Goole 1
Nantwich Town 0
League (NPL Division 1 South)

Match Report

UniBond League First Division South
Saturday 12th January.2008.

Goole FC 1 v NANTWICH TOWN 0
Chris Tate.84.

NANTWICH TOWN FC: Lee Jones. Paul Donnelly. Paul Taylor. Richard Smith. Ryan Dicker. Phil Parkinson. Ashley Carter. Glyn Blackhurst. Andy Kinsey. Kevin Ward (Southern. 68). Danny Griggs. Substitutes: Gyorgy Kiss. Adam Beasley. Nathan Southern.

‘The Dabbers’ began brightly against their East Yorkshire hosts and were first to show
when, in the 12th minute, Ashley Carter set up Andy Kinsey from just outside the 6 yard
box, whose low shot was initially spilled by their goalkeeper before his defence came to
the rescue.

In a further good spell by ‘The Dabbers’, Glyn Blackhurst struck an upright with a fearsome
shot before going on to win three successive corners. But, despite the momentum, our
lads were giving away height in almost all positions with Goole winning the majority of
headers.

Kevin Ward, starting in place of the suspended ‘Pav’ Suhaj, was using his pace to make
darting runs in front of the Goole defence and in the 16th minute broke clear before a last
ditch tackle denied ‘Wardy’ the chance to put in a shot.

Goole, currently displaying the second worst disciplinary record in the UniBond South
Division, had several players spoken to by the match official during the first half but,
despite ‘The Vikings’ conceding numerous free kicks, ‘The Dabbers’ were finding it difficult
to obtain advantage against their physical hosts. However, just past the half hour, we
secured our 5th corner of the half but, the final touch from Paul Donnelly disappointedly
sailed high over the cross bar.

‘Wardy’ was in action minutes before the break when he broke free from his marker to fire
a close range shot that forced the home custodian to make a diving save at the foot of a
post meanwhile, Danny Griggs final ball let him down after initially trading passes with
Andy Kinsey just inside the area.

Goole meanwhile relied on long balls in an effort to get their strikers away but, had proved
little threat up until the 44th minute when Lee Jones was called into action for the first time
to make any save of note.

Half time: Goole FC 0 v NANTWICH TOWN 0

Goole came out in more determined mood at the start of the second half and within
minutes ‘Jonah’ was called into action before tipping a shot over the bar at the expense of
a corner. Meanwhile, ‘Dabbers’ 16 year old youth team striker Nathan Southern came off
the bench in the 68th minute to replace Kevin Ward as we sought greater punch in attack
whilst in the 70th minute, ‘Kins’ wasted a great opportunity when, from an Ashley Carter
pass from the edge of the 6 yard box, ballooned a shot over the bar.

Ten minutes from normal time, ‘Ash’ Carter was fouled on the edge of the Goole box but, a
disappointing Danny Griggs free kick sailed well over the bar. A minute later, ‘Griggsy’ had
a chance to atone for his earlier miss when he took a further free kick but, whilst this one
was well on target, the resolute Goole defence cleared well. Despite his youthful
inexperience at this level, Nathan Southern displayed no fear against a rugged Goole back
line and went close in the latter stages of the game when his shot from the edge of the 6
yard box was blocked on the line by the goal keepers legs.
However, whilst ‘The Dabbers’ looked to be heading home with at least a point, Goole
ruined our afternoon six minutes from normal time when a needless free kick was
conceded just inside our area before Goole winger Chris Tate, who has only recently
returned to action after 15 month’s out through a knee injury, got the final touch with a
towering header from an Ian McLean free kick to steer the ball into the net from close
range.
Within seconds of the final whistle, ‘Ash’ Carter worked his way into the box before pulling
the trigger with a shot that agonizingly crept over the bar.
Steve Davis was bitterly disappointed with the result and said afterwards:- “We controlled
the first half against a side that were always in our faces and lacked any quality of note.
Overall, we played reasonably well but, we couldn’t finish. Nathan had a great chance late
in the game and only the ‘keepers legs prevented the ball going in. But, we shot ourselves
in the foot in the last few minutes when we made a catalogue of errors, first by defending
too deep and giving the ball away, followed by a totally needless free kick that resulted in
Goole snatching three points they hardly deserved”

Match report written by Phil Johnson