulled one back, but any ideas of a miraculous comeback were put to bed when Dan Dolling drilled home from the penalty spot after Ruben Lawal was overturned by a clumsy challenge in the box.

Some good saves from Aaron Stockton kept Eccles at the solitary one goal, and then Sade completed proceedings with a delightful chip to round off an impressive 6-1 win in the Outcasts' first pre-season game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg6lLCZXGfc

Next up as Central continued their preparations was a challenging trip to Cheshire Football League outfit Bollington Town.

Promoted to Division One in the CFL, Town were a much tougher test for Chris Tomkinson's lads, as the two sides played out a competitive 2-2 draw at All Hallows.

Quayum Koiki opened the scoring for Central bundling home from close range after the Bollington keeper fumbled a free kick crossed in from the right.

Jurgen Sade then added to his pre-season tally to double Central's advantage, drilling into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

Bollington fought hard to get back into the game and took advantage of a switched off Central defence to tap in from a whipped free kick to halve the deficit at half-time.

Central were again the architects of their own downfall as a defensive mix-up saw Bollington draw level with a clinical outside of the foot finish. Both sides pushed on to try and get a winner but as the full time whistle was blown nothing could separate the sides.

Central then hosted their first game of pre-season as they welcomed Lancashire and Cheshire Division A Champions Milltown to The Manchester Academy.

A young Central side got off to the perfect start as Nicholai McCreath tapped into an empty net after the Outcasts beat the offside trap down the right hand side.

Tomkinson's team were playing with a high intensity from the get-go and that pressure lead to the second goal, winning the ball back on the left before Jurgen Sade bamboozled the defence with his quick feet and slotted into the bottom corner for his fourth goal in three games.

Central broke through Milltown's offside trap once again and after some nice passing in midfield released Thi-Reece Lenihan who controlled the ball on the edge of the box and fired home to make it 3-0.

In almost a copycat of the first goal, it was McCreath once again in the right place at the right time to put the ball into the empty Milltown net after another cut back from the right hand side putting Central 4-0 up.

A defensive mix-up gave Milltown a way back into the game, before the visitors showed some of their attacking prowess that saw them score 155 goals last season, as some lovely passing football in the middle of the park opened up space on the right and a lovely first time finish into the top corner brought the score back to 4-2.

For a third time in the game Central broke through the visitors offside trap as Scott Anderson latched onto a through ball and slotted into the bottom corner to round off a convincing 5-2 victory for the Outcasts.

Up next for Central as they prepare for the 23/24 season is the visit of Poynton to The Seashell Trust.

The Cheshire Football League side will travel to SK8 on Saturday 15th July with a kick-off time of 11am.

Poynton will be optimistic about the upcoming season having finished fourth in the Cheshire Premier Division last time out, their highest finish in six years.

With top scorer Ewan Stafford and player of the season Callum Thompson, Poynton will certainly give Central a tough test as Chris Tomkinson's side look to continue their impressive pre-season form.

The Outcasts then host Sale Amateurs at the Seashell Trust a week later on July 22nd, kicking off at 1pm.

The Amateurs finished second in the Lancashire and Cheshire Premier Division at the end of the 22/23 campaign, controversially missing out on a shot at the title with Chadderton Park being awarded two walk-over wins in their final two games of the season.

Sale were propelled towards the top of the table courtesy of an incredible 17 game winning streak, in part due to league top scorer Kazim Waite-Jackson's 36 goals in 20 appearances.

The penultimate fixture of Central's pre-season comes in the form of another home tie as Manchester Gregorians visit the Seashell trust at 11am on July 29th.

The tie against Manchester Premier Division Gregs will give Chris and his team a good idea of where Central are in comparison to their promotion ambitions ahead of the new season.

The Gregorians finished last season five points clear of safety courtesy of three wins in their last five games to beat the drop.

Central's last competitive meeting with Manchester Gregorians took place back in 2019 when second half goals from Josh Frith and a Dan Burns brace gave the Outcasts a 3-0 win.

To conclude Central's pre-season calendar the boys take on Manchester League Division Three outfit Cavaliers at a venue yet to be decided.

The Cavs had a disappointing 22/23 campaign failing to pick up a point in Division Two so will be hoping to prepare themselves for a more competitive season this time around.

Despite their underperformance last season, Cavaliers are now a team with a point to prove, and with the backing of Jimmy Bullard and his friends at Specsavers, will pose a tougher challenge for Central than the previous years league table would suggest.

With the start of the new season creeping up on us, and the Manchester Football League fixture release imminent, these pre-season games are vital for teams to prepare for that first taste of competitive football, something Central manager Chris Tomkinson is keen to reiterate.

"We've got off to a good start to pre-season so far, but more important than the results is how well the team have played.

"There's a lot of new young lads who have really taken adults football by the scruff of the neck and it's really great to see.

"We're in a good place at the moment but we can't afford to take our eye off the ball. It's really important that we keep that level of performance up in the remaining pre-season games and then transfer that form into the first few league games too.

"As a coaching staff we've been around this game for a long time and we know that it's all too easy for teams to get a slow start and find themselves cut adrift from the promotion chasers so it's vital for us to get the best possible start, and that all comes from how seriously you take the pre-season games.

"The attitude from the lads so far has been spot on and I couldn't be happier with how they've applied themselves, now it's all about blowing off those last few cobwebs and giving ourselves a real footing to press on, and ultimately fight for promotion back to the Premier Division where a team like Manchester Central should be at a minimum."