Recap
Penrith come out in pole position as Birtley fell to defeat in their opening game of the season.
Match gallery is available here.
The Hoops travelled west to The Frenchfield Stadium for their opening game of the season. A good travelling contingent of fans also made the trip looking forward to the start of the season. In our most recent game, towards the end of last season, The Hoops came away with all three points following a close contest, ending in a 3-4 victory.
In the opening 10-15 minutes it was the Hoops that were on the front foot. They were controlling the ball and applying pressure to the Penrith defence and forced a couple saves from Craig Hunter in the Penrith goal. The best of those came from Nick Marley inside three minutes when he forced a fingertip save from Hunter following a Scott Heslop cross.
Despite the initial flurry, it was Penrith who took the lead. They countered quickly getting the ball down their right wing, with a dangerous cross played along the 6 yard box which Luke Brown was able to knock past Alfie Gordon in the Birtley net. Penrith then took control of the game and put the pressure on the men in green and white eventually finding their second goal through DJ Taylor which was almost a replica of the first goal.
HALF TIME | Penrith AFC 2-0 Birtley Town
The Hoops came out swinging in the second half determined to get back into the game. The first chance came the way of an indirect freekick following a back pass from Penrith. In the resulting scramble the referee awarded Birtley a penalty for handball. Callum Turnbull stepped up to the spot in the absence of usual penalty taker Alex Francis. Turnbull on this occasion went down the middle, and although Hunter went to his right he was able to get a foot to the ball to deny The Hoops a goal. Penrith responded quickly by grabbing a third goal through DJ Taylor again.
From this point on Penrith were comfortable. Heslop was able to break the line and run in behind, only to be taken down by Ronan Irving who saw red in the only card of the game. The Hoops continued to push, however even down a man Penrith stood strong and saw out the game to keep a clean sheet, whilst still causing a threat on the counter attack.
FULL TIME | Penrith AFC 3-0 Birtley Town
Player of the Match – Josh Straissheim.
Manager’s Corner
Assistant manager Andrew Clarkson had the following to say about the game – Clarkson’s comments
Next up…
The Hoops now turn their attention to their next game on Wednesday 31st July when they visit North Shields. Match preview can be found here.
