FA Vase 1st Qualifying Round

6 September, 2009

 

Bishop Auckland 1 : Billingham Town 0

 

 

Team: Peter Jeffries, Carl Robinson, Arjun Purewal, Paul Moss, Neil Wilkinson, Simon Ord, Gavin Parkin, Stephen Salvin, Wayne Gredziak, Mark Henson, Darren Richardson (Dan Lennon 71mins)

 

Finally another home game, and the Sunday afternoon kick off brought out a better than usual crowd for this FA Vase qualifying round tie.

 

A reshuffle to the team in defence in particular with both Moss and Wilkinson back in the starting line up after missing the Spennymoor game.

 

A quiet start to the game with Peter Jeffries making a good save with his knees in the 12th minute when Bishops defence was found wanting.

 

Mark Henson fired a free kick over the bar on 25 minutes and also picked up a yellow card for a late tackle.

 

39 minutes and a well worked free kick from Town resulted in a low shot which Jeffries dived full length to push round the right hand post.

 

Bishops should have taken the lead on 40 minutes when Gredziak battled for the ball on the edge of the box before nudging the ball through to Richardson who skied the shot into the field behind the goal with only the ‘keeper to beat.

 

A poor first half and the second half started in unpromising fashion.  First a delay to find a ball.  Billingham’s wayward defensive clearances in the first half had left three match balls lost in nearby fields and the housing estate adjacent to the ground.  Finally one of the eight alternatives was deemed satisfactory by the match referee and the game restarted.

 

54 minutes and Bishops were down to ten men when Henson picked up another yellow for an innocuous foul on the half way line from the fussy referee.

 

Peter Jeffries again kept Bishops in the game on 61 minutes when he pushed a fierce shot onto the post and the ball flew out to safety.

 

Darren Richardson had another great chance saved on 64 minutes when Salvin flicked the ball over the top and the midfielder’s shot was blocked at close range by Wiggan in the Town goal.  Richardson was replaced by Lennon soon after.

 

The decisive goal came on 81 minutes when a free kick from just inside the Town half was lifted high to Salvin who stretched to head the ball up and over the Town ‘keeper and into the far corner of the net.  1-0.

 

Salvin had two further headers in the final minutes with the first after an excellent one two with Gredziak looping just over and a minute later Wiggan gathered a goalbound header with ease.  

 

Town failed to trouble the Bishops defence in the final minutes as Bishops ran out narrow winners. 

 

Bishops travel (back) to Hall Road Rangers in the next round in two weeks time.

 

 

 

 

Fixtures and Results