Frickley Athletic v Bridlington Town

Recap

As I drove through the sunkissed uplands of Great Houghton & Brierley, the grass verges were liberally punctuated by carpets of golden daffodils – very Wordsworth-esque

& I was hoping that when we arrived at the Wembley Of The North, we would be treated to a similarly pleasing display – possibly Wadsworth-esque (one for the older heads…..)

However, first half was a bit more John Cooper-Clarke than Wordsworth – scrappy play by 2 teams fighting for every point they can muster, not helped by a strong wind blowing up the pitch

A few weeks ago we commented that we were finally getting a stabilised squad – that didn’t last long – we will be without Holli for a couple of weeks after the horror challenge at Ossett last week & Bobby Faulkner has been recalled by Donny Rovers. Now Bobby has been stellar in defence so that is a massive loss……step forward Freddie Pitts, who we have signed on loan from Mansfield (& we thank everyone concerned for helping us to bring Freddie in). More on Pitt Bull later….

Second half – much better, 3 or 4 unconverted chances, then a ball in helped on by Big Dev & Bomber Wells tucks it home – cue for a pile on with our Ultras (who were in fine form again)

A few more half chances to put the game to bed – leading to a few frayed nerves on the terraces – but then the Magic Man steps in, collects the ball on the edge of the box & calmly strokes it past the keeper. A lovely finish by Rod Orlando Young to seal the game

Here’s what Golden-tonsils had to say:

Frickley did enough to take the spoils in this cagey but crucial six-pointer at Westfield Lane
Nathan Perks had an early opportunity for Frickley, well saved by Brid’s James Hitchcock. Then both sides probed away in the blustery conditions for much of the next half an hour to no great effect.
An wind-assisted Oliver Green corner for the visitors forced a save out of Jordan Pierrepont in the Frickley net and Andrew Norfolk nodded over shortly after. But scoreless it was at the break.
The first serious chance of the second half fell the the home side’s Rod Orlando Young but Hitchcock got down quickly to his low drive. Then just after the hour, Brad Wells saw his deflected shot graze the post.
The hosts took the lead in the 68th minute when sub Dev Morton headed on for Wells to poke the ball past the keeper.
Louis Beckett had a chance to level it for Brid when he broke through with 8 minutes to go but blazed over the bar.
Equally, both Wells and Young could have finished it late on but Hitchcock made decent stops before Young finally got number2 with virtually the last kick of the game.

Back to me – not the greatest game of football you’ll ever watch, the highlights package wouldn’t take up too much of your day. But a very important 3 points at this stage of the season – & that’s all that matters right now

WEBMASTER MOTM – solid rather than spectacular performances on show today, which is probably more beneficial to getting the result that we wanted. Defensive unit was very strong & they deserved their cleano – JP in goal just carried on doing what JP does, Arun Jones gets better every game, Freddie Pitts was tremendous on debut – he just loves heading & tackling, proper defender – & Nath Whitehead marshalled his young comrades very well. Evs got stuck in as only he can & Bomber & ROY up top were a threat all game (& both scored). But I’m giving the Glitterball to someone who doesn’t often get a mention – Joe West was quality yesterday & he merits the award. Well done sir

TWITTER POLL MOTM – everyone loves the Bomber but Freddie Pitts ran him very close with Arun, Westy & the Magic Man also polling votes. Thank you to everyone who voted

With the Gaffer absent, Metts now has a 100% winning record & no goals conceded. Manager of the month surely???? Here’s what he thought about the game

170 through the gate – massive thanks to everyone for sticking with us & showing your support

Big week coming up – 2 games against Sheffield FC. First one is away on Tuesday night & we’d like to see loads of Azzurri in Derbyshire cheering the boys on. No supporters coach for this one though