Quite how we lost this game 4-1 is an absolute mystery to me really. If ever a football matches score line didn’t reflect the true balance of play in a match then this was it.
Although we have been getting the results recently our style of play hasn’t been very good but today it returned and for large parts of the game we played some of the best football we have played all season. The passing and moving was there our wide players in Horner and Ward got heavily involved delivering good crosses constantly and we were a joy to watch.
Grant Boyd’s excellent start to the game was rewarded when he gave Sacriston the lead on 17 minutes. A nice exchange of passes two between him and Jacob Horner down the left resulted in Boyd cutting in from the left on to his less favoured right foot from 20 yards out and his shot found the bottom left hand corner of the net. This was no more than what Sacriston deserved after a bright start to the game.
It wasn’t all one way traffic Sedgefield did get forward occasionally without causing any serious threat to the Sacriston goal however Sacriston were playing the better football and had much more possession and territory.
This pattern of play continued well into the 2nd half but Sedgefield gradually got more of a foothold in the game and started to get some possession. Sacriston would be made to pay later in the game for not making more of there earlier supremacy in the match.
The one constant annoying feature of this game was the referee’s whistle. I lost count of the free kicks he gave during the game mostly going against Sacriston and although it wasn’t one big decision he gave that affected the game his manner and communication to the players was very poor. This irritated everybody and the feeling of discontent amongst the Sacriston players got bigger as the match wore on. The referee simply couldn’t wait to blow the whistle for a free kick any time a Sacriston player went near a Sedgefield player and this in turn totally disrupted our flow of play and worse gave Sedgefield a way back into the game through set pieces.
Sedgefield got a free kick in the middle of Sacriston’s half when one of our players was adjudged to have fouled a Sedgefield player despite moving the ball 15 yards up field as a result of winning the ball in the tackle. From this free kick a SSE forward did well to peel off our two defenders marking him to head the ball back across to his colleague who then diverted his effort towards goal where Rob Draper made an amazingly gallant attempt to keep the ball out but ultimately failed to do so.
The match now was very much in the balance and John Harrison had to leave the game on 60 minutes who had played well and was replaced by Greg Coates. Gavin McCormack replaced Jacob Horner on 64 minutes to allow Horner a brief breather after being clattered in a challenge with the SSE keeper.
SSE took the lead on 71 minutes when a corner was only partially cleared from his own goal by Potts and the ball fell to another SSE player who had a simple of task of heading home under no pressure from 6 yards out. Horner came back on to replace Ward on 71 minutes. Gary Draper who was really only partially fit replaced Matty Rudge in midfield on 78 minutes who had played well on his return to the starting line up.
Sacriston responded well however and totally dominated the next fifteen minutes of the match and wasted several good chances and promising positions in that time to get back on level terms. Sean Gregory went close on 78 minutes when his close range free kick just had too much power and went just over the bar and Stuart Fenton went close when he tried a right foot volley in the box from around 15 yards out but his effort went over the bar as well.
Then in an incident towards the end of the game Rob Draper very harshly got sent off. In the incident he had appeared to have been fouled twice before eventually being forced into making a foul against the SSE player for which the referee then gave a free kick to SSE for. This was a terrible decision and was just one of many we had suffered from throughout the game. The incident happened on the other side of the pitch to the Sacriston bench so only Rob himself knew to who and what he had said and the referee to our amazement produced a red card and only he will know why. This was right at the end of the game and from this point the game got away from us.
Poor communication from Potts in the Segga goal allowed a clipped cross to be headed home by the SSE player in between 2 back pedalling Segga defenders from only 7 yards out from goal. Then in the 92nd minute to cap it all off Sedgefield scored the goal of the match with a really good strike from 20 yards out which went into the top corner this time giving Potts no chance in the Segga goal to make it 4-1. The goal was made easier because 3 or 4 of our players were still more interested in speaking to the referee about what had just happened rather than trying to get close enough to the Sedgefield player to stop him shooting which was very disappointing from my point of view. The final whistle blew shortly afterwards.
Ultimately we paid the price for not scoring more goals whilst we were on top and at premier league level an experienced side like SSE will have their period of pressure in the game when they are on top. Our discipline towards the end of the game went out of the window and cost us dearly but I do share my frustration with our players because the referee spoilt a good game and it is hard to keep your composure when you work so hard and play so well to get a lead and then see it come to nothing. It did at times get amazingly frustrating to watch so many decisions go against you and it gradually killed of the lads’ spirit. The trust between our defence and goalkeeper has been building well over the last 8 weeks with our defensive record improving considerably. Today however that got undone in 15 bad 2nd half minutes which ultimately resulted in the reason why we conceded 3 out of the 4 goals all of which should have been easily avoided. Potts has saved the side many times this season but did have a bad day which all keepers have and he just needs to go out there next week against Sherburn and command his box and show everybody what a good goalkeeper he is. There is absolutely no chance I am going to replace him in the immediate future and have full faith in him that he will produce a good performance next time out.
