'Bridge Sparkle in the Sunshine

Boroughbridge AFC 3, Wetherby Athletic 1

West Yorkshire Premier League – 09.04.08

"Anybody who watches three games of football in a row should be declared brain dead" - Erma Bombeck (1927 - 1966). Although the lady in question was referring to what our North American friends call football and not "soccer", the sentiment will be particularly familiar to those who have been watching Daz Ekin's team over the last few weeks. Five successive defeats probably more than qualify under Ms Bombeck's theory, but on an evening of spring sunshine the pieces of the jigsaw finally fell into place and those present could remember why they have risked the early onset of dementia on a regular basis at Aldborough Road.

Ekin was afforded the luxury of being able to name a side which didn't include either himself or Tony Coles on the bench; he was also able to welcome back Ollie Uffindall after his three month stint in Australia. Richard Donohoe returned to right back, and young Dave Burniston was given the chance to bolster his growing reputation with a senior start. The line up certainly seemed to spark, and 'Bridge controlled long spells of the game, only the second half substitutions disrupting the superiority for the men in blue.

'Bridge started in a lively way, but that said, Wetherby were the first team to test their opponent's keeper. Mark Waterhouse found space on the right wing and drifted over a cross which initially looked harmless; Alastair Hogg was alert to the threat though and tipped the ball over for a corner. Although Wetherby were able to threaten on occasions thereafter, the home side soon had control of the midfield and the game, Uffindall almost having a perfect start to his return, meeting a Paul Eagling cross and placing a well timed header to the top right hand corner in the 5th minute. Only an excellent piece of keeping by James Senior denied him, but he was obviously not feeling any jet lag as the same two combined 4 minutes later, this time Eagling latching onto a ball on the left of the area from a free kick, before flicking on to Uffindall who hit a good left foot volley which sadly didn't trouble Senior and was over the bar for a goal kick. Despite a large amount of possession, real goal chances were scarce, and Wetherby were happy to break on the counter. Brian Ross tested Hogg from 25 yards, and Brian Blewitt should have done better when Marcus Philpott stumbled just outside his own area, but his shot was wide of the right hand post. As the half wore on, 'Bridge were still on top but unable to produce; Ben Darville fed Danny Purvis from the right but he shot just wide from the edge of the 6 yard box, then Donohoe played to Purvis who gave a chance to Eagling but his shot was miscued. It was with a degree of relief that the deadlock was broken on 41 minutes after it looked that the dominance would produce nothing before half time. An Eagling cross from the right was met at the far post by Mark Tyson who firmly headed into the Wetherby net for a much needed opener. It could have been better on the stroke of half time as Philpott latched onto a long clearance, playing to Darville who in turn played Purvis in, but the shot was over the bar and the referee was blowing for the interval rather than a goal. In between, Blewitt again tried his luck, but a tame shot was collected easily by Hogg. Ekin's team talk would surely have been asking for more of the same, keeping it tight at the back, and a little more penetration up front. Whilst the team didn't look nervous, the goal must have been a great relief after such a bright first half.

Half Time – Boroughbridge AFC 1, Wetherby Athletic 0

Results since early January have been mixed at best, culminating in the run of five successive defeats. An upturn in fortunes would obviously arrive at some point, and whilst Uffindall was not single handedly responsible, another option for Ekin was obviously very welcome after a few weeks of struggle. He was certainly heavily involved in much of the opening action of the second half, a shot from the edge of the "D" easily stopped by Senior before another blocked shot fell to Eagling who was unable to control the ball. Mark Waterhouse had been close to levelling things up at the other end when he turned and produced a left foot shot out of nothing on the edge of the area, but he was unfortunate to see the ball float just over the bar. That miss was crucial to the outcome for both teams just 5 minutes later. Eagling's left wing cross was met in the area by Uffindall, but his crisp strike was handled on the line by Jon Richards, coming back out to Darville who happily thumped the ball home. Having already blown rather than allow advantage, the referee had no option but to award a penalty and dismiss Richards. The triumphant return was complete as Uffindall calmly stroked home the spot kick for a two goal lead just on the hour. Ten minutes later Eagling was also cool in attack, taking the ball round Senior before slotting home for 3-0. This was a cue to allow Andy O'Hare and Charles Walbrook to replace Uffindall and Andy Layton, joining Ben Mudd who had earlier replaced Burniston. Hogg was still alert though, tipping over a long range Wetherby shot, before Blewitt found himself clear in the area and placed a low shot past Hogg to reduce the deficit.

The substitutions altered the rhythm of the home side, and Wetherby began to look the better side, perhaps spurred on by the memory of overcoming a two goal deficit on their last visit. Ill discipline was costing them though, the red card aside, with Blewitt (dissent), Travena (dissent), Crowley (foul on Purvis) and Haig (foul on Darville) all "earning" second half yellow cards for their troubles. Man of the Match Eagling continued to push forward though, combining with Walbrook and Darville in an over complicated move which came to nothing, before Darville was felled by Haig in the yellow card incident on the very edge of the box. A beautiful ball in by Philpott confused the visitor's defence and saw Senior rooted to the spot, but the ball bounced off the underside of the cross bar and just the wrong side of the line for the home team. Travena tried his luck from the left wing, forcing action from Hogg, who was also alert to a looping ball heading for his top right hand corner. That was the last action of the match and smiles were back on the faces of the men in blue as they left the field.

The win was a just reward for a fine team performance. Uffindall was able to renew his partnership with Eagling with Darville and Philpott both looking sharp to add further fire power. The back four restricted Wetherby to mainly long range efforts, and the midfield were solid and in control throughout most of the match. As mentioned, the substitutions changed the balance somewhat, but by then the game was won. Burniston is a raw talent and can expect to see further first team action as he gains the experience necessary to deal with some of the crafty characters he will come up against at this level of football.

Personally, I know where Ms Bombeck was coming from, but when your team fires and sparkles like they did tonight after a terrible spell, then I prefer to go with the sentiments of Pele - it's a beautiful game!

Full Time – Boroughbridge AFC 3, Wetherby Athletic 1

Man of Match – Paul Eagling

Boroughbridge AFC - A Hogg, R Donohoe, A Layton, D Purvis, S Tovey, M Tyson, B Darville, M Philpott, P Eagling, O Uffindall, D Burniston. Subs - B Mudd, A O'Hare, C Walbrook
Goal Scorers – Tyson 41, Uffindall (pen) 59, Eagling 69. Booked - Darville

Wetherby Athletic –J Senior, C Porter, J Richards, P Beales, A Haig, G Williams, B Blewitt, C Travena, M Waterhouse, B Ross, G Evans. Subs - K Trower, C Taylor, A Boyce, J O'Shaunessey, J Crowley
Goal Scorer – Blewitt 76. Sent off - Richards. Booked - Blewitt, Travena, Haig, Crowley.