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| Jason Gilchrist - two more goals |
This was the 1st of two cup games in five days, and with one eye on the FA Cup tie against Boston on Tuesday both Tom Anderson and Steven Hewitt were rested to the bench. Ben Woodhead played his first game of the season following another long term knee injury, the latest of his scholarship setbacks.
Now I know Tony seems to think I have some sort of fixation with the weather down at Gawthorpe, but it has to be mentioned today. The heavy rain that preceded the match left the pitch very heavy and the monsoon that appeared during the game certainly didn’t help things. It can’t have been great fun to play in and it wasn’t great to watch.
In terms of chances there was little or nothing of note for the opening half hour. It was looking like it might just be one of those games where opportunities were at a premium and gave the impression that penalties were a real possibility. Then out of nothing it changed.
A ball from the back over the top was chased down by Jason Gilchrist. He stretched, got a toe to it and poked it past the keeper, into the open net. The score line remained 1-0 until half time and it was just about a fair reflection.
The 2nd half saw us with the wind (and rain and hail) at our backs and it was 45 minutes of Claret control. We found the net twice more and also saw a good number of chances spurned and two disallowed goals. We were getting particular joy down the flanks with our attacking full backs overlapping and supporting the wingers well.
The first disallowed effort followed a scramble in the box which ended with the ball being stabbed home. I think it was Gilchrist but it was no matter as the linesman’s flag was raised. His brace wasn’t long in coming though and it was a cracking finish as he was slipped in on the right side of the box and he struck a hammer of a shot past the keeper.
He was denied a hat trick when he clipped the ball in following another clever through ball as once more the flag was raised. The Claret scoring was completed with substitute Hewitt curling a lovely shot into the top corner where it rattled around the stanchion.
We could and should have had more but it looked like some of the lads were more concerned with getting a three goal haul for Gilchrist rather than extending our lead.
There was a disappointing end to the game with Rotherham hitting the back of the net following some sloppy defensive play, but the job was completed and we are now in the hat for the next round.
Team:- Ben Woodhead, Aryn Williams, Luke Conlan, Alex Coleman (Tom Anderson), Jack Errington, Alex Mullin, Archie Love, Adam Evans, Cameron Howieson (Steven Hewitt), Jason Gilchrist, Shay McCartan.
Subs not used:- Josh Cook, Charlie Holt.