Recap
Birtley pay the ultimate penalty as five-goal thriller ends in another defeat.
The Hoops tasted defeat for the third consecutive game on Saturday, despite an abundance of both effort and endeavour, something we’ve definitely not lacked in all three fixtures. It’s always a tough game against Boro Rangers and we got off to the worst possible start by conceding a penalty in the 7th minute. Full back Charlie Graham got himself into the box and despite a heavy initial touch which took the ball away from both him and from goal, the referee judged that the intent from Campbell outweighed the actual impact and awarded the spotkick.
If you take what happened in the Newcastle v Arsenal game the following day into the equation, if the goalkeeper gets a touch of the ball before the player, it’s not a penalty. Right? Not in the Northern League it seems and Stuart Rose, who needs no extra help from anyone, sent the young keeper the wrong way to open the scoring.
Birtley were back level with a penalty of their own in the 22nd minute when Callum Smith was felled in the box. James Proctor stepped up to even the scores. Action at both ends soon followed; Stuart Rose broke the offside trap and beared down on goal at one end, only to be denied by Owen Lancaster. At the other, a 50/50 challenge between Matty Ward and the Boro keeper Alex Baird saw the keeper come off the worst and left in a heap on the floor. Somehow play was allowed to continue, despite the appeals from the visitors bench, Wardy striking the near post from an angle and then being adjudged to have fouled a defender.
Birtley took the lead in the 34th minute through Jake Stafford, who grabbed his second goal of the season, blasting home from 12 yards out after the ball was laid off to him by Kyle Wharton. Stafford was in the thick of it minutes later at the other end when he and teammate Dale Burrell combined to nullify a Stuart Rose attack.
HALF TIME | BIRTLEY TOWN 2-1 BORO RANGERS
The opening ten minutes or so of the second half saw a good save from Campbell to deny Rose from close range, a member of the Boro Rangers management was booked for one too many complaints, James Proctor was shown a yellow card for a foul and Harry Thompson was sin-binned. Usually when a sin-bin occurs, it gives the opposition an advantage.
That didn’t happen in this case as the third penalty of the game was awarded for the softest of handballs against Lewis Exley. Yes, it struck his arm – from all of two yards – a lot more ball to hand than hand to ball. Nevertheless, and despite the appeals, Stuart Rose grabbed his second goal of the game to draw Rangers level. A fourth penalty was awarded in the 64th minute; Kaleb Young being tripped in the box giving Birtley the chance to retake the lead. This time though, James Proctor saw his weak kick saved by Baird.
In the 78th minute, Kaleb Young had a chance to give Birtley the lead again but saw his curling effort fizzed over the bar. That was the last action for Young and a change apiece saw Jack Honour replace him for Birtley and Ryder Maughan on for Ben Turner – the only changes made for either side.
With nine minutes of regular time to go, Rangers took the lead themselves through Jack Guy after he reacted quickest to a loose ball in the box. Stuart Rose was the architect again but there was cause for appeal after he appeared to control the ball with his hand in the buildup. Naturally though, that one wasn’t given. Birtley continued with their attacks with Smiggs forcing Baird into a parried save in the 84th minute. Jack Honour saw something he didn’t like in that passage of play and confronted the referee, the result of which saw him sent to the sin-bin for the remainder of the game.
FULL TIME | BIRTLEY TOWN 2-3 BORO RANGERS
Much like the previous two games, plenty of chances created, plenty of effort and endeavour but ultimately nothing to show for it at the full time whistle.
Attendance: 171
MOTM: James Proctor (chosen by match sponsors Robson’s Solid Fuel Merchants)
UP NEXT
Without a win in September, we hope for a bit more luck as we enter October’s round of fixtures, the first of which is a trip up to Craik Park, Morpeth to take on West Allotment Celtic at their temporary home ground. The postcode is NE61 2YX and we’d love your support on the road once more.
