Scholes Park Raiders 3 - New Marske 3 (Scholes Park win on penalties)
We took the long trip to Scarborough in the cup not knowing anything at all about the opposition but we were hopeful of a good performance after last weeks good win against Cumby.
We started the game reasonably well with Conor breaking away down the right wing before putting in a cross that sailed over the bar. Our general play was pretty good but we were tending to overplay the ball in the final third, however the signs were looking good. Frank had our first real attempt at goal but the ball ended up well wide.
The Raiders defence looked to be a bit nervous as we probed forward looking for an opening. Raiders then managed a quick break down the left avoiding a couple of challenges to get into a good position, but the ball ran through to Dean. The game settled down as both teams tried to get the ball moving, and we came close when from a quick throw, Joe centred the ball towards Frank. Just as he was about to hit it, a Raiders defender nipped in first hitting the ball towards his own goal, forcing the keeper into a smart save.
We were starting to apply some pressure and Joe got through forcing the keeper to knock the ball out for a corner. A couple of corners followed without us getting an attempt on goal, before Raiders broke away and looked dangerous as they avoided a couple of challenges before lobbing the advancing Dean. Luckily the ball went wide of the goal to keep the scores level. After that break we were back on the attack, forcing a couple more corners, but as earlier we didn't manage to get an attempt at goal.
All the early pressure counted for nothing when Raiders went ahead on 20 minutes. A ball into the box was headed clear, but came back into the box where a Raiders player found himself free and tucked the ball in to make the score 1-0 to Raiders. Straight from the kick off we were on the attack and a ball from Joe to Frank saw him turn and smash a shot onto the bar. We turned the screw as Liam put the ball in and the Raiders defence were all over the place before managing to scramble it clear.
We started winning corner after corner, but seemed incapable of making the opposition pay from them as they were cleared easily or ran out of play. Joe and Frank were starting to make a bit more headway, and the keeper was forced to hold a shot from Frank. Another quick break down the left saw Frank have another shot that was blocked, which enabled Raiders to break quickly down the left, leading to a corner. The corner came in and flew past Dean before being scrambled away up the left wing to Frank, who outpaced the defence before slotting the ball home to make the score 1-1 on 35 minutes.
It was no more than we deserved as we looked to push on, as we started to show a little bit more urgency in the game. A free kick to Raiders was cleared up field and Frank and Joe got away with the end result being a shot narrowly past the post from Joe. We were pushing on looking for an opening around the box, before a pass to Bash saw him shoot at goal, unfortunately the shot didn't manage to test the keeper once more.
Half-time: Scholes Park Raiders 1 - New Marske 1
With no changes made at half time we set about the task of trying to open up the Raiders defence. We had had a number of good chances, and I was hopeful that we could improve on things as the game progressed.
The second half started off much the same as the first half, with neither side able to get on top of their opponents. That was until the 47th minutes when Raiders hit a ball forward that was intercepted by the defence, but knocked into the path of another Raiders player, who had the simple task of knocking the ball into the net past Dean. 2-1 to Raiders.
Almost from the restart we could have been 3-1 down, as a shot came in that Dean could only parry back out to the Raiders player. Luckily he put the ball back into Deans hands. That woke us up and Joe went on a great run, dribbling around five Raiders players before hitting his shot goalward. The ball was in a great position to be tapped in, but nobody had taken a gamble to chase into the area and was cleared instead.
The game was developing into a good end to end game, with both teams breaking away. We started to build the pressure on Raiders with quite a few crosses being put into the box, but we weren't able to get on the end of any of them. Raiders had a free kick that came in and caused problems when a Raiders player lobbed the ball over Dean, good covering by Andy saw him eventually get the ball away.
A sub was made as Dougy came on to replace Bash. On 59 minutes we were back into the game as we got the equaliser. A good ball from Liam set Joe away, who drove into the box and hit the ball across the goal for a simple tap in for Frank, to make the score 2-2. A few minutes later the game was held up while Danny got treatment after the ball hit him in the crown jewels! He departed the game for a couple of minutes to get his breath back.
Frank nearly got in from a great ball by Conor, as he hit the ball past the keeper there was a collision before he could get on the end of it, with the ball running for a corner. The corner came in and was cleared allowing Raiders to break quickly. The attacker one on one with Dean put the ball past him, but Conor covering round managed to clear the ball for a corner. The ball came in and was cleared, only to launched back into our box, where Dougy could only manage to head the ball toward his own goal. The problem being that Dean had come out toward the ball and it looped over his head into the net. 3-2 to Raiders.
Raiders came close once more after some desperate defending by New Marske, when a shot finally came back off the post. It was our turn to push on again as we tried to get another equaliser. With seven minutes of the game left we did get the equaliser. Frank broke away on the left, with the keeper bearing down on him he knocked it around him before slotting the ball into the empty net. 3-3.
Tim was replaced as Matthew came on. As the game entered the final minutes we were tightening the screw, and Joe came close with a free header that just went past the post. Frank got another one on one with the keeper but this time the keeper came out on top. Another shot just before the end of normal time attempted by Matthew couldn't break the deadlock, as the final whistle went.
So extra time it was, and we were hopeful of finally getting on top after finishing the game strongly, and Ben Leaper came on to replace Joe up front. we started off the first period of extra time really well with Ben almost getting in on two occasions. And the rest of the first period continued much the same with Raiders hardly causing us any problems and us pinning them back but not finding the clear cut chance we wanted to take the lead.
The second period of extra time was more even with both sides trying to get the winning goal. And close to the end of the game came the two defining moments that proved that it wasn't going to be our afternoon. A long ball played for Frank saw him race toward the goal as the keeper raced out. Frank then attempted to lob the ball over the keeper who got both hands to the ball a good two yards outside the box. A huge shout went up but somehow the referee played the game on when really the keeper should have been dismissed. And to rub salt in the wounds Joe broke through and was wrestled to the ground by a Raiders player. A more obvious penalty you won't see, but once again the referee wouldn't give the decision.
And so the game went to penalties. We got off to a bad start when Danny missed the first penalty, with Raiders scoring theirs. Frank scored and Raiders missed theirs, making the score 1-1. Ben Leaper then missed as Raiders scored theirs. 2-1 to Raiders. Matthew scored and Raiders scored again to make the score 3-2. Liam scored our final penalty but unfortunately so did Raiders to make the score 4-3 on penalties.
Once again we had more than enough chances to win the game, but as they say we can concentrate on the league again.
Final Score: Scholes Park Raiders 3 - New Marske 3 (Scholes Park win on penalties)
MOTM:- : Liam O Connell
Other images from the game...
