This unfortunately was another hard luck story for us against one of the big boys in the premier league and yet again we can take so many positives out of the game.
The first half Pelton started the better and but for some magnificent saves by Potts in the Sacriston goal Pelton could have been 3 or 4 goals up. Sacriston rode the storm however and came into the game a lot more in the later part of the first half.
Sacriston created one great chance when Graeme Embleton’s free kick found the head of Sean Gregory in the 6 yard box but Gregory couldn’t adjust his head position in time to keep his header on target.
Then on 25 minutes Pelton were awarded a soft free kick which was played into our penalty box and Boyd’s poor first touch allowed the ball to get away from him and in his desperate attempt to retrieve the ball he slide tackled the Pelton player and was adjudged to have fouled him and a penalty kick was given. This was a tight call which went against us and Carl Richie stepped up to take the penalty and he finished superbly powering his shot into the bottom left hand corner.
Grant Boyd made up for his error just before half time when he cleared a header of the line when Sacriston got caught in possession high up the field but Boyd did brilliantly to retreat to the line to keep Sacriston in the match.
During the 2nd half it was a totally different story and Sacriston were dominant and did everything but score. We created several good chances but the ball just wouldn’t go in the net. The Pelton goalkeeper was equally impressive and made some great saves to keep Pelton ahead. What pleases me most was the fight and determination our team showed to get back in the game and at times we were just battering last years’ champions.
Greg Coates had the first chance of the 2nd half when he blitzed away down the right and got into the box but his powerful shot was well saved by the Pelton keeper.
The best chance of the game came for us on 65 minutes when Gavin McCormack’s shot was parried out by the keeper and the rebound fell to Gary Draper who lifted his shot but couldn’t quite get the elevation needed and the Pelton keeper somehow got up to make a remarkable save. Graeme Embleton then had a free kick well saved. Gary Draper then just headed over the bar from close range following Embleton’s corner.
Our defence were still being kept busy though through the threat off Craig Mickle who was outstanding again on the night and he held up the ball to give Pelton rest bite and ran with it to cause our defence problems.
As the game wore on we got more on top and started winning the ball in all areas of the field with Rob and Gary Draper particularly outstanding and these drove the team on. McCormack & Coates put a great shift in and were replaced by Grayson & Ward in the final 20 minutes and Grayson did well linking up play and getting in behind the Pelton defence.
Countless times we got into good positions but just made the wrong choice in the final third and it was so frustrating. Pelton did defend very well and made it very difficult for us to break them down. Pelton had one more chance near the end on the break but Boyd again got back to sniff out the danger clearing the ball 2 yards from his goal line.
We worried the champions for long periods of the game and the least we deserved from the game was a draw but you have to put the ball in the net when the chances come along.
Richard Hilton (Sacriston CCCFC Manager)
