Bridge Blown Off Course by Local Rivals

Ripon City 2, Boroughbridge AFC 1

West Yorkshire Premier League – 23.02.08

Windy conditions are rarely conducive to good football, and very strong winds can influence games. This local derby was entertaining but the wind was definitely a major influence, seemingly having a greater effect on Boroughbridge than Ripon. Kicking off in bright sunshine, 'Bridge had the wind with them in the first half but failed to adapt to it whilst Ripon remained composed and patient, and in the second half used the elements to their advantage to overcome a slender half time deficit which never looked to be enough given the conditions. A work accident robbed 'Bridge of experienced stopper Alastair Hogg, and Daz Ekin was forced to chance a premature comeback for Anthony Harrison after a three month lay off.

The men in blue certainly spent much of the first half driving forward, whilst Ripon seemed content to build patiently; not that either team seemed to have much option, such was the ferocity of the wind blowing across Mallorie Park Drive. Ripon's Ian Edwards was first to find his feet but failed to shoot when clear on goal in the early stages, which was followed by a period of 'Bridge attacks which failed to produce. Joe Beston and Dan Thirkell (from 35 yards) both had low shots stopped comfortably by Mark Rimmer in the Ripon net, whilst pressure from Danny Webster forced Rimmer to drop the ball, but no other player was on hand to capitalise. Webster was certainly in the thick of things, stooping low on the 20 minute mark to head into the area from the edge of the "D", before appearing almost immediately at the other end to block a shot from Giuseppe Downing. Marcus Philpott did well to latch onto a long clearance from Harrison, but could only scuff his shot low and to the left of the goal. Thirkell was next to try but put his shot high and left. Ripon were not going to let 'Bridge have all the half though, but Downing slipped when handily placed, Michael Chui had a shot blocked by 'Bridge captain Steve Tovey, and Paul Abbott had a penalty claim turned down when caught in a blue sandwich. As is often the case, a decent spell of Ripon pressure saw Bridge take the lead. Philpott played a good ball in from the left to Baz O'Neill, the ball breaking to Dan Thirkell on the edge of the area whose powerful shot found the top right of the net for the opener on 32 minutes. The rest of the half saw little of note, Webster assisting Harrison with a good defensive header, a Philpott shot from the edge of the area going high and wide, as was a shot from Downing at the other end. However the over-riding feeling was that the inability to harness the wind could play into the hands of Ripon in the second half, and so it proved.

Half Time – Ripon City 0, Boroughbridge AFC 1

If 'Bridge seemed a little short given the first half wind advantage, Ripon powered out of the blocks in the second half and looked to be using the wind to assist them. In their first meaningful attack of the half, Matty Pollack found space on the left and was able to find Paul Abbott who shot low and hard to the right, giving Harrison little chance to stop the equaliser. Harrison was finding his feet after his lay-off though, and almost immediately was called into action again, going one on one with Downing and blocking his shot with an outstretched leg. Abbott had a second penalty claim rejected as Ripon looked to be in firm control, adopting a policy of using the ball quicker than 'Bridge seemed able to. Chris Stephenson saw his shot hit the side netting on a rare 'Bridge attack following good play by O'Neill, but at the other end Abbott headed over from six yards to give a warning that more could come, and on 61 minutes Ripon struck again. Downing was allowed to drift across the edge of the area before unleashing a stinging shot which Harrison got a hand to but couldn't prevent from finding the net. At this stage there only seemed one winner and Daz Ekin obviously agreed, throwing on Ben Darville for Steve Coghlin, dropping Webster into left back to allow Darville to operate on the right wing. The move seemed to pay instant dividends, Tovey shooting over and Darville himself forcing the keeper to save as the tide seemed to be stemmed. The last 25 minutes were certainly a lot more even and as the wind subsided it became a possibility that 'Bridge could snatch something. Ripon continued to think otherwise though, both Abbott and Chui shooting over to keep up the threat. With 20 to go, Charles Walbrook replaced Steve Tovey and another shuffle saw Andy Layton take the captaincy and drop into right back, Dan Thirkell dropping deeper to cover. 'Bridge now looked settled and Beston had two decent attempts whilst for Ripon Downing's goal bound shot seemed to be blocked by his own player, but the die had been cast and neither keeper's net was stretched again and the whistle sounded to the obvious delight of the men in red.

With 'Bridge forced to play a number of players out of position, Ripon took full advantage together with the wind to get themselves ahead. The substitutions certainly settled 'Bridge but by then the damage was done. The big pre-match question over the readiness of Harrison was unfounded as he grew in stature as the match wore on and made some good saves when needed. Both teams now need a good run of form, Ripon visiting Knaresborough next whilst 'Bridge will be aware that Bardsey have only dropped 3 points on the road this season. An interesting weekend beckons!

Full Time – Ripon City 2, Boroughbridge AFC 1

Men of Match – Joe Beston & Dan Thirkell

Ripon City - M Rimmer, R McDowell, T Edney, S Clarke, M Chui, B Halka, I Edwards, G Downing, P Abbott, T Leeming, M Pollack. Subs - J Birch, A Bunce, O Barton, C Perry

Boroughbridge AFC – A Harrison, S Tovey, S Coghlin, C Stephenson, J Beston, M Tyson, D Webster, A Layton, M Philpott, B O’Neill, D Thirkell.. Subs – B Darville, C Walbrook

Goal Scorers – Ripon, Abbott (50), Downing (61) - BAFC, Thirkell (32),