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Sat 8th November 2003 Gosforth Bohemians
Garnett 1 (1) Felling Willows 1 (0)
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| A controversial late penalty decision cost
Garnett 2 points against what will be without doubt one of their main
promotion competitors. In the dying moments of the game the referee pointed
to the spot when, during a goal mouth scramble, the ball struck Cavanagh's
hand when he rushed to block a shot from a Felling attacker. Cavanagh
could do nothing to prevent the offence but the referee thought otherwise.
The resulting penalty was converted to tie the contest.
The game itself was a tight affair with very few decent chances created. It was played at a high tempo throughout and Felling were the first side to match Garnett's fitness this season. Fresher keeper Scott received a late call up to the team as Hepburn was involved in a car crash the evening before. Thankfully Hepburn suffered no serious injuries but the competent display from Scott may provide him with a different type of pain this season! Felling lined up in a 3-5-2 formation. They deployed a 'fat ginger' behind the front two and he initially was finding space and causing the Garnett back four problems. Although Scott didn't have a single save to make in the entire game, vital interceptions were required from Taff and Menton in the 1st half. For Garnett, Thompson had one of his best games of the season so far and his pace and trickery caused the Felling defence problems throughout, until he left the fray with a calf injury. A goal line clearance and a fine save from the Felling keeper from Sherwood's close range effort were the nearest Garnett came to scoring in the 1st half. They didn't create any clear cut chances in the 2nd half but did take the lead when Hall rose superbly and directed his header into the bottom corner. Hall's aerial ability has added a much needed variety to Garnett's attacking play this season and he is proving to be a fantastic addition to the team. Thereafter Felling came more and more into the game and they should have equalised when one of their midfielder's failed to add the finishing touch from a couple of yards out after a free kick was flicked on in the near post. This let off should have been the wake up call Garnett needed but they failed to mount any serious attacks and never really looked like adding the second goal that would have killed off the game, although plenty of effort was evident. In the final 8 minutes of the game Felling got the life-line that they may feel that they deserved with the award of the penalty. The decision was extremely frustrating for the Garnett players and manager Alan Wilkinson but in reflection a draw was probably a fair result and a better result for Garnett than Felling. There have been many observations about the standard
of the Alliance 2nd division but the 1st's have now played 3 of their
promotion competitors (Morpeth, Ashington & Felling) and, although
unbeaten in those games, they only have 1 victory to show for their
efforts. This Saturday they play Alnmouth, another such competitor,
in the Amateur Cup and it will be interesting to see if the changes
promised to the starting line up will produce a team of similar grit
but with added creativity. Team: R.Scott, M.Brown, M.Menton, D.Cave
(J.Hurry), A.Alexander, S.Cavanagh ©, J.Hall 1, |