Northern League Division 1

16 October, 2010

Stokesley 3 : Bishop Auckland 4

Team: Peter Jeffries / Christopher Bell / Darren Atkinson / Wayne Clarke / Chris Lawson / Lewis Brown / Adam Emson / Stephen Salvin (capt) / Arran Wearmouth / Steven Turnbull / Darren Richardson

For Bishop’s first ever league visit to Stokesley, manager Colin Myers named an unchanged side, the only difference being that Emson and Richardson swapped shirts. Chris Lawson was making his 50th appearance for the club. The match kicked off under a cloudy sky with the threat of rain later on a pitch that was in desperate need of a cut.

Just as in the League Cup tie earlier in the season, Bishops started brightly and could have taken the lead from the couple of chances that fell their way in the first minute. On one occasion, keeper Binks did particularly well to deny Wearmouth by closing him down quickly and smothering the ball.

As the Bishops supporters were still making their way behind the far goal, the home side took the lead when Yalcin pounced on a loose ball and stroked it low past Jeffries to score with only 3 minutes on the clock.

Bishops went immediately in search of the equaliser and two minutes later, Turnbull was fouled just outside the Stokesley box. Bell’s accurate curling free-kick was comfortably palmed away by the keeper.

There was chaos in the home defence after 12 minutes when Crager cut out a menacing cross with a pass back to the keeper. Instead of clearing to safety, Binks picked the ball up and the referee blew for an indirect free kick. Although the keeper handled a yard from the goal line, the kick was eventually taken from the line marking the side of the six-yard box. Bishops rained in three shots at goal, but all three were blocked by the defenders on the line.

Six minutes later, Bishops put together a good passing move when a clearance by Bell was brought down superbly on the edge of the box by Salvin, who weighted a good pass back to the defender. Bell’s cross to the far post was headed back across goal by Wearmouth, but no one could get the vital touch.

In the 21st minute, Emson collected the ball in the box and seemed to push it too far ahead of him as he searched for an angle to shoot at goal. However, the forward managed to get to the ball first, just before Hopcutt brought him down and the referee had no hesitation awarding the penalty. Turnbull coolly stepped up and placed the ball hard and low to the keeper’s left, netting his fourth spot kick this season.

Stokesely then missed four good chances to regain the lead. First Yalcin passed his marker but fizzed his shot across the face of goal before Stewart attempted to chip Jeffries, but the Bishop’s keeper got back to collect. Bell headed one chance off the line from a corner before Yalcin went through one-on-one with Jeffries, but he shot wide as the keeper made himself “big” before him.

In the last minute of the half, Richardson missed a great chance to put Bishops ahead when he raced through from the half-way line, but he hesitated just long enough for the defender to get back and pressurise him into shooting harmlessly wide.

HT: Stokesley 1, Bishop Auckland 1

This was the same score line at half-time a month earlier and on that occasion, the home side went on to score four without reply to knock Bishops out of the League Cup. This time there were five goals in the second half.

The game restarted after a twenty minute interval and there was nothing much to note until the Two Blues took the lead in the 55th minute. A corner on the right wing was curled over by Bell to Richardson, who headed powerfully home from close range as Crager, seemingly tying his boot laces, looked on.

Once again this season, Bishops failed to maintain their lead, and within three minutes the equaliser came when Yalcin tapped home from just inside the box as the visitor’s defence looked static.

Bishops regained the lead in the 67th minute when Richardson raced down the wing and played the ball inside to Salvin, who in turn found Bell. The defender’s cross into the box was expertly kneed into the roof of his own net by ex-Bishop, Crager, to the delight of the fans behind the goal.

Yet again Bishops failed to hold on, and three minutes later the scores were level when a corner from the left was met by Crager, whose glancing header nestled in the far corner of the net.

Both sides went in search of a winner and Bishops got it in the 90th minute. A long cross-field ball by Bell found Emson on the left wing, and his cross was volleyed home from close range by Richardson for his second of the game.

The final whistle blew shortly afterwards, and Bishops recorded their fifth win in 11 league games. Afterwards, Colin Myers reckoned the score could have been 10-9, and said: “There were two bad defences out there, and every time somebody went forward they looked like scoring. We were lucky enough to score with two minutes left, but if there had been five minutes, then they would have got an equaliser. We need to defend better”.

Fixtures and Results