Northern League Division 1

25 August 2008

Bishop Auckland 0 : Spennymoor Town 2

Team: Chris Porter, Lee Foster, Darren Richardson (Adam Strong 80mins), Gary Anderson, Arjun Purewal, Neil Wilkinson, Lee Ellison, Joe Fairish, Gavin Parkin, Scott Richards, Keith Hutchinson (Amar Purewal 60mins)

Bishops bank holiday derby double-header ended in defeat to Spennymoor Town with both goals coming from ex-Bishops players. The meeting was the third between the clubs since their paths re-crossed in the Northern League, and for the third time Bishops failed to find the net – a far cry from the last season of the previous sequence of Northern League meetings when Bishops recorded an 11-1 aggregate victory during the 1983/4 season.

The first half was a non-descript affair with neither side creating any chances worthy of note. This was hardly the thunderous affair anticipated by a decent bank holiday crowd.

Early in the second half Town spurned a great chance when Bishops scrambled the ball off the line on 47 minutes.

The opening goal came on 60 minutes when Karl Richards’ speculative long range shot deflected off a blue shin and lobbed over Porter in the Bishops goal.

Bishops did push, but never looked like getting an equaliser, and it was no surprise when “want away” striker Jamie Clarke found space to deliver a comfortable chip over the advancing Porter to make it 2-0.

A tough start to the league season for Bishops, but at this stage attention drifts back to the cups and the visit of Consett next Sunday.

Fixtures and Results