Northern League Division 1
15 March 2008
Team: Peter Keen, Lee
Foster, Dominic Gamble, Michael Coghlan, Martin Langley, Paul Crager, Joe
Fairish (Amar Purewal 67mins), Luke Ball, Gavin Parkin, Carl Chillingsworth
(Arjun Purewal 89mins), Andrew Gilbert
Brian Honour again had to utilise his phone book to gather
together a team for today’s match with
Bishops had the first big chance when Chillingsworth’s cross
was hooked out for a corner. From the
resulting corner, Chillingsworth again won the ball in the air, and it flew to
Crager who headed from a standing position against the bar.
On 11 minutes Luke Ball saw a lucky break when the ball
broke free, but fired in a low shot which flew about 2 yards wide.
Tow Law came more into the game and good work on the left on
26 minutes saw a low cross cleared by Foster to safety. Four minutes later, Keen was lucky to see a
free header bounce straight into his hands.
Andrew Gilbert should have give Bishops the lead on 36
minutes. The ball over the top found the
midfielder clear and with only the ‘keeper to beat, but his low shot was hacked
clear from in front of the line with the ‘keeper beaten.
Peter Keen tipped over a speculative dipping 30 yard drive
to keep the scores level on 40 minutes, as the home side put Bishops under some
pressure in the final minutes of the half.
Bishops started the second half well. Good work by Fairish on the right found
Gilbert on the left who dinked the ball in to Parkin, but the ball eventually
fell to the home ‘keeper.
Joe Fairish was injured on 63 minutes after a nasty clash,
and wsa replaced on 67 minutes by Amar Purewal.
On 74 minutes Bishops were denied a cast iron penalty when
Chillingsworth had both legs taken away from him just inside the area. Laughably, the referee indicated that the
defender had “taken the ball” in this challenge. However, a minute later Chillingsworth
flicked a header over the defensive line and Amar Purewal lobbed the ‘keeper to
make it 1-0. The massed ranks behind the
goal celebrated wildly.
Bishops looked like grabbing a vital three points until on
84 minutes Crager was indecisive in his defending and Benjamin found space to
fire home. Bishops collapsed.
On 85 minutes, Keen pulled off a fine flying save. Two minutes later a cross shot pinged off
Keen’s left hand post. The point at
least seemed secure as the clock ticked on past 90 minutes, but the referee
hadn’t had enough.
Tensions rose, and as the game ticked into the 96th
minute Purewal was literally wrestled off the ball on the half way line, and the ball played forward. After another foul which went unpunished,
Teesdale crashed in a low shot which hit the inside of the right hand post and
flew across the goal and just inside the left hand post to make it 2-1.
The match re-started, and the referee immediately signalled
an end to the game.