Northern League Cup Round 2
24 November, 2009
Bishop Auckland 2 :
Bishop Auckland – Peter Jeffries / Chris Lawson / Simon Ord / Wayne Clarke / Arjun Purewal / Joe Grant / Adam Strong / Stephen Salvin / Wayne Gredziak / Harry Drummond / Tyson Masters
Subs not used – Jordan Tomlinson / Ryan Graham / Jonathan Stokell / Steven West / Jake Richardson
Another wet and windy one at
The meeting was the first Bishops home tie between the two sides in the Northern League Cup since Bishops won a preliminary round match at Kingsway 3-0 in September 1981.
Bishops kicked into the wind in the first half and made an explosive start when Simon Ord lifted the ball over the top from the Bishops defensive half and Wayne Gredziak expertly lobbed Craig Turns in the Town nets for 1-0 in just the second minute.
The goal rattled Town and Craig Ruddy was lucky to just get a yellow after a very late foul on Ord in the third minute.
Two minutes later and it was Bishops Lawson picking up a card for a half way line challenge.
Town thought they had equalised on 21 minutes but the “goal” was disallowed when an offside striker impeded Peter Jeffries in his attempt to gather the ball.
The elements were making it tough for Bishops to clear their lines but the midfielders battled tenaciously to keep Town under pressure.
Just after the half hour and a free kick was initially cleared but the ball was turned back in and Capper saw his shot smothered at close range by the imposing Jeffries.
38 minutes on the clock and a Town free kick from just outside the area saw Jeffries punching the ball but from a follow up shot the ‘keeper was forced into a save with his foot and the ball skewed away to safety. Bishops immediately broke and Lawson pushed the ball through to Gredziak but the striker was unable to deliver a cross with Masters unmarked at the far post.
Town dominated possession in the final minutes of the half but Bishops held firm and almost doubled the lead in the final minute of the half when Lawson stumbled through a series of tackles before slotting the ball through to Masters who swung but only made minimal contact and the ball trickled through to Turns.
Half Time Score – Bishop Auckland 1
Bishops started the second half with another great chance when Masters appeared to be through one on one but was flagged offside.
Town levelled on 54 minutes. Chris Lawson slipped on the right and allowed an unchallenged cross which evaded Jeffries and was headed home by the unmarked Lawther.
A minute later and after Ord mis-hit a clearance Ruddy fired a shot which glanced the top of the bar.
Bishops were denied a definite penalty when Masters tried to evade a prone Town defender who flicked out a leg and brought the forward to the ground, but no award was given.
Spennymoor were playing better into the wind and causing problems down the wings, but Bishops were battling hard and using the elements to their advantage.
On 73 minutes Ord blazed a shot from all of 35 yards but the shot flew just wide. A minute later and Salvin under extreme pressure managed to turn and screw a shot just wide of the right hand post.
Spennymoor had another “goal” ruled out for offside on 85 minutes as the game seemed to be heading for extra time.
However, the game ended as it had started with Gredziak finding the net. A series of blocked shots from inside the six yard box ended with the ball dropping to Gredziak three yards from goal and he stabbed it home through a crowd of legs to make it 2-1.
Bishops ran the clock down with little incident and march into the third round of the league cup for the first time since the club’s Northern League return.
Final Score – Bishop Auckland 2 Spennymoor Town 1
Wayne Gredziak 2 mins, Chris Lawther 54 mins,
Wayne Gredziak 89 mins