Blackburn Schools under 15s 2 Macclesfield and District Schools under 15s 1

IT was a case of being in the right place at the right time for two-goal hero Henry Appaloo.

Because for all his silky skills and fancy tricks, Appaloo guided Blackburn into the third round of the Alder Cup with two simply tap-ins.

But as long as they go in who cares.

In the end it was a victory Blackburn deserved but they almost threw it all away.

Blackburn started the brighter of the two teams and as earlier as the third minute Paul Marshall saw his long range shot skim the cross bar.

While Blackburn had an abundance of skill - Appaloo, Paul Gallagher, Lewis Hamilyn and Ono Odudu in particular - it was the tough tackling Ryan Cross who really caught the eye.

Cross didn't let the Macclesfield midfield settle which enable the fleet-footed four to show off their skills.

However the opening goal was more poacher than panache.

Keel Hamilton's corner was meet by Ben Johnson whose header was tapped in by Appaloo as the Macclesfield defence dithered.

While Blackburn were enjoying a lot more possession they had to be alert to Macclesfield play-maker James Woodhouse.

And it was one crunching tackle on Woodhouse that saw Cross limp off unable to take any further part in the game.

But just when you thought they would miss him in that holding position, Adam Koslowski stepped up and filled in perfectly. In fact, it was Koslowski who was next to test the Macclesfield keeper Joe Molloy who did well to hold on to his shot.

Appaloo showed his turn of pace when he raced onto Odudu's through ball and his cross was just out of the reach of Gallagher.

The he showed his strength to hold off two Macclesfield defenders before his shot was blocked.

After the break, Blackburn nearly doubled their lead when Hamilton's cross was headed against the cross bar by Hamilyn.

Odudu then fired wide after an excellent run by Gallagher, Marshall also missed the target. In what was almost one way traffic, Appaloo rounded off a fine five man move that was equalled by a great save by Molloy.

Molloy then produced the save of the match when Hamilyn turned superbly in the box but his shot was turned onto the cross bar. It only seemed a matter of time until Blackburn scored again but instead it was Macclesfield who got the next goal.

They threatened to score before they grabbed the equaliser.

Matthew Wilkinson saw his shot hit the post then his rebound was blocked on the line. But in their next attack, Wilkinson held the ball up well and Adam Kirby arrived to score.

They nearly took the lead when only a brave save by Matthew Lynch prevented Woodhouse from scoring.

After a brief spell of the wobbles, Blackburn regained their composure. Koslowski fired wide again after good work by Appaloo and Gallagher.

Koslowski must have learnt his lesson because the next time he received the ball in a dangerous position he opted to pass to Gallagher and his hard low cross was turned home by Appaloo to seal victory.

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