A 3-1 scoreline is very harsh on the boys in what was a very hard working performance against a physical and skilled Storm side.
The key moment of the game came in the 39th minute, when what looked like a clear hand ball by the Bedlington player in his own box, was not given by the referee much to the surprise of the crowd and the Guide Post coach's, and from this Bedlington playing to the whistle broke quickly and crossed well with the ball unfortunate to come off James for an own goal.
Bedlington with the strong wind started much the brighter side, and it took us a while to get in our stride, only some find defending from Harry, and some scrambling kept them out early on. It was then no surprise when Bedlington on got on the score sheet, when a loose ball was not cleared, a scramble ensued and the ball found its way into the net.
But from kick off the best goal of the game was scored, Joseph putting through a perfectly weighted ball through for Elliott to run on to, he then beat the defender with great skill, took the ball on looked up and passed for Sam who got a great shot away which the Bedlington keeper couldn't keep hold of. Great goal, and this gave us the confidence to have more of the game, with Sam again going close.
Second quarter and with the wind advantage, we had much more of the play, with Joseph, Sam, Elliott and Josh all going close, with the Bedlington keeper making two excellent saves. At the other end Aaron blocked superbly and there was a mad scramble which near resulted in a Storm goal. End of second quarter still 1-1.
Third quarter and again we more than held our own, Storm took the lead from a very scrappy goal, the ball wasn't cleared and it was just poked forward and despite having three players on the line it somehow managed to trickle over the line. At the other end though despite playing into the wind, Sam was causing them lots of problems. An excellent Joseph corner, could only be parried out by the keeper and the ball just wouldn't quite sit down for Elliott, and his good effort just went over the bar. End of third quarter 2-1 to Storm.
Fourth quarter and again it was a very even contest with half chances at both, ends, but good goal keeping from both keepers kept the score the same until 2 minutes to go and the "hand ball" decision not given. One of the most curious moments of the game, was when the Storm striker ran the ball out of play without a Guide Post player being within 10 yards, and the referee giving a Storm throw in. While another key decision not given was at the start of the quarter when Elliott appeared to be fouled just outside the box. The final scoreline I don't think reflects well on the efforts of our team, it was a very close game and a draw to me would have been a fair result, but all credit to our good friends and rivals Bedlington Storm, for their fight and desire, they are worthy winners of the league! Congratulations to the Storm team and coaching staff for winning the league, we look forward to battling with you again soon!
All I asked from our boys was 40 minutes hard effort, and that is what I got, couldn't have asked for more! Heads up for the final two games of the season, two wins and hopefully Storm can do us a favour against Celtic which will then give us a second place finish. Really proud of all our players, lets keep it going, next training Wednesday 5.45pm GPMS Field.
