The first thing to mention about this match was the state of the Pelton pitch which was absolutely horrendous. The pitch was bumpy everywhere and the bounce of the ball was completely unpredictable but it was the same for both sides and it took us a while to adjust to what was needed to be done to play effectively.
Sacriston started the game well and got into some promising positions Ward & Coates were causing the Pelton back line problems with their movement and we had a couple of decent shots on target in the first 20 minutes by Gary Draper & Greg Coates. Craig Mickle was the big threat for Pelton and he was the outstanding player on the night and he tested Potts reactions in the Sacriston goal with a fierce left footed shot from the corner of the box but Potts did well to make the save.
Then on 25 minutes we attempted a clearance which Mickle clearly hand balled but the referee didn’t give it and the ball ricocheted to towards the by-line where Grant Boyd fouled the Pelton player. Michael Graver took the free kick which was cleverly disguised and played along the floor into the 6 yard box and Peake somehow managed to divert the ball goal wards with a flick into the net. A very simple goal which we should have defended better but it shouldn’t have got that far in the first place because of the handball.
Then we conceded a free kick in almost exactly the same place but on the other side of the box 2 minutes later and from that cross Potts back peddled towards the far post flapped an hand at the ball but missed it completely and the ball then deflected of the head of the unfortunate Gary Draper into his own net who was standing behind Potts ready to clear the ball but he was unsighted as the ball hit him.
So from being well in the game we were 2-0 down from nowhere and it was tough going for the next 10 minutes but we didn’t concede again and on 40 minutes we created a great chance to score when Greg Coates played Anthony Ward in who was one on one with the Pelton keeper who came speeding of his line to block Ward’s shot and kept the score to 2-0 at half time.
I made 2 changes at half time, Andrew Collinson came on at sweeper for the injured Gary Draper with Rob Draper coming into midfield and Ryan Grayson came on for Jacob Horner with Anthony Ward switching to right wing-back.
Sacriston struck back straight away 1 minute into the 2nd half when a weak headed back pass from the Pelton defender didn’t reach the keeper and Ryan Grayson did really well to latch on to the ball and calmly slot it round the keeper into the empty net to make it 2-1.
Then for the next 35 minutes we were bang on top and but for one headed chance Alex Peake had for Pelton from a corner on 70 minutes Sacriston were the team doing all the pressing and we created several brilliant chances.
On 55 minutes Greg Coates was played through and he was in the clear and chipped the Pelton keeper into the goal with a great effort only for it to be disallowed by the referee for offside which was a very poor decision.
Pelton RAOB are a strong team with a good record but were a little slow at the back and during the 2nd half our forwards got at them and caused lots of problems.
Rob Draper on 65 minutes did brilliantly on the left hand touchline to evade 3 challenges all of which were fouls to eventually get a free kick. From that free kick Graeme Embleton sent the ball skimming into the penalty box where Pelton’s own defender flicked a header towards his own goal near the top corner only for the keeper to pull off a fantastic acrobatic flying save.
Then on 68 minutes the Pelton keeper was at hit again this time making a great save low down to his right from Ryan Grayson’s shot after he was played in by Greg Coates.
Then on 70 minutes a Graeme Embleton corner was met brilliantly by the head of Sean Gregory at the far post but he put too much power on it and it went just over the bar.
By now it was all Sacriston and on 76 minutes Ryan Grayson did well to beat his marker to the near post to get on the end of a right wing cross and he made good contact but the Pelton keeper was there again to make another brilliant save.
Then on 78 minutes an incident occurred which beggars belief. From another Graeme Embleton corner Sacriston defender Danny O’Brien headed the ball towards goal where a Pelton defender desperately tried to clear the ball from the goal line but the ball looked well over the line and although I personally was on the half way line the reaction of all our players close to the incident and our supporters closer down the line was off disbelief. The referee was 22 yards away from the goal line when it happened. With no assistant referees in place he surely needed to be closer to the goal line to see more of the play for things like seeing if the ball curls out of play and goalmouth scrambles and line decisions such as this one to get the best view. The ball was that far over the line that even from his position it was still clear. This was one of the worst decisions I have seen and a game of this importance deserved better refereeing and it really affected our team to have a blatant goal not given and that would have made the game 2-2 with 12 minutes remaining with Sacriston having all the momentum.
Then on 84 minutes Pelton launched the ball up field towards Luke Kerry who was blatantly a yard offside at least but play was allowed to continue and this forced Potts to come off his line and out of his box to head the ball out but the ball fell to the one man who we didn’t want it to in the shape of Craig Mickle who calmly lobbed the ball over Potts into the empty net to make it 3-1. Mickle had been brilliant all game and is mix of strength and skill was ultimately the difference between the 2 sides. This was such a bitter pill to swallow.
On 87 minutes Potts made a brilliant save when the Pelton player got through one on one. Sacriston had one more chance on 89 minutes when Ryan Grayson’s effort hit the post which was just a sign of how things have gone for us in the last few games.
Overall we were desperately unlucky here and but for some horrendous refereeing decisions we would have come away from me with all 3 points but somehow ended up losing the game 3-1. We played brilliantly in the 2nd half and showed tremendous spirit to come back so well from 2-0 down. However another goal keeping mistake and poor defending from the free kick for the first goal left us with a mountain to climb.
Greg Coates was outstanding tonight and Rob Draper had a real impact on the game when moved into midfield. Ryan Grayson was excellent when he came on and on another day could have had 3 or 4.
We now have to get something from our last game against Newton Aycliffe WMC on Sunday to ensure we have a chance of staying up.
