Yorkshire Amateur v Frickley Athletic

Recap

Frickley will be kicking themselves (& the ref will probably say he didn’t see it….) for dropping 2 points last night in a game that they were completely in control of.

Brandon Murillo started his suspension & Elliott Owen was ill, which meant that Nathan Fletcher & Alex Varley started in defence alongside new signing Ryan Basi – more on him later…

The cold hard facts are that we’ve allowed Ams to score 3 goals at the death this season – & that has cost us 5 points – but at the denouement of the season it may be this point & the point that we got against Bottesford that keep us up.

We almost got the perfect start – after 5 minutes Lloyd Smith powered into the box & his shot hit the post & was cleared

As often happens, the home team had a rare foray into our half & when a shot wasn’t cleared properly Ams scored from close range on 24 minutes

10 minutes later we were at parity, a defence splitting pass set up Al Keita & Special K applied a lovely finish

The other main talking point of the half was a Tibor Szakacs-esque forearm smash on a Frickley defender, the likes of which would have made Kent Walton wince – unfortunately for us the ref must have been dazzled by the bright sunlight & he didn’t see it

We were in complete control in the 2nd half – Ben Halls free kicks wreaked havoc in the home defence & deserved a goal. Big Al ‘scored’ but was annulled for a supposed offside / handball combo & then Rich Collier was chopped down in the box, with the kind of challenge that gets you arrested if you do it on the streets…..nothing given.

But on 72 minutes the Azzurri got the lead they deserved – Big Al created his own opportunity & when that shot was saved, Lloyd Smith decided enough was enough & smashed it home.

Rich Collier hit a drive from distance inches wide

Just as everyone was packing up to go home we concede a silly free kick & the end result was an equaliser with pretty much the last kick of the game

We really should have done better with our game management towards the end – but no-one could fault the effort that the boys put in on a pitch that I suspect was very close to a postponement or being abandoned

When you lose by 3 or 4 & you don’t have a shot on target, it’s easy medicine to take – but last nights result is the sort that keeps managers awake at night & Paddy won’t have slept well last night – but it’s an important point that increases the gap on the teams below us – & a result that relegates Yorkshire Ams

WEBMASTER MOTM – the defence pretty much gave Golden Gloves the night off – Ben Halls free kicks & Jake Hemingway bombing on down the left being highlights. El Binno & Rich Collier did all the hard yards in a very boggy midfield. Up top Haighy, Big Al & Lloydy gave the defence all they could handle on a pitch that wasn’t suited to their silky skills. But I’ve giving the Glitterball to new ‘boy’ Ryan Basi.- the experienced head & vocal communicator that we’ve needed all season

TWITTER POLL MOTM – maybe I know what I’m talking about! Ryan Basi comes out on top, ahead of Lloyd Smith, Josh Haigh & Ben Hall with Jake Hemingway also polling votes. 120 votes, 41 more than were at the game! Thank you to everyone who voted

An interview with the Gaffer will be available later today

79 through the gate, with more than half being Frickley fans – a great turn out on a horrible night

Next up, we are away to Albion Sports on Saturday – another big game & we’d love to have Azzurri fans out in force. To book a seat n the Supporters Coach ring / text Ian Clarkson on 07790 569075