Ten-man Borough dig in for deserved draw
THEY say that a week is a long time in football and after the disappointment of the Easter weekend displays against South Liverpool FC and Darwen FC Borough come away from Ashton Athletic with a dogged and determined 1-1 draw.
The results from the previous week had taken their toll on the squad, but as manager Brent Peters has always stated, he believes he has a special bunch of players capable of beating any team at this level on their day.
On Saturday, Peters made several changes to the team that faced Darwen FC on Easter Monday with Ben Thompson coming in for Kyle Siddle and Alex Mellor replacing Jack Hayward.
There was also a change of goalkeeper with Lewis North stepping up to the first team for the injured Mason Walker who had twisted his ankle during the warm up against Darwen FC.
Borough started the game on the front foot with Lewis Byrne showing desire to get on the ball and cause problems down the left hand side.
Toby Wright and Ben Thompson were also working well together.
The link up play through the middle was becoming effective as Borough looked to penetrate into the final third using Wright’s strength to hold up the ball and bring the midfield into the game as additional support.
Athletic also looked to venture forward with the pairing of Thomas Romano and the experienced Joshua Nicholson, but every time the home side gathered any kind of momentum or pattern to their game Borough’s Malachi Clarke and Scott Johnston were on hand to intercept and recycle the ball to start another attack.
With first choice goalkeeper Walker out through injury it was important that the defence remained focused and protect North, whose only other appearance this season in the first team was a Lancashire Challenge Trophy fixture against Atherton Collieries back in November.
Borough continued to probe with Michael Gervin and Ryan Siddle dominating the ball in midfield with excellent anticipation and strength in the tackle. Siddle has only recently returned to first team action and within a matter of weeks he is already beginning to stamp his authority on the game.
Numerous times Siddle and Gervin won the midfield battles against Athletic’s Deklan Hill and Niall Partridge, and on an extremely good surface the Borough duo were able to find the wide areas with purposeful balls into feet and ask further questions of the opposition.
In a game of very few clear cut chances you had a feeling that it would take either a mistake or a turn of fortune to create an opening, and just before the break that mistake came – unfortunately through Borough’s goalkeeper North.
The ball was lofted forward by Athletic and North came racing out of his goal it bounced directly in front of him. The Borough goalkeeper automatically went to grasp the ball knowing that it was heading goalbound, but didn’t realise that he’d lost his bearings and drifted outside his penalty area, giving the referee no other alternative but to show him a straight red card as he was the last line of defence.
Disappointment then for Borough, but even more so for North who unfortunately will sit out the cup final due to suspension.
In all the confusion of North being sent off and Borough having no substitute goalkeeper to call upon, it was Toby Wright who would be given the task of defending the Borough goal for the remainder of the game.
Borough blocked the free kick and were able to go in at the break level knowing that in the second half they would need to show resolve and determination against the eleven men of Athletic.
Peters changed the formation slightly in the second period, bolstering the midfield in an attempt to slow down the progress of the home side.
He also had Lewis Byrne playing in his usual number nine role chasing
down the ball and making life uncomfortable for Calum Wilson and Chris Cottingham who were eager to play out from the back.
With all the energy being shown by Peters’ side it was difficult to see the extra man advantage. From a team that the previous week had found themselves on the wrong end of two crushing defeats, this was becoming a performance based on grit and character.
If there were ever any doubts about the attitude and application of the Borough players then this was a show of defiance. Every single man was up for the challenge. The shouts from the bench by first team coach Nigel Langley were being followed to the letter and everybody had a purpose.
Ben Thompson went close when his left footed shot from the edge of the six yard box was easily saved by Athletic’s James Aspinall.
It wasn’t the best shot in
the world but it did illustrate the intent and that they weren’t going to spend the second half sitting ten men behind the ball. Parking a bus in front of Borough’s goal wasn’t in the Brent Peters manual of football management.
Wright did his confidence the world of good between the posts with several good saves from shots and crosses, but on 56 minutes the home side took the lead.
The ball was played down the left-hand side before being switched through the middle and out towards the right where the overlapping run from Conal Larkin wasn’t picked up and he was able to drive his shot in at Wright’s near post.
It was a real blow for Borough after showing such courage and desire to take the game to Athletic, but you had a feeling that Borough’s opportunity would come.
On 70 minutes that chance did come, and for
the second week running Scott Johnston was in the right place at the right time as Thompson’s corner was curled into the box left footed and Johnston, loitering with intent from twelve yards out, directed his looping header into the top left hand corner. It was only what Borough deserved for their consistent energy and cavalier approach to the game.
Peters made changes with all five substitutes getting valuable game time.
Both Bradley Hancock and Jack Hayward created problems for Athletic with driving runs deep inside the final third, and Connor Morris was also showing the Borough manager what he can do as the entire squad are desperate to impress their manager ahead of the cup final against Euxton Villa on May 6th.
In the dying seconds Athletic thought they’d sealed the win when a powerful shot from thirty yards out ricocheted off Wright’s left hand post and from the resulting rebound he was able to pull off a fantastic save down to his right hand side.
At the final whistle it was fist pumps all round from the Borough players. They’d not only played almost fifty minutes with ten men, but also played the entire time with their forward in goal. It was a demonstration of real character from Peters’ side, and one that certainly sent the travelling support home happy.
“That was more like it,” said Peters.
“That attitude and application is what we want to see every week. The character shown by all the players after the sending off of Lewis North was first class. We kept our shape well and continued to ask questions of them. Our lads were giving so much to the game that the player advantage wasn’t noticeable.
“The players knew that they’d underachieved (over the Easter weekend) and that standards hadn’t been met, so the team talk was all about reminding them of the fact that you don’t become a bad side overnight. They are still young but a lot of these players are now experiencing their third and fourth season at this level and standards must be met if we are going to be challenging for trophies. The way in which they went about their business today was all credit to them.
“I know they’ve taken quite a bit of stick from supporters and the press, but that comes with the territory when you’re a team that is continually developing.”
Monday’s game with Atherton LR was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, as was Wednesday evening’s clash against Shelley FC.
Peters’ team travel to Runcorn Town this coming weekend. Kick-off 3pm.