TEAM:SUTCLIFFE,THIRKELL,BALL,RYDER,RILEY,RADCLIFFE,SMITH.C,RYAN.S,JONES,SMITH.S,JACKSON.T.
SUBS:HENRY,JOHNSON,JACKSON.S,RYAN.L,YORATH

Suprisingly, the game was on even after the torrential downpour we had last Sunday and Rail will be thankful that it was. Although the surface was not perfect both teams tried to set out and play some decent football on it. It was Rail who created the first chance as early as the third minute. It wasn’t so much of a chance as a penalty appeal - the ball was crossed in from the right and as the ball floated over the defender Steve Smith tried to nip in but his shirt was tugged and he went over. There was a massive appeal by the players but the referee waved play on. It wasn’t to long before the referee made another controversial decision by disallowing a goal for Rail. Rail were awarded a free kick on the right and as the ball was put into the far post both Ben Jones and James Riley rose together and it was Ben who got his head to it first and his looping header beat the outstretched hands of the keeper and into the bottom of the net. I don’t know what it was for but the linespersons flag was raised as he must of seen something that no-one else did. Radcliffe were lucky not to be two down but as it was they were still in the game. Radcliffe came forward and were awarded a free kick just outside the area. Rail put several men in the wall which made it difficult for the striker to find a way through and the wall did it’s job as the ball was curved wide. Rail came back at Radcliffe and really should of taken the lead. A punched clearance by their keeper didn’t go far and it dropped for Steve Smith and with only one defender in front of him he tried to curl the ball round him and the keeper but his shot was well saved as the keeper was at full stretch to put the ball away for a corner. Within a matter of minutes both teams had a player shown a yellow card. The first into the book was Radcliffes no.6 - Craig Danson for a late challenge from behind and shortly afterwards Will Ryder was booked for a late sliding challenge. The last 15 minutes it was Radcliffes turn to be frustrated. On 30 minutes a corner was awarded on our left. The ball was curled in and Liam Sutcliffe came for the cross but he fumbled it and the ball dropped to a forward who bundled the ball over the line. Everyone in the ground thought Radcliffe had taken the lead but the linesperson had his flag up for some reason. I couldn’t say what for as I was at the other side of the ground. Frustration for both sides and it didn’t get any better when the referee waved away a penalty appeal for Radcliffe but to be honest it looked as though Liam had got a touch to the ball as the referee awarded them a corner. The referee was kept busy as his yellow card was produced on 2 more occassions as Simon Kelly from Radcliffe saw yellow for either persistanly fouling or protesting to the referee about the award of a freekick and Josh Radcliffe followed him minutes later for another late challenge in the middle of the park. Just on the stroke of half time Will Ryder had picked up an injury and had to be replaced by Dave Henry. HT: Rail 0 Radcliffe Borough 0
No changes by either side at half time.
There was no respite for the yellow card as within minutes of the restart Craig Smith was booked for a silly trip from behind. Rail were now starting to play some decent football with Steve Smith being very influential on the right as he kept the Radcliffe defence on their toes with some attacking runs. On one such run he jinked his way into the penalty area and it looked as though he was tripped but the referee was having none of it and he again waved appeals away. On Rails next attack a neat passing move again down the right was dangerously crossed in from Dan Thirkell but the defender got a toe to it and it floated over the crossbar for a corner. It wasn’t long before Rail deservedly took the lead. It was Steve Smith again who was the provider as he made his way to the edge of the area he put in a perfect cross for Ben Jones to head into the net from 6 yards and his third league goal of the season (56 mins) Rail 1 Radcliffe 0
Rail were still creating chances with the best of them coming from a left wing cross from Dave Henry. It was flicked on by Scotty Ryan in the middle and ended up at the feet of Dan Thirkell at the far post but he had nothing to shoot at and the keeper fumbled the ball out for a corner. Shortly after Rail were caught by a sucker punch. There seemed to be no danger on our right but the Rail defence went to sleep and allowed dangerman Steve Howson to sneak in and lob Liam and into the net for the Radcliffe equaliser on 61 minutes. Rail 1 Radcliffe Boro’ 1
Shortly afterwards Rail made their second substitution with the tiring Tom Jackson being replaced by Matt Johnson. Steve Smith switched wings and Matt went on the right. Rail went on the attack again and a ball into the penalty area created all sorts of problems as Radcliffe failed to clear their lines. The first shot was saved with the keepers legs and the rebound fell kindly to Rail and the following shot was cleared off the line and away for a corner. There seemed to be no danger as Dave Henry received the ball in his own half but his wayward pass fell to last weeks goalscorer - Neil Chappell and it left him in the clear on our left but his shot failed to hit the target and went wide of the post. A bit of a let off for Rail and the miss was to be proved vital as the next time Rail got the ball into the area again there was an almighty goalmouth scramble and as shots came in and were blocked the final shot by Matt Johnson cannoned off the post and into the path of Steve Ball. He made no mistake from a couple of yards out (Ballys estimate - not mine) It has gone down as an o.g by Martyn Forrest but I was only a few feet away and it definately was put in by Steve (81 mins) That was not the end of the matter as Radcliffe had appealed to the linesperson for some reason. Their appeals were unanswered as the referee awarded the goal. During Rails celebrations one or two of the Radcliffe players ‘lost their heads’ Ian Fitzpatrick was shown a straight red card for kicking the ball at the linesperson and the Boro keeper - Phil Priestley was booked for dissent.
Rail 2 Radcliffe Boro’ 1
This seemed to lift Radcliffe and in a deperate attempt to get back into the game they made another substitution. There were one or two scares for Rail with our visitors throwing the ball into the area and hoping it was going to drop kindly for them but Rail only gave them one half chance which was fingertipped away by Liam for a corner. Rail made their last substitution with Scott Jackson coming on for my ‘MOTM’ - Steve Smith There was still time for the referee to produce the seventh yellow card of the game as Steve Ball kicked the ball away when Radcliffe were awarded a free kick. Shortly afterwards the referee blew for the Full Time. FT SCORE: Harrogate Railway 2 Radcliffe Borough 1
MY COMMENTS:
An enjoyable game in which both sides will feel they were robbed by some strange refereeing decisions. On the second half performance I think Rail just about deserved the win. It was spoilt a bit by the mindless sending off and the seven bookings but at this stage of the season it’s the 3 points that matter. I think we still need another striker as Phil has mentioned before to go along side Jonesy. Phil and Richard seemed to have worked wonders with Ben and I still think there is still a lot more to come from him in the remainder of the season. He’s a different player now and he now seems to work harder for the team. I’m looking forward to seeing the Ben Jones of towards the end of last season.