Boroughbridge 0 – 2 Leeds City
A red card on the hour for Leeds City’s Johnny Crawley changed the course of the match but it was the visitors who profited. Already cautioned for kicking the ball away, Crawley had words with the referee’s assistant which were not appreciated and the inevitable second caution and dismissal followed. From the free kick which caused the verbal exchange, ‘Bridge lost possession and a long ball upfield found Chris Brisdale wide on the left who fired a cross goal shot from the edge of the area. Home keeper Alastair Hogg got his hands to it, but the ball squirmed loose and into the net. With the match balanced at 0-0 and barely 60 seconds from the red card incident, it was a huge boost for Leeds City and they went on to comfortably wrap up a win with a Marc Saunders strike with 15 minutes of time remaining. For Hogg it was a huge blow after a brilliant first half stop from Saunders at close range which had seemed to signal a change of luck from recent performances.
In reality the visitors were the better team for much of the match, and only in a spell towards the end of the first half did ‘Bridge look up to the task. Whilst first half chances for Ben Darville and Paul Eagling gave Daz Ekin hope at half time that his side could grab at least a point to break a miserable run of results, high flyers City were comfortable on the ball and quick thinking off it. They played with an assuredness that ‘Bridge could not live with, and Saunders and Matty Johnson had earlier chances before the deadlock was broken that could have made the win more emphatic. As it was the game was effectively over on the hour, and further attempts from Darville and Eagling were not on target and City ran down the clock without any drama. Saunders effort to wrap up the scoring was a right wing effort reminiscent of Theo Walcott’s midweek strikes for England, and ‘Bridge had no answer. A 15 minute substitute appearance from manager Daz Ekin changed little and that change is what the home side desperately need now in their next game at home to another newly promoted side, Otley Town, this Saturday at Aldborough Road.
MOM - Andy Layton