Northern League Division One
11 October 2008
Bishop Auckland 3 :
Team: Peter
Jeffries, Gus Di Lella, Gary Ankers, Dale Dunn, Arjun Purewal, Gary Anderson
(Martin Langley 15mins), Scott Richards, Joe Fairish, Gavin Barton, Gavin Parkin, Amar Purewal (Adam Strong 55mins)
Two wins in a week
and Bishops have now overhauled a five point gap and are out of the relegation
places.
Both Bishops
Darlington loanees, Hardman and O’Maloney, were unavailable and Kevin Dixon and
Lee Ellison were both missing. Jeffries
retained his place in goal after Wednesday’s clean sheet, and Richards and
Barton both started.
Town, managed by Bishops
last manager
Bishops took the
lead on 14 mintues when a high ball into the box saw the Town ‘keeper Wiggan
drop the ball under pressure and Barton hooked the ball over his own head and
into the net.
Scott Richards went
on a rampaging run on 19 minutes but was hacked down by Michael Dalton who
received a yellow card for his troubles.
Richards curled the free-kick just wide of the far post.
On 23 minutes Amar
Purewal pushed the ball into Fairish whose 25 yard shot was comfortably plucked
out of the air by Wiggan.
A ball over the top
to the onrushing Amar Purewal on 31 minutes looked dangerous, but ended with a
weak shot which Wiggan made a meal of.
It was all Bishops
and on 40 minutes Wiggan was lucky when he Dunn fed Amar Purewal. His shot went through the ‘keeper’s legs, but
clipped a heel on the way through, allowing the custodian to turn and fall on
it at the second attempt.
All the hard work
of the opening 40 minutes fell apart in the final minutes of the half. On 42 minutes Jeffries came out of the box,
and the ball hit the ‘keepers arm outside the area as it was pushed through by
a forward. After a long and
nervewracking wait, the referee produced a yellow card for the offence, and a
similarly coloured card for Ankers for dissent.
The scare seemed to
unsettle Bishops and on 45 minutes a doubtful penalty was awarded against
Langley and Alexander despatched the equaliser from the spot.
The second half
started, and Bishops just couldn’t get into it.
A minute later,
Jeffries pulled off a decent diving save to push the ball round the post.
The game got nasty
on 70 minutes, and Bishops benefitted from Billingham losing their cool. Scott Richards tackle which earned him a card
started things off. A minute later,
Richards was wide on the right with the ball at his feet when
On 80 minutes
Ankers crossed to Strong who pushed the ball across the goal but there was
nobody on hand to finish the thing off.
Earl missed a
chance to level ito on 81 minutes when he blazed over from a good position.
Bishops pushed for
a decisive third and on 85 minutes Dunn crossed well for Barton, but his header
was well saved. A
minute later Parkin had an opportunity to score but didn’t get enough
height on his chip with the ‘keeper stranded twelve yards off his line.
Deep into injury
time the third goal came. A throw to an
unmarked Richards saw chaos in the box, and Richards pushed the ball out to
Strong for crossed for Barton to mis-hit a shot but Richards appeared to finish
off the move he had started. 3-1.
Dale Dunn missed a
great chance to open his account for the club on 96 minutes, but fired wide
with the goal at his mercy.