Boro bounce back from blow in style
AFTER the disappointment of the away defeat at Garstang FC it was all about Bacup Borough having the ability to bounce back with a win against Nelson FC at the Brian Boys Stadium on Saturday.
In front of yet another good crowd, goals from Anthony Hall, Callum Hewitt and Kyle Siddle were enough to give Boro all three points and keep them in the top six.
From the first to the last minute Boro never looked like losing the game. The players were on the front foot and creating problems for the visitors throughout, and whatever had been said during the week after the Garstang FC game was definitely working.
There was an edge to Boro’s game that was certainly lacking the previous week. The movement, intensity and purpose were all on display, and on a difficult pitch in horrendous conditions the supporters were loving every minute of it.
Boro took the lead on 10 minutes through Anthony Hall. A free kick played into the box by Bradley Hancock from the left was only half cleared by the Nelson defence, the ball fell to the feet of Hall who managed to drive his shot hard and low beyond the Nelson keeper Jack Little into the bottom left hand corner.
At this point Boro were on top but Nelson were probing with strong play from Jack Foster and Max Cane in the final third.
Aidan Hussey and Callum Hewitt were both working tirelessly in the heart of the Boro midfield, and Kyle Siddle was continuing to provide a constant barrage of trickery and lung busting runs deep inside the opponents half.
As the pitch continued to disintegrate Nelson began to have more joy going forward. The right wing back Brian Mabhena was finding himself in good areas and the robust and skillful Jack Foster was being a menace for Boro’s defence.
On 35 minutes Nelson equalised. The Boro defence fell asleep for a split second which allowed Nathan Webb to run into space down the right before squaring the ball into the path of Max Cane who had the easy task of slotting the ball past Turner from close range.
Nelson also had the opportunity to go in front before the break from a Mabhena strike when the Boro’s keeper Harry Turner’s blushes were saved by his left hand post.
Plenty to talk about at half time for Brent Peters and head coach David Felgate. And with the wind and rain continuing to show no let up during the afternoon it was going to need a lot of character to win this one.
Boro continued as they’d started the first half with good running down both wings and positive support play from Josh Walne and Bradley Hancock meaning that the home side could apply more pressure on the Nelson defence.
On 50 minutes it was that pressure that gained advantage for Boro. This time it was Kyle Siddle yet again creating mayhem for the Nelson defence, and the number seven found himself in space down the Boro left and with trickery and a drop of the shoulder was able to draw the tackle from the Nelson defender.
The visitors pleaded that the offence had taken place just outside the area, but after a short deliberation between the referee and his assistant the decision was made that the tackle had in fact taken place just inside the area and referee Matthew Clarke pointed to the spot.
From the resulting penalty kick captain Michael Gervin’s shot was brilliantly tipped onto the post by Jack Little but fortunately for Boro Callum Hewitt was first to react on the scene and smash the ball beyond the Nelson keeper at the second attempt.
At this point Boro were using the ball well on a challenging surface. Excellent play through the middle with Hussey and Hewitt in those midfield battles against the experienced Ryan Cattermole and Nelson captain Sabastian Julian. And on 72 minutes the crowd were treated to the best move of the game.
Boro gained possession deep inside their own half through Josh Walne who had been brought into the team for the suspended Ryan Siddle.
Walne charged forward with the ball finding Hewitt with a nicely paced diagonal pass into feet. Hewitt then showed good strength and skill to pick out Anthony Hall who was positioned 15 yards inside the Nelson half on the left.
And with patience and vision Hall was able to wait for the galloping Kyle Siddle to come up on his left shoulder before slipping the ball into Siddle’s feet on the edge of the Nelson penalty area.
There was still a lot to do for Kyle Siddle. But with sheer class and energy the young winger showed exactly why he’s becoming such a crowd favourite. And with a quick stepover he was able to bring the ball inside on his right foot, and with precision bent the ball into the keeper’s bottom left hand corner.
It was a goal of the highest order, and one that had the very wet crowd in rapturous applause for what was a brilliant team goal.
Brent Peters couldn’t hold back on his joy at seeing the ball nestle into the bottom corner. Many times he has spoken about setting traps for the opposition, and on this occasion we were able to witness exactly what he meant.
Alex Luby was introduced for the final 10 minutes replacing Kyle Siddle who had run himself into the ground with constant bursting runs up and down both wings.
Nelson were able to find the net late on through Kit Lloyd but at the final whistle nobody would deny that Boro were well worth the three points.
“It was no secret that last week we were not happy with the team’s performance against Garstang,” said Peters. “Today’s game was all about responding to that in the best way possible by getting the three points. But the way in which the lads applied themselves throughout this afternoon is every credit to them. Conditions weren’t the best but still we continued to stick to our principles with our passing game.
“The third goal was sheer class. It was the perfect count attack team goal. Every aspect of it was brilliant.
“Josh Walne has picked out Callum Hewitt who in turn has shown good strength to find Anthony Hall. And then the foot work from young Kyle Siddle was something else.
“David Felgate must take some of the credit for this. He’s always working on our counter attacking drills. But being able to watch it develop and finish with a brilliant goal from Kyle was the icing on the cake.”
Boro are now in fifth position with 32 points. Next up is a home game with Pilkington FC this coming Saturday. Kick off 3pm.