Northern League Division 1
19 January 2008
Bishop Auckland 1 : Billingham
Synthonia 2
Team: Chris Rookes,
Liam Bramley, Dominic Gamble, James Crossman, Paul Crager, Paul Moss, Joe
Fairish, Luke Ball, Gavin Parkin, Andrew Harrison (David Littlefair 83mins), Sean
Joseph (Stuart Campbell 67mins)
Another reshuffle of the pack, with three debutants starting
and two more joining from the bench, but the result just as in the away fixture
was a 2-1 defeat.
Chris Rookes, Bishops fourth different keeper in four games,
was called into action early with a couple of decent saves before Gavin Parkin
had Bishops first chance but was bundled to the ground inside the area, fairly
in the eyes of the referee.
Joseph was creating problems on the right wing, but seemed
unable to get the ball accurately into the middle when given the chance. The match was an end to end affair, and
Synthonia continued to get behind Bishops defence as both teams gave the ball
away on numerous occasions.
Another penalty shout on 25 minutes, this time when Shaw
blocked the ball with his hands from a 15 yard shot, but the referee ruled this
one out as well.
Crager gave Bishops the lead on 52 minutes when he powered a
header into the top corner from a left wing corner. The goal was Crager’s third in five games,
and things were looking good.
The next incident of note was when Fairish was pulled up for
a foul on Radigan. Radigan responded
with a headbutt and show of extreme petulance when rejecting Joe’s offer of
reconciliation. Amazingly only the
Bishops player received the punishment of a card.
Synthonia were level on 68 minutes. Bishops were under pressure and although half
clearing the ball twice the ball the ball fell to substitute Perry who fired it
home from 25 yards through a crowd of players.
The winner came on 82 minutes when Harrison was penalised
for making a tackle on the edge of the home area, and Jameson fired the
free-kick home.