Rampant Central Hammer Six Past East Manchester

A dominant Manchester Central display on Saturday afternoon saw the away side come away with a 6-0 demolition job over East Manchester.

A result which now makes it three wins on the bounce for Central since the restart, they were able to continue their bid to fight their way back into the promotion picture.

Chris Tomkinson lined his side up in similar fashion as to what we’ve seen in recent weeks.

The starting XI saw regulars Dan Dolling, Nell Noupoue, Kaine Martin, Junior Silva and Fuad Kasali all retain their place from last week’s win over Hindley Juniors. Typical number one Daniel Whiting was unavailable for Tomkinson, so it saw Hassan Alkachkach take his place in between the sticks.

Sultan Kasali, Aria Asqari and Emmanuel Sholabi all lined up alongside Dolling in the back four, whilst Claudio Costa partnered Fuad Kasali and Silva at the front end of the pitch.

Once the opening whistle blew, it was a tentative start by both East Manchester and Central, with little action in the first 15 minutes of the game.

The only decent opportunity went Central’s way just inside ten minutes, when a neat bit of play between Fuad and Costa allowed the latter to play a tidy pass in behind which Martin latched onto, but a bobbling ball was difficult to control, and the keeper was able to get a block on the effort.

Ten minutes later, the opening goal came out of nothing. A deep free kick in a central area was clipped into the back post by Dolling, which seemingly only found a defender’s head, but he got his header all wrong, flicking the ball into the back of his own net.

It was a goal that broke the stalemate in a game that offered little chances at either end. But it was a moment that certainly opened the game up, as both sides started to play more expansive and open football.

Just a few minutes later, East Manchester had their first opportunity of the match, and so nearly had an instant equaliser.

The ball was deflected over to the right inside the box, where the forward smashed an effort off the underside of the bar, inciting strong claims that the ball had crossed the line, which the referee waived off.

It was then picked up on the left side of the box, where another effort was rifled at goal, again crashing off the upright, giving Central a certain warning after their opener.

Central were then able to carve out a glorious opportunity on the break, as Fuad found himself in on goal, but a mixture of pressure from the defenders and a bobbling ball meant the forward scuffed his effort, squandering an excellent chance to double Central’s lead.

Kasali however was able to amend his miss, as with 27 minutes played, he got that all important second. A poor pass out from the East Manchester keeper allowed Kasali to win the ball high up the pitch. He took a touch and rifled a powerful strike at goal that proved too much for the keeper to deal with, slipping through his hands.

That goal certainly got Kasali in the mood as he continued to cause problems for the home side. He found himself out on the right, and drilled a dangerous ball across the box, which was deflected out to Costa, who from 12 yards out struck an effort goalward, that was crucially blocked before nestling in the net.

It was another piece of last ditch defending from the home side, as again down the right Noupoue chased a loose ball. He set Dolling, who whipped in a vicious ball towards the back post where the defender flicked a crucial header away before Sultan Kasali could get there.

That concluded the first period of action, in which Central found themselves with a comfortable two-goal lead, thanks to an own goal and Fuad Kasali’s first goal since his return.

In a half that started slowly, the opening goal allowed Central to control the game, and saw them put in a disciplined display guiding them to a comfortable 2-0 advantage.

Unlike the first half, the second started in rapid fashion. It took Central just a few minutes to kick into gear and score a third goal with a sublime passage of play.

An excellent ball was spread out to Kasali on the left, who breezed past his marker down the line and square a superb ball with the outside of his boot to the onrushing Martin who notched his sixth goal in as many games.

A trademark Martin goal, who has continued to find clever positions inside the box to add more goals to his game. Another Kasali-Martin combination has become a regular feature in recent weeks and may prove to be a vital partnership in the hunt for promotion.

But once again the home side came back at Central, as they came forward finding a man in the middle of the box. He took a touch and struck a vicious effort at goal forcing a spectacular save out of Alkachkach.

On the stroke of the hour mark, Central forced another mistake out of East Manchester. In a strangely quiet game for Navarro, he had a huge chance to grab a goal.

After putting great pressure on the opposing backline, Navarro managed to nick the ball high up the pitch and found himself in on goal, but on his weaker foot, he dragged his effort well wide of the post.

With 66 minutes gone, Central added another. A precise pass by Noupoue found Kasali on the last line of defence, and an excellent first touch set him through on goal, where he provided a confident finish to give him his second and Central’s fourth.

That saw Kasali’s last action of the game, where in his second appearance since his return, he came away with two goals and an assist, in a display more reminiscent of his early season form.

He made way for Dennis Raposo, whilst it was also the last action for Silva, Costa and Navarro, who were replaced by Ruben Lawal, Ruben Abreu and Kyle Odell.

The changes saw the game slow, and handed more control to Central as the home side were unable to create anything noteworthy and were seemingly down and out after the fourth goal was scored.

But as the game hit 84 minutes, Central found themselves with a world of space behind East Manchester’s midfield. Martin had the ball in a dangerous position, where he then slid in Raposo who rounded the keeper but was brought down forcing the referee to point to the spot.

Captain Dolling stepped up as he did against Hindley from 12 yards out, but unlike then missed from the spot. Fortunately, he found himself with a second opportunity on the rebound where he could not miss.

The away side weren’t done there, as Martin continued his excellent second half display. He drove towards the left outside the box, but played a clever reverse pass out to Raposo inside the box on the right, who provided a composed finish for his fourth goal in Central colours.

That concluded a stellar Central performance, where they were able to find another level, particularly in the second half, which was too much to handle for East Manchester. Tomkinson labelled his side’s display as “mature and professional” and was most pleased with the maturity his side showed.

“It was a very mature and professional display from minute 1 to minute 90, against a good team who took points from us before Christmas. They’re no mugs at this level, but we were disciplined and defended well.”

“You always want an early goal, and the own goal calmed the lads. We knew we were always going to create chances. It settled the lads after having two weeks off but once we got the goal East Manchester couldn’t live with us.”

The Central manager was pleased to see Fuad Kasali back in the goals but was most pleased to see his forward’s improved work off the ball.

“He did the other side well today within the structure, defensively without the ball he was fantastic. Having Fuad back will always give us more chances and goals, so we’re delighted to have him back.”

Tomkinson labelled Martin’s fitness as a big reason for his brilliant form and showed his delight for his consistency from midfield, which earned him another man of the match award.

“Since doing his boxing, he’s become a lot fitter, and you can see it. In the latter stages he is still breaking things up because he’s got that energy and drive to keep going.”

“To add another goal to his game doing the same thing he’s been doing recently, breaking at the back post because he’s got that energy. He’s been so consistent and is a massive part of our team.”

Ahead of next week’s fixture with Bolton Lads & Girls Club, Tomkinson wants more of the same from his side.

“Absolutely, that’s it now. Consistency going forward, we need to keep playing the same way, do the same things and we’ll always stand a chance of winning games.”

“We need to turn up like we have been in the last three games, and we’ll be right in the shout of winning any game.”