New Marske 2 Northallerton Town 2
Well, the final game of the season arrived, and once more we were playing on the big pitch. Once again, the side had been changed slightly but was still a pretty strong team starting the game. It should have been a good game to play in, as Northallerton are a team we normally play well against.
It was a fairly even start to the game, but after a couple of minutes Northallerton were awarded a free kick in a dangerous position. The defence were very quiet and looking nervous in the early stages. The free kick was taken, but went miles over the bar, never causing Dean a problem, in fact it was more likely to cause a problem for any passing aircraft.
A bit of an early challenge
We looked like we were through on goal, before the referee decided to blow for an off side decision. A decent free kick in by Ryan was cleared comfortably by the Northallerton defence moments later. The same happened minutes later when Johnny tried his luck from a free kick on the right hand side. Neither dead ball situation were worked well at all. Dean was required to make a save next as a Northallerton shot went into his arms from outside the box.
One of our goals scored from a header
Greg was fouled just outside the Northallerton box, in a great position to take the free kick. Johnny took it, with more success this time, and it looked to be heading into the corner, that is until the keeper tipped the ball around the post for a corner. A great ball in by Ryan to the b ack post, found no Marske player there, and so the ball travelled harmlessly out of play. It's about time somebody got themsleves on that back post, as a lot of corners seem to find there way there.
An appeal for a penalty at the end of a driving run
Neither side had managed to get on top in the game, which was shaping up like a typical end of season game. Northallerton thought they were through on goal, when a Northallerton player split the defence with a great pass, but Dean was aware and came out quickly to make a tackle with his feet, to repel the danger. We were struggling to get an cohesion into our game as the ball was spending far too much time in the air, and not enough time being passed around. In fact, it was Northallerton that were passing the ball better when they had it.
Working hard to win the ball
Our play was starting to look more ragged as Northallerton were gaining in confidence, and we struggled to make any headway against the Northallerton defence, who looked to be getting into the ball faster.
A heated exchange...
It was at this point that my dictaphone battery ran out, leaving me without any means of recording what happened in the game. Perhaps it was just as well as our performance didn't get any better, in fact in got a lot worse. From what I remember we went into a two goal lead before half time with goals coming from possibly Liam and Joe.
A Northallerton header is cleared
Northallerton got the two goals back in a terrible second half, as the squad rolled on and off to give most people a game. The most notable incident was near the end of the game when Robert (a couple of weeks before picking up his 'sportsman of the year' award) got into a shoving match with a Northallerton player, that ended up with most players involved, and Ben Hubbard getting himself booked.
Oh well, roll on next season....
Final Score: New Marske 2 Northallerton Town 2
MOTM:- : None