On another fantastic Saturday afternoon we headed for Catterick Village to play our first home game of the campaign against last year’s champions Unicorn F.C.
On arrival the pitch freshly cut and marked was in superb condition and a credit to everyone involved at the ground.
A large following from the opposition was suitably in attendance on the far side and consisted mainly of ex pro, s and pundits and the odd premier league cricketer appropriately benched for the occasion!!!
So game on Phil McCallion set us on our way and within a minute Unicorn were on the attack probing the back line of Town.
As usual Town obliged to give the now obligatory goal start to the opposition and from a slick passing move the through ball from Darren Enright was smartly finished by the unmarked Steve Richards.
1-0!
Town needed to respond quickly or a rout could have been on the cards for the youngsters, and in typical fashion of late, after a lovely interchange of passes and some good tackling Howe chanced his arm from fully 30 yards.
GOAL!!!
4 minutes on the clock 1-1
The town youngsters sensed an upset and played probably there best football for 45 minutes this season , winning challenge after challenge ,creating chances and going close on several occasions.
Woodalls pace was a real issue for the oppositions back four and credit to them for keeping the score all square at half time.
The remonstration of Unicorns management could be heard in Darlington!!!
They were clearly rattled at half time as the Towns youngster’s had played with style and great determination.
Ahead on points!!!!!
But it was only Half Time!!!
Town knew the game was for the taking and again pressed and probed causing problems all over the pitch for the Champions with Job going agonisingly close early doors as a close range shot dribbled past the far post.
But again our hopes soon faded as Unicorn replied with two goals in eight minutes.
Firstly a corner was half cleared, allowing Waller to send the ball a second time to the far post allowing Richards to score with a firm header.
1-2!!
This was followed swiftly by a speculative shot that could only be parried by Peck into the path of Waller who eased the ball into the back of the net after 59 minutes.
1-3!!!!
Town now faced an uphill battle for the fourth week running.
To be fair to Town they continued to give there all and again two big chances both “one on one “ with the Champions keeper went begging ,Catterall and Woodall the unlucky players but credit to the keeper on both occasions who did well to narrow the angles.
With time running out Town threw caution to the wind and went all out attack for the last 15 minutes.
Another long ball and a clash inside the box led to a soft decision against Barker, and the fourth penalty to be given against us in the last three games.
Penalty!!!!
A great save by Peck from Man of the Match Brown but he could only watch in dismay as Waller cracked in the rebound out of his right hand.
1-4!!!!!!!!!!!!
With time running out a quick through ball caught the Champions napping and this time a composed Woodall rounded the keeper to score on 85 minutes.
A couple of half chances ensued towards the end but nothing to write home about.
Final Score 4- 2
A great showing today by the youngsters and their opponents were nothing but complimentary after the game about the performance so we move on in search of that elusive first win.
Well done Unicorn best team we have played this season and most sporting
We look forward to the reverse fixture later in the season
Man of the Match
Town - Ryan Howe
Unicorn - Paul Brown (shame about penner not sure about the assist)
Next Up
Colburn Town in the North Riding Cup, so with a break from the league, and a large squad, a chance for a lot of players coming on Saturday to stake a first team place.
Kick of 2pm at the Village
