Simple Errors Costly for ‘Bridge ‘A’

02/02/08 – Harrogate League Division 2

Boroughbridge AFC ‘A’ 0, Otley Town ‘B’ 2

Following a few days of wintry weather, nobody could have been blamed for taking the sensible option and staying in by the fire. For those who braved the cold, this clash rewarded them with a competitive and combative encounter with sparks of excellent personal skill and one moment that would not have been out of place in the Premiership, FA that is, not West Yorkshire! Following the cancellation of the Reserve team fixture, Rob Lowe was able to draft in Dave Burniston, but was unable to field Chris Chapman due to injury in a team largely as named during the week.

Bridge kicked off into a bitingly cold wind blowing a persistent drizzle into their faces, but Ross Mardon wasted no time, playing out to Chris Wood on the left wing, who scuffed his effort wide of the post. That was to be a rare Bridge foray in the opening 20 minutes, as Otley Town used their first meaningful attack to stamp their authority on the game and take an early advantage. A Rob Pratt cross from the left was missed by everyone except Wood who was able to clear at the expense of a corner. There was probably no-one more surprised than Eder Ruiz when his corner kick drifted from the right directly into the net without even a touch from any player from either side. It was a signal for a period of firm pressure from Otley, with only a Warburton effort coming anywhere near to troubling Richard Halloran in the visitors’ goal, yet it was a period which Otley failed to use fully. As the half wore on, Bridge began to recover composure and looked capable of hauling themselves back into the game, with Ekin, Warburton and Wood combining but lacking the necessary finish, as Otley continued to look more menacing in attack. The moment of the game came out of the blue, from a blue, on 29 minutes. A Tom Ekin cross from the left wing was met by Steve Warburton who flicked the ball up, then struck a sublime volley from 25 yards which left Halloran rooted to the spot. The ball struck the left post, ran across the face of the goal and narrowly missed contact with the right post to deny what could have been the goal of the season, if not of many seasons. However the score remained the same, and other than a Dave Burniston effort three minutes later, Bridge were unable to trouble Halloran before the interval. At the other end, the closing minutes saw James Dalby in space on the right on three separate occasions, trying three very similar shots from similar positions, but fortunately for Bridge, with identical outcomes as the teams were able to leave the field without any further scoring.

Half Time – BAFC ‘A’ 0, Otley Town ‘B’ 1

The priority for Bridge as the second half kicked off must have been to keep up the momentum they had worked hard for and not to start as they had in the first half. Assistant Manager Steve Hendry was therefore left fuming when his advice to keep it tight at corners was ignored as early as the third minute, allowing a fairly innocuous short corner to be pushed into the area, where it was met by Mark Currie on the edge of the six yard box. Despite failing to make clean contact with the ball, he was able to bundle it goalwards leaving Wayne Fisher stranded and Bridge with an increasingly difficult job on their hands. Heads didn’t drop though, and the contest remained a keen one. Ruiz tried a speculative effort from 30 yards which Fisher collected easily, and at the other end Oliie Bone was seemingly brought down on the edge of the area but the referee saw things  differently and blew for a corner. On 61, Gary Watts replaced Wood who was tiring on his comeback, as Bridge looked to find the breakthrough they needed, followed by Paul Scaife who replaced Ekin on 71. By now Bridge were looking the most likely to score, and did find the net but the referee had already signalled Mardon as being offside, whilst Bone shot wide from 20 yards. Justin Sinclair was pushing forward and drew a save from Halloran forcing him to palm a shot from 18 yards over the bar, a goalmouth scramble following the corner giving Bridge the most concerted period of pressure they had enjoyed at any time during the game. For the last ten minutes Otley were content to run down the clock, and two bookings, Callum Shaw for a robust challenge on Richie Renton, and Dave Burniston for dissent were the main incidents other than Ruiz creating two chances on the break. Renton was replaced on 82 by Adam Ekin but by then the die was cast and there was no further opportunity for Bridge to grab even a consolation goal.

With Louis Christoforou and Eder Ruiz making excellent runs down the wings, and James Dalby and Rob Pratt showing the benefit of their experience in full back positions, Otley looked a good technical side capable of holding their lead once gained. Pratt in particular was able to shackle Ollie Bone for most of the match, which says much for his ability. But Bridge could point to a good team performance, with Craig Tetley and Ross Mardon solid down the spine of the team, Richie Renton battling hard and Dave Burniston chasing everything, and the front line plugging away despite a lack of rewards. The second half showing in last week’s cup defeat to Pannal Sports promised much, and Rob and his boys should take heart from a never say die attitude which on a different day might have given a different result.

Man of the Match – Craig Tetley

Boroughbridge AFC ‘A’ – W Fisher, J Sinclair, R Renton, J Brear, C Tetley, D Burniston, O Bone, R Mardon, S Warburton, T Ekin, C Wood . Subs – A Ekin, P Scaife, G Watts
Goal Scorers – None

Otley Town ‘B’ – R Halloran, J Dalby, R Pratt, M Currie, J Garner Currie, P Stamp, L Christoforou, A Lunn, J Waite, D Jagger, E Ruiz. Subs – S Hardcastle, C Shaw, A Walker
Goal Scorers – Ruiz 5, Currie 48