Sunday 12th September 2010

Arms Loose Out in Nine Goal Thriller!

The second round of the Alan Smith Memorial Cup brought together local rivals Washington Arms and Fatfield Biddick Inn in a local derby that produced a nine goal thriller. The Arms storm into a three goal lead with a John Wilson opener followed up with a brace from Chris Morrison, but with five minutes to the half time whistle Gavin Grieves pulls a goal back. The Biddick take command of the second half but it took the introduction of subs Lee Baxter and Chris Lowery to break the Arms resolve. Baxter makes it 2-3 and two minutes later man of the match Richard Logan hits the equaliser. Biddick continue pressing forward and with eight minutes of normal time remaining Lowry puts them ahead. The Arms dig deep and press forward in numbers for the final minutes and are rewarded with an injury time equaliser, Carlo Barrass scrambling the ball home. The extra time is evenly contested and just when it looks like going to a penalty shoot-out super sub Lee Baxter strikes the Biddicks winner with the last kick of the game.  Gilesgate Moor Hotel were 2-0 winners at Burnside Wmc.Chester Plough Inn were back in cup action as they travelled to fellow division 2 side Waterhouses FC.

Waterhouses took the lead. A long punt up field from the goalkeeper wasn’t dealt with and the Waterhouses striker ran on to the ball and bundled his effort over the line past Stuart Lambert in the away goal. Waterhouses doubled their led on the 20th minute mark when the away defence failed to clear and the striker made no mistake from close range. The Plough Inn were now facing an uphill battle at 2-0 down but picked their game up and raised the tempo. Andrew McGuiness playing in at full back brought the ball inside and chipped a lovely ball over the top of the defence for JAMIE SEYMOUR to run from a deep position and coolly slot past the home keeper. The goal gave the away side a much needed lift and ten minutes later grabbed a deserved equaliser when Ben Lloyd done a sublime bit of skill before providing a fantastic through ball for JOEL BADDAMS to run onto and fire past the Waterhouses keeper. Half Time saw the scores Level at 2-2.The Plough Inn started the second half and were very slow out the traps. Waterhouses were enjoying most of the possession although never provided any real great threat in front of goal. Chris Dodd’s for the home side, sheer determination was winning the midfield battle and his Ariel presence was causing problems for the away side. Waterhouses took a deserved lead as John Adamson stood and appealed for an offside and the Waterhouses player continued his run and shot at goal, only to see it saved brilliantly by goalkeeper Stuart Lambert but his colleague followed up and put the ball in the back of the net. The Plough pressed forward and had some great opportunities to grab an equaliser. First of all Hill linked well with Seymour who raced clear of goal only for an excellent last ditch tackle prevent him from scoring. Hill was involved again when his curling effort crashed off the cross bar and away to safety with the keeper beaten and in the last few moments Joel Baddams shot tamely at the keeper from only 6 yards out. The Final Score 3-2 to Waterhouses.

In the Spennymoor Town Fc League Cup Pelton ROAB were too powerful for  Chester Leonards, as Pelton were 9-0 winners.

In the 2nd Round of the President’s Trophy Dubmire WMC FC entertained Pelton Fc A hard fought win against a strong pelton side .Dubmire started the more brighter and there passing was causing Pelton problems .an excellent shot from 25 yards from Donaldson was spectacularly saved by the pelton keeper .Madison went on a run and after beating 3 men he then sent the keeper the wrong way to only see the ball hit the side netting .another flowing move sent Eldson away down the right and shot Cum cross could only be helped into the back of net by the defender  .1-0Pelton started coming more into the game and went close on a couple of occasions .Another attack and Pelton equalised when a ball dropped on the edge of the box and the midfielder hammered it through the players and into the net .1-1Pelton had the ascendency and were causing Dubmire problems and another ball knocked out of the area fell to another midfielder and he put it into the net with ease .2-1 Half time Dubmire came out meaning business and pushed pelton back in search of the equaliser and it came after 55 mins when another great move resulted in Price crossing and the ball fell to finch who spun and hit a spectacular volley into the top corner giving the keeper no chance .2-2Dubmire were pressing for a winner and pelton were struggling to contain them another one touch passing move sent Pricey away down the right and he lashed the ball towards the Goal the keeper was caught out and could only help it into the net .3-2Pelton threw everything at Dubmire and they missed to great opportunities inside the box .But Dubmire were able to hold on to a well-deserved Cup Win. East Rainton FC entertained New Durham WMC in this all Division 3 clash.  New Durham WMC proved to be too strong and ran out easy 8-0 winners. A poor start from Durham Bede Lodge saw Bishop Middleham Cross Keys take a 3-0 lead within 30 minutes of the start. Shortly after Nicky Barker scored to reduce the deficit and it remained 3-1 until half time. The second half was dominated by Bede and goals from Nicky Barker and 2 from Phil Clark confirmed a well-deserved and great comeback for Bede Lodge worthy 4-3 winners. Chester Cricket Club travelled to Chilton WMC.  Chester CC more than matched their 2nd division opponents in a tight 1st half, creating some decent chances without being able to really test the home keeper.  The Cricketers were denied a goal midway through the 1st half when the ball fell a foot over the line, but with the referee unsure he was unable to give it.  The Chester CC defenders were called upon to make a number of last ditch tackles and blocks to keep the game goalless going into half time.  The 2nd half was a similarly tight affair but Chester CC's creativity seemed to have deserted them.  Chilton WMC went close to scoring, hitting the woodwork a couple of times before making the breakthrough with around 20 minutes to go.  With Chester CC pushing for an equaliser, Chilton put the game to bed with a second goal. Injury Hit Lumley Fc Travelled To Kelloe Davey Lamp For Their Presidents Trophy Tie, With Only The Bare Bones Of A Team. They Fell Behind To 2 First Half Goals. In The Second Half Saw Chances At Both Ends But Kelloe Scored Their Third. Lumley Piled On The Pressure & Strikes From Wood Then Laidler Made For A Great Finish Only For Kelloe To Break Away & Secure Their Place In The Next Round With A 4-2 Win. Witton Gilbert progressed into the next round of the Presidents cup through a 7 -2 win over 4th division Durham Garden House. The first half Witton Gilbert dominated and should have been more than 3 goals up thanks to Calcutt scoring twice and Smith the other. This was to prove decisive as within fifteen second half minutes Durham pulled two goals back with Witton Gilbert on both occasions allowing an opposition attacker time and space to score two well taken goals. Thankfully the mini comeback was short lived as Witton managed to score four goals unanswered though Bradley, Embleton, Summers and substitute Jewitt to but a more realistic perspective on the score line. A stand out player from today’s game was Grant Boyd who ran the show in midfield and thoroughly deserved the man of the match award. Although Witton managed to win by five goals they will not have been happy with the way they started the second half allowing the opposition far too much time and space and letting them back into the game. Against better opposition this could prove crucial when defending a lead.

In the Premier Division Leaders Hetton Lyons Cricket Club travelled to play unbeaten Chester Hilda Park, Hilda Park with a 100% record so far this season knew they would face a team that would put them on the back foot for a lot of the game and the Chester goalkeeper was in the thick of it after 4 minutes when he denied Jason Ainsley from scoring with a fingertip save, a minute later he denied Tommy English from opening the scoring with another great save. The Lyons kept up the pressure and in the 26th minute a corner from Johnny Butler and Carl Beasley rose above everyone else to head the ball in to the net 0-1. The Lyons went 2 up after 32 minutes when English work hard on the left hand side and crossed the ball and Warren Byrne's excellent finishing gave the goalkeeper no chance 0-2. Shortly after the restart Beasley replaced Lyons keeper Simon Bishop who had a hamstring injury, half time was approaching and the Lyons kept on the pressure Steven Capper crossed from the left hand side and once again Byrne found the back of the net with a great strike 0-3 half time. In the 54th minute the Lyons were awarded a penalty when the Chester defender was alleged of holding Byrne he duly stepped up and gave the keeper no chance with his spot kick and to claim his hat trick 0-4.  Warren Byrne scored his 4th goal of the game in the 62nd minute with a great ball from Ainsley and Byrne's strike gave the keeper no chance 0-5. Hilda Park scored a consolation goal from the kick off with some good work on the right hand side and Williamson slotted the ball passed Beasley 1-5. Liam Beeston was unlucky not to score 10 minutes later with a great cross from Lewis Dodd’s and Beeston's strike hit the post and the goalkeeper gathered the rebound. Full time 1-5. Sedgefield st Edmunds entertained Ferryhill Wmc an even first twenty minutes until Ferryhill had two players sent off for throwing punches. Sedgefield peppered Ferryhills goal after that, hitting the bar and the post until Sedgefield Debutant Paul Cleary grabbed the winner in the 93rd minute. After good work from John Davis. Kelloe WMC FC travelled to Washington JFC with the bare 11 including manager and assistant who were forced to play.  Kelloe started brightly and had chances to score first but the only goal of the game came after 60 mins when Andrew Soppitt headed back for Gavin Barton to finish, to give Kelloe  1-0 win.

Sacriston Cricket Club entertained Newton Aycliffe Wmc, Newton Aycliffe took the lead on 31 minutes when Hall’s poor attempt at a pass aimed at Fenton on the left hand side was cut out and the Newton Aycliffe player intercepted the ball and passed it forward to his team mate who shot from 20 yards and his shot squirmed underneath Hall’s body for a goal. This shook Sacriston for a while and on 45 minutes things looked to be going for bad to worse when Marc Bladen fouled an Aycliffe player in the box to concede a penalty. Hall redeemed himself saving the penalty by diving to his right and pushing the ball to safety. Then on 61 minutes the Cricketers levelled the scores, Gary Draper won a free kick which he took himself and he found the head of Rob Draper who beat the on rushing Aycliffe keeper to the ball to head home the equalizer., Yates put the Cricketers 2-1 ahead on 67 minutes when he broke clear of a couple of defenders and his shot found the bottom right hand corner. Then on 75 minutes Sacriston made it 3-1 when Yates picked up the ball just inside his own half and turned and ran past at least 6 players and a couple of his own in a direct route to goal where he eventually squared the ball to his striking partner Renwick who slammed home his shot from just inside the box. Newton Aycliffe came straight back and on 77 minutes scored when a ball was centred into the box from the by line and was well finished from around 12 yards with a shot into the roof of the net.The final whistle blew with the Cricketers winning 3-2

In the First Division Sacriston Wmc looking for their first win of the season, travelled to Birtley Barley Mow Inn, Sacriston with an understrength side went 3-0 down; Sacriston had plenty of possession but could not find the goal until just before half time when Davey Wardle scored to make it 3-1 at half time. Sacriston started the second half the much better side and thanks goals from Wardle, White and Wheeldon Sacriston went 4-3 ahead, birtley pulled one back to level the game, but Sacriston proved too strong with a goal from Shaun Foster and Davey Wardle scored again to complete his hat trick. Final Score Birtley 4 Sacriston WMC 6.Houghton Mill All Stars and Langley Park Steelers produced a thrilling league division one encounter.

Both sides played attractive football throughout and despite chances at both ends the first half remained goalless which was mainly due to two excellent saves from Mill keeper Ian Price. Steelers broke the deadlock on fifty two minutes when a neat through ball from the left into the inside right channel found Ben Harris who ran at the Mill goal and duly slotted it under the advancing Price. But within five minutes Mill had equalised when Gary Adey latched onto a loose ball in Steelers defence, he then rounded keeper Moralee to score into an empty net. The game continued to flow from one end of the field to the other, both keepers were in fine form and it looked like the only way the match could be settled would be by something special - and indeed it was. After seventy minutes Steelers' Craig Thompson collected the ball thirty five yards from goal and leashed a pile driver of a shot which deceived keeper Price and thundered into the top corner of the net to seal a 2-1win for Steelers.

In the Second Division Sedgefield Net Park travelled to Washington Victoria, A really good game of football for the neutral two teams who know each other very well battling and playing the game in a first class manner. An evenly contested first half but Victoria were the more clinical of the two teams given them a 4-2 half-time lead.

NET Park knew the first goal in the 2nd half was going to be a vital one and it was NET Park who scored the third making it game on, NET Park then started to dominate creating the better chances and they drew level on 75mins. Victoria were still dangerous with their two prolific strikers always a threat but NET Park scored two within 5mins after 80mins to put the game out of Victoria's reach. A well-deserved 3pts for NET Park with goals from Barber 3, Turland 2 and 1 from mom Kevin Broom.

In the Only Game in the Third Division High Handenhold Bird Inn entertained Chester Easystreet Evenly matched game with chances falling to both teams but the Bird took the only chance of the game after a loverly through ball from Terry Mackell found Neil Tiffen who took one touch then drove it right footed into the left corner on 20 mins. More chances fell to both sides but good defending from the bird In gave them a 1-0 win.