Match Review (Richard Hilton)
Yet again in our three match battle this season with Kelloe WMC we matched them stride for stride and put in a tremendous performance only to concede at the death again to lose 2-1 having led 1-0 for over a 40 minute period. We have taken the lead in all 3 games against Kelloe WMC this season only to have the game snatched away from us at the end every time. I as Sacriston manager must pay tribute to the never say die attitude Kelloe WMC seem to have and we were given some pleasant comments from their manager and secretary after the game but we were just devastated to come away from the game with nothing again having played so well and our lads literally had to drag themselves away from the changing rooms after the game. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my team for the extraordinary effort we made during the course of this match.
Match Report
The match started pretty quietly with most of the play being in the central midfield area. Then Kelloe got away down the left hand side and put a great cross into the box on 8 minutes which found Gavin Barton but he put his volley badly wide from 8 yards out.
Sacriston were coping well and although Kelloe had more possession they were not creating much with it with the Sacriston forwards and midfield crowding them out and pressuring the ball. Stuart Thompson on the right wing in the first half created problems at times with his pace and on 25 minutes he got clear and into the box but Bladen got back in at the last moment to dispossess him with a good challenge.
Sacriston caught Kelloe offside a number of times and our defensive shape and play during the first half was excellent and the more the game wore on the more Kelloe seemed to be getting frustrated. Sacriston were starting to get more confident when on the ball and Harrison’s hold up play in the forward areas was giving our team something to work off.
Sacriston’s first real chance of the game came on 31 minutes when Grant Boyd found himself in lots of space down the left hand side and he made a tremendous 60 yard run before squaring the ball inside to Harrison who beat his man and got within 15 yards of the goal before firing a left footed shot just wide of the post.
The game was beginning to open up and then two minutes before half time Sacriston took the lead after some good build up play in midfield Gary Draper found himself one on one with the Kelloe keeper his shot was well saved but the rebound fell to the feet of Rob Draper who got his just deserts for following the shot in and he tapped home into an empty net. Kelloe came back strong and nearly levelled immediately when a right wing cross was met at the near post only for Potts to make a fine save low down to his left in the Sacriston goal to keep it at 1-0 going into half time.
The 2nd half of the game followed a similar pattern particularly in the early part with Kelloe having more possession but not causing too many problems. John Harrison after having an excellent game for us was replaced by Ward on 55 minutes and Daniel Johnson came on for his debut on 62 minutes replacing James Thornton who had played well again in midfield.
Sacriston by now were starting to play with confidence and we were starting to keep the ball better and between 60 & 75 minutes we created 4 excellent opportunities to finish the game off. On 65 minutes Gary Draper found himself in a great shooting position 15 yards out but he curled his shot just over the bar. Rob Draper delayed his shooting chance too long 2 minutes later and fired wide. Then Ward & Johnson broke clear with a 2 on 1 situation after the Draper’s hustling had won us the ball in midfield but a poor pass from Ward forced Johnson wide and when we did get the ball back towards the centre of goal the chance had gone.
Kelloe though by throwing men forward in search of the equalizer were leaving themselves exposed at the back when they lost possession and we picked them off a few times but we just didn’t finish them with that killer 2nd goal and these missed opportunities came back to haunt us later in the game.
The last 15 minutes Kelloe turned up the heat and started getting the ball into our box much more often and by a more direct approach and as the Sacriston lads tied from the effort being put in Kelloe found themselves with more opportunities.
Andrew Solan cleared a corner at the near post off the line bravely when he was hit straight in the face. There were some great last ditch tackles and blocks in and around the penalty box to deny Kelloe the chance to score but Sacriston still looked strong and determined to hang on.
On 80 minutes a Kelloe player let fly with a 20 yard shot which cannoned of the cross bar.
Then with 7 minutes to go Kelloe equalized when substitute Craig Coates right wing cross was only partially cleared by Potts punch in the Sacriston goal and the ball came back into our box via the other side and an overhead kick hit the bar and rebounded to a lad nicknamed Titch and he fired home from close range to make it 1-1.
The tied was turning now and Kelloe bombed forward in search of the winner, although Sacriston were defending well and during the six minute period when the game was 1-1 we went forward ourselves in search of the winner but made some bad choices in the final third when in promising situations. The game now was very open and in the last minute Sacriston played a forward pass into the path off Ward who was in the clear but the referee blew for offside much to the annoyance off everyone from Sacriston because Ward was clearly onside and our chance to win the game was gone. Then ironically from that free kick from the offside Kelloe got the ball into our half a cross came into the 6 yard box from the right hand side where Barton had the goal at his mercy but he headed the ball straight at Potts who made a miraculous save but the ball was still alive and we couldn’t get it clear and Barton was there to apply the finish bang on full time to make it 2-1. Kelloe kept the ball down Sacriston’s end during injury time and Sacriston just couldn’t get the ball far enough up the field in the time left to create another chance to level the game up.
It was devastating to lose having played so well for so long against such a good team and we are learning the hard way that you have to put away your chances when they come because it is very difficult to hold out against these teams for 90 minutes. Our tactics though were perfect and the players carried them out to perfection with the 2nd goal the only thing missing. Marc Bladen was just truly heroic in the way he defended throughout making some impossible tackles and he kept one of the best forwards in the area very quiet. Grant Boyd was excellent going forward and defensively again and Graeme Embleton along with the Draper’s never stopped running in midfield and made countless tackles in all areas of the pitch along with carrying our most promising threat to goal.
