Barley Mow Wanderers F.C

Barley Mow Wanderers 3 - 3 Codsall Athletic

Match Report

Another dismal mid-january afternoon, although the rain had kept its distance the skys were grey and the winds were high. Both teams had belief of three points from this fixture after two previous close encounters finishing in a three all draw and a narrow 3-4 win for Barley. The game started with Barley dominating early but Codsall looking lively on the break. 10minutes in and Bradnick swung a freekick goal wards which caused the Codsall keeper problems as he fumbled before Codsall managed to clear. Two minutes later Hill crossed from the right presenting Richard Porter with a free header at the far post which ended up just over the bar. Barley exploited Codsall down the left hand side as Freeman's touch was to much for the Codsall right back to handle. Several chances came from the left resulting in two Evans shots which caused the Codsall keeper little trouble. 26minutes into the half and Barley keeper Sewell was called into real action for the first time as his knees came to Barleys rescue in a one on one situation. Codsall soon became dominate and again came close to taking the lead as a ball over the top forced Sewell to race out of his area but was beaten to the ball by the Codsall forward only for Bradnick to get back and clear off the line. Five minutes before half came real controversy as another Codsall attack had Barley in a muddle at the back and keeper Sewell clearly handled the ball outside his area as Codsall crossed the ball in, the referee was unclear as of the Sewells positioning and waved play on, Barley with another lucky escape. Half Time 0-0. Plenty of action in the first half then, well the second half had even more. 58minutes and Blakeway got the opening goal, a fantastic run from the halfway line down the right before beating two defenders in the penalty area and neatly tucking the ball away low past the keeper. 1-0. Chances seemed to fall in quick succession and when Hale swung a corner into the box Bradnick latched onto the loose ball that had pinged around a bit and stabbed the ball in for his first of the season. 2-0. Credit to Codsall as they seemed more determined than ever and after having one goal ruled out for offside they pulled one back with a identical build up in the 69th minute. A good through ball before rounding Sewell and finishing into an empty net. 2-1. Sewell was then on hand as the Codsall striker found himself free six yards out but Sewell not only saved but held onto the shot from point blank range. 16minutes remaining on the clock and Codsall got the equalizer they deserved, a corner from the left was only partially cleared before Codsall crossed the ball back in towards the far post which hit the post and then the back of Bradnick before crossing the line. 2-2. 82minutes on the clock and again Codsall came down the left and again it was a cross to the far post which went over keeper Sewell and into the far corner. 2-3. Barley could have lay down having been two up it had been a superb come back by Codsall but the Barley players showed real fight and character to push Codsall to the death. The 84th minute saw Barley substitute Darren Cartwright miss a sitter, good work again down the left saw Cartwright hit an air shot from three yards out after Freeman supplied an excellent ball. Westbury was forced to clear of the line three minutes from time to again keeper Barley in it. It was man of the match Michael Freeman who managed to find the killer ball, just a minute to go and a superb run down the left finished up with an excellent pulled back cross and Blakeway smashed the ball home from close range. 3-3. Barley almost had all three points when Evans had a good chance in injury time but it was an effort that only the likes of Johnny Wilkinson would admire. Final score 3-3.

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