Post by Kev Panther on Apr 17, 2016 18:51:50 GMT
QUAKERS TOO STRONG FOR SKEM
DARLINGTON 1883 3 SKELMERSDALE UNITED 0
By Neil Leatherbarrow
There are times in football when it is churlish to complain about bad luck or a referee’s decision or maybe a poor performance from your team, you just have to hold your hands and say you were beaten by a better team. Skelmersdale had one of those moments at Darlington (or should we say Spennymoor). Darlington after Skelmersdale’s victory at Blyth on Saturday became firm favourites to lift the Evo-Stik Premier Division title so be it with some games in hand on Blyth and they showed precisely why they are not going to waste that chance against a Skelmersdale side that worked hard but just were not physically strong enough to deal with the Quakers promotion steamroller.
Fielding exactly the same eleven who won at Blyth on Saturday, Skelmersdale initially exchanged blows with Darlington, but gradually it became clear that goalkeeper Martin Fearon was in for a busy night.
Fearon twice saved from the hosts Nathan Cartman before his strike partner Graeme Armstrong saw a header cleared off the line by Ian Rowlands as Darlington won a succession of corners around the half-hour mark. Finally in the 28th minute Skem had to concede, home centre-half Kevin Burgess slamming the ball into the roof the net from close range.
Fearon made a fine double save from Leon Scott and Cartman on 37 minutes as Darlington continued to press before Cartman scored from a Thompson cross.
There was one moment of held breath for Skelmersdale on 43 minutes, Fearon was faced with an on the run Cartman and dived at his feet, the striker went down and there was the possibility that Fearon could have been sent off, the saving grace was that Cartman when the actual collision took place was not heading on a direct line for goal. Referee Lucy Oliver waved the yellow card.
From the spot kick Fearon did what he has now got a great name for doing, saved the penalty, one handed above his diving body.
This game was so important to Darlington that when their own ground was waterlogged at lunchtime they paid Spennymoor to stage the fixture instead and they continued to show great determination to make sure they won it, but again Skelmersdale stubbornly held on and on 56 minute almost scored as home keeper Peter Jameson only thwarted Max Hazeldine with his feet.
However, on 62 minutes it was effectively all over, a wayward cross-field pass went to Stephen Thompson and the experienced left-sided man made it 3-0.
A spirited Skelmersdale to their credit didn’t stop and finished quite strongly but the nearest they came to pulling a goal back was an effort from Scott Bakkor in the last five minutes.
Credit to Darlington, in my opinion they will now go on and win the league title.
DARLINGTON 1883: Jameson, Hunter (Gaskell, 70), Galbraith, Portas (Nowakowski, 25), Burgess ©, Brown, Mitchell, Scott, Armstrong (Hardy, 57), Cartman, Thompson Subs (not used) Provett, Weldon
SKELMERSDALE UNITED: Fearon, Mooney, Holden, McIntosh © (Rendell, 45), Rowlands, Brewster, Bakkor, Woolcott, Hazeldine (Vassallo, 72), Strickland (Bailey, 64), Almond Subs (not used) Donaldson, Tuck
Referee: Lucy Oliver (Sunderland)
Attendance: 1,297
DARLINGTON 1883 3 SKELMERSDALE UNITED 0
By Neil Leatherbarrow
There are times in football when it is churlish to complain about bad luck or a referee’s decision or maybe a poor performance from your team, you just have to hold your hands and say you were beaten by a better team. Skelmersdale had one of those moments at Darlington (or should we say Spennymoor). Darlington after Skelmersdale’s victory at Blyth on Saturday became firm favourites to lift the Evo-Stik Premier Division title so be it with some games in hand on Blyth and they showed precisely why they are not going to waste that chance against a Skelmersdale side that worked hard but just were not physically strong enough to deal with the Quakers promotion steamroller.
Fielding exactly the same eleven who won at Blyth on Saturday, Skelmersdale initially exchanged blows with Darlington, but gradually it became clear that goalkeeper Martin Fearon was in for a busy night.
Fearon twice saved from the hosts Nathan Cartman before his strike partner Graeme Armstrong saw a header cleared off the line by Ian Rowlands as Darlington won a succession of corners around the half-hour mark. Finally in the 28th minute Skem had to concede, home centre-half Kevin Burgess slamming the ball into the roof the net from close range.
Fearon made a fine double save from Leon Scott and Cartman on 37 minutes as Darlington continued to press before Cartman scored from a Thompson cross.
There was one moment of held breath for Skelmersdale on 43 minutes, Fearon was faced with an on the run Cartman and dived at his feet, the striker went down and there was the possibility that Fearon could have been sent off, the saving grace was that Cartman when the actual collision took place was not heading on a direct line for goal. Referee Lucy Oliver waved the yellow card.
From the spot kick Fearon did what he has now got a great name for doing, saved the penalty, one handed above his diving body.
This game was so important to Darlington that when their own ground was waterlogged at lunchtime they paid Spennymoor to stage the fixture instead and they continued to show great determination to make sure they won it, but again Skelmersdale stubbornly held on and on 56 minute almost scored as home keeper Peter Jameson only thwarted Max Hazeldine with his feet.
However, on 62 minutes it was effectively all over, a wayward cross-field pass went to Stephen Thompson and the experienced left-sided man made it 3-0.
A spirited Skelmersdale to their credit didn’t stop and finished quite strongly but the nearest they came to pulling a goal back was an effort from Scott Bakkor in the last five minutes.
Credit to Darlington, in my opinion they will now go on and win the league title.
DARLINGTON 1883: Jameson, Hunter (Gaskell, 70), Galbraith, Portas (Nowakowski, 25), Burgess ©, Brown, Mitchell, Scott, Armstrong (Hardy, 57), Cartman, Thompson Subs (not used) Provett, Weldon
SKELMERSDALE UNITED: Fearon, Mooney, Holden, McIntosh © (Rendell, 45), Rowlands, Brewster, Bakkor, Woolcott, Hazeldine (Vassallo, 72), Strickland (Bailey, 64), Almond Subs (not used) Donaldson, Tuck
Referee: Lucy Oliver (Sunderland)
Attendance: 1,297