Northern League Division 1
24 November 2007
Team: Chris Porter,
Liam Bramley, Dominic Gamble, Michael Coghlan, Paul Crager, James Crossman, Joe
Fairish, Kevin Dixon, Gavin Parkin, Carl Chillingsworth (Amar Purewal 80mins),
Gus DiLella
Bishops bounced back spectacularly from their midweek defeat at Consett with an
excellent victory at high flying Sunderland Nissan. James Crossman came in for Jason Newall as
Bishops kicked towards the complex with the wind at their backs in the first
half.
The Two Blues made a dream start and were ahead in the
eighth minute. A ball across the edge
of the area to Di Lella saw the midfielder stretch and glance the ball to
Gamble who had raced down the wing. The
full back side footed the ball in from 15 yards. There was a brief moment of confusion as the
ball passed straight through the back of the net, but the goal was immediately
awarded by the match officials.
Bishops doubled the lead on 10 minutes. A pass forward from
Di Lella found Chillingsworth who beat the offside trap and unselfishly side
footed the ball across goal for Parkin to stroke home from twelve yards to make
it 2-0.
All the play was in Nissan’s half, and a 14th minutes
corner saw Parkin creating trouble in the area.
The ball bounced back and forth inside the box before the ‘keeper fell
on the ball to make things safe.
Just before the half hour Parkin won the ball wide on the
wing with some persistent play and fed Di Lella who curled a shot a couple of
feet over the bar from 25 yards.
On 40 minutes, Carl Chillingsworth turned his man just
outside the box and clipped a shot which just cleared the bar.
The half finished with a heavy downpour which continued
throughout the interval.
Porter had been a virtual spectator during the first half,
but the second half against the wind was always likely to be a different
affair. However, good defending kept
things tight until a chance on 58 minutes which brought a full length diving
save to the ‘keeper’s right. The ball
was pushed back onto the wing and swung back in, but the headed “goal” was
disallowed for offside.
Bishops ‘keeper was again in action on 67 minutes, but his
dive at a forward’s feet resulted in a penalty.
This time the ball was wide in the corner of the area, so no further
action was taken. The resulting spot
kick was fired home despite Porter getting a good hand to it.
Any thoughts of a comeback were snuffed out just four
minutes later when Coghlan played an expert pass to Chillingsworth who
controlled the ball well before beating the advancing ‘keeper from just inside
the box. With the two goal margin
restored, there were outpourings of delight and relief with all those behind
the goal. Even the decapitated rabbit’s
head strategically placed behind the goal net seemed to be smiling.
Although Nissan had more of the closing exchanges, Bishops
defence remained calm and there was enough possession to suggest another goal
was not out of the question. Substitute
Purewal played in Parkin who pushed the ball across the floor to the advancing