Date: Wednesday 16th April 2008
Competition: VodkaT North West Counties League Division 1
Venue: Brian Boys West View Stadium, Bacup, Lancashire
Attendance: 034
Previous Meetings:
11/11/2006 NWC LC 2R Bacup Borough 3 – 5 St Helens Town
17/03/2007 NWCFL 1 Bacup Borough 0 – 0 St Helens Town
15/09/2007 NWCFL 1 St Helens Town 1 – 3 Bacup Borough
The last away day of the season falls this evening in the deepest darkest hills of Lancashire as Town make the trip to play Baucp Borough. With the end of the current season drawing ever nearer and with Bacup Borough still a long way from being safe from relegation, this match promises to be slightly more than a sleepy end of season dull affair, as it was 2 seasons ago when Town won the match 2-0. It’s a cold, wet, gloomy evening in Bacup in a ground surrounded by sweeping hills, the ground is literally a field surrounded by other fields. Almost as like they picked a random one out of the patchwork and said “that’s the home of Bacup Borough FC”. All that was missing were the grazing cows to keep the grass at the correct level.
But be in no confusion about this, despite what them Yorkshire folk from over the border might tell you, Lancashire is by a long way the home of England’s green and pleasant land, the scenery is breathtaking. Something I should imagine would be a useful thing on a Saturday afternoon if the match itself was slightly on the dull side.
To tonight’s match though and with St Helens Town riding a current 5 game unbeaten streak, optimism is high that something can be achieved from the match this evening. The pitch is in surprisingly good condition, but then again when its not been played on for a month or so at a time, it should be in good condition. The slope on the pitch goes from side-to-side as opposed to the traditional end-to-end but change is always a good thing. The ground itself appears to be undergoing some sort of renovations as a trench has been dug around the spectating area, covered areas are available behind the far goal and a small seating stand is situated down one side, Bacup Borough FC finally finding a more illustrious sponsor for that stand than McDonalds. The clubhouse is neat and tidy, serving a range of beers and ales, the Old Firm Derby on the television could also prove to be drawing point for those that wish to watch the match in the comfort and warm. Not the travelling faithful though, we’re proper football fans! Onto the team news for this match and there are a few changes to the line-up. Keeper Andy Lynskey was absent due to work commitments so Coach Fletcher donned the gloves, captain Iain Dyson was also absent to the armband responsibilities fell to Vice Captain Adie Reilly. Muktar Mahama finally, mercifully, gets a starting role after earning his stripes as a substitute and Brian Hatton returns to the bench. A feeling of dread passed through me as I read the referees name on the “programme”, Mr King from Blackburn. This clown took charge of Town’s match against Squires Gate on Boxing Day, I only hope somebody gave him a belated Christmas present of “Refereeing for Idiots” as he clearly needed it then, he couldn’t be that bad again tonight, could he?
So as the clock ticked around to 7:45pm the two teams emerged from the tunnel and onto the pitch, the good guys in their red and white of the town, the enemy in their white shirts black shorts combination. The captains complete the formalities with the match officials in the centre circle and its St Helens Town that kick-off the match looking to make it 6 matches on the bounce without a defeat.
The first 5 minutes of the match were spent sizing up the opposition as both teams made probing efforts into the other half but without much threat. The first dodgy moment came in the 9th minute when a long ball was played through into the Town half with Bacup’s Dominic Slaven in hot pursuit. Fletcher came out of his area to meet it but was beaten for pace by Slaven, the stopper recovering well to force the Bacup player wide, Peter Phillips then came to his keepers aid to cover the player and the danger passed for a corner kick off Phillips. The resultant corner being driven over the bar by a poor volley. The initial chances were falling the way of Bacup Borough and in the 13th minute, Dominic Slaven had another opportunity from long range, but his volley ended up at the bottom of Cowtoot Lane and nowhere near the goal. It was by this point that the expected happened, Referee King started to lose control of the match and quickly! He was whistle happy and his decision making was extremely questionable, the game was undoubtably going to suffer. Despite this, Town started to make inroads into the Bacup half, Chris Bermingham sending in a dangerous looking cross in the 18th minute but Bacup keeper and former Town player Paul Horridge gathered the ball. From this Bacup went straight down the other end with that man Slaven, who turned his defender on the edge of the Town box and fired in a shot that was straight at keeper Fletcher, a huge warning shot that if it had been anywhere else on target would probably have fired Bacup into the lead. However this warning shot was not heeded and in the 21st minute, Bacup Borough would lead. Town struggled to defend a low cross into the box and Dominic Slaven, after all his previous missed chances, had the simple task of turning the ball past the keeper from close range to put the hosts into the lead. The game was turning into a pretty drab encounter in the dark cold night with little occurring to warm up the fans, Town were playing well but the football wasn’t what you could call exciting. However the travelling faithful were feeling slightly warmer in the 28th minute when Town drew level. What looked to be an easy gather for keeper Horridge in the Bacup goal, he spilled and threw to the feet of Karl Ledsham on the edge of the penalty area. Ledsham fired in a shot but the keeper recovered well enough to palm the ball away, only as far as Rob Whyte who,
with the keeper stranded and from 6 yards out, fired the ball into the net to send the travelling fans into celebrations behind the goal, Rob Whyte haiving now scored in his last 6 consecutive matches. Town looked a revitalised side after this and went in search of a second, a Chris Bermingham shot taking a deflection for a corner, heading an inch wide of the post. But it was down the other end in the 33rd minute where Bacup should have retaken the lead when a brilliant cross evaded the entire defence and Lee Stott headed the ball wide when he should have hit the target. The last 2 chances of the half fell to Town as Muktar Mahama never gave up on a lost cause and won Town a corner to keep the pressure on, then in the 44th minute Town should have gone into the break leading when Muktar Mahama won a trough ball with his blistering pace and sent in a great cross looking for Rob Whyte. The latter’s diving header however had no real pace on it and keeper Horridge saved well down low to his left. The half time whistle blew to end what was predominantly a dire half of football, but Town enter the break level. Referee King was poor once again and his poor decision making meant he was rapidly losing control of proceedings and influencing the result. Town had battled and were level, with still everything to play for in the 2nd half.
Half Time:
Bacup Borough 1 – 1 St Helens Town
The 2nd half started with the first chance falling to Town when they were awarded a free kick some 30 yards out from goal which was cleared away. Then the referee lost even more control over the match when a “handbags” scuffle broke out between the two sides, the referee booked the Bacup player who instigated the scuffle, but was then subject to every decision he made being questioned and large delays occurring in the game whilst he had to fend of disgruntled Lancastrians. Bacup Borough were now resorting to nitty gritty tactics in this now bad tempered match, taking small hacks and having little digs at the already booked Karl Ledsham in a hope of provoking a reaction to earn the Town player a second yellow card. Major congratulations must go to the ever maturing Karl Ledsham who didn’t rise to any of these tactics and kept his head superbly for the entire match as Bacup’s little plan was thwarted.
Town went close in the 58th minute when a Chris Bermingham free kick for handball was turned goalwards by Andy Walker, but went wide by no more than half an inch. By the hour mark, the match could still have gone either way, especially with a referee that was not in charge of proceedings. The deluge of Bacup 2-footed challenges were going unpunished and other robust play was being allowed to stand, clearly demonstrating this referee’s inability to spot even the basic fouls in football as he had also demonstrated in the Boxing Day match. Disaster struck in the 67th minute when Bacup retook the lead once again. A corner was delivered into the penalty area, where it hit a couple of people, bounced around like a pinball and ended up in the back of the Town net. Te Bacup players celebrate as they lead with just over 20 minutes left to play, after some research, the goal was credited to Dominic Slaven, but there was no certainty as to who the ball last came off. The 71st minute saw yet another barrage of 2-footed tackling go unpunished by the referee as one Town player was lucky his standing leg gave way, otherwise it would have broken! If the match ended with 11 a side still on the pitch in this vein it would be a miracle, but then again with this referee it wouldn’t be at all surprising. From this, Bacup formed a break and John Fletcher had to be alert as he pulled off a superb 1-on-1 save to keep the scoreline the same. The Town heads had dropped by this point but there was no giving in once again. This brought its reward in the 80th minute when Brian Hatton picked up the ball and took it towards the goal, from 20 yards out, he unleashed a shot that keeper Horridge managed to get something on, but he couldn’t stop it completely and it sailed into the back of the net from a slight deflection to bring the scores level and send the travelling fans into celebrations once again. Hatton’s first competitive goal of the season. No real other action of note occurred as both sides went after the winner, it was pretty end to end at times but neither side was able to make the breakthrough and the match ended in a 2-2 draw to ensure that Bacup Borough could now not finish higher than Town in the league this season.
Thoughts on the game, it was a draw well earned. Unlike the Silsden match at Cougar Park in January, this time some things fell for St Helens Town as opposed to everything against them against a team that play a dirty and gritty game.
The referee was appalling, showing no signs of improvement from the match against Squires Gate, he was incompetent then and he was incompetent this evening. Please, somebody, for the good of the game of football, never let Mr King of Blackburn referee again! If his expenses came to more than £2.50 this evening then he has been vastly overpaid for his work! None the less, a point is a point and it takes Town’s total for this season to 40, a dream from the start of the season. A night largely to forget but not without getting some rewards for the labours. So there’s only one more to go until another season gets put into the book and what a season it’s been in many ways. Town are nearly home once again, how many of us thought we’d be saying that last August?
Full Time:
Bacup Borough 2 – 2 St Helens Town
St Helens Town’s next match will be the final game of the 2007/08 season at home to Squires Gate a week on Saturday 26th April, kick-off at 3:00pm. For directions to the ground please visit the official league website, available from the top of this page.
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