Controversial strike gives Badgers edge over Frickley
Frickley Athletic 1 Eastwood Town 2 A CONTROVERSIAL strike helped Eastwood Town to victory in Frickley's fourth friendly match of the summer at the Tech5 Stadium last night.
Lee Stevenson's first-half strike, which saw calls for offside from Frickley players fall on deaf ears, guided the Badgers to a 2-0 half-time cushion.
Danny Clarke replied for the hosts in the second half but the Blues couldn't find a second in a competitive workout at Westfield Lane.
Boss Heath started with an experimental line-up which took time to settle.
And the Blue Square North side took full advantage when Stevenson broke the deadlock in the 14th minute with a neat lob over Blues stopper Ben Simpson.
Frickley responded and Charles Fisher whipped in a low cross five minutes later which Luke Malcher struck first time and John Danby did well to save at the near post.
Andy Catton tested the Town goalkeeper with a strong angled drive.
But the visitors improved their advantage just a minute later when Russ Cooke provided the cross for Stevenson to head past Simpson from close range.
To their credit, Frickley picked themselves up and when a corner kick was only half cleared in the 32nd minute, Malcher drilled a 20-yard drive which was well held by the keeper.
On the stroke of half-time a slick move down the right led to Andy Lee turning the ball back to atton and his low cross was just missed by Malcher.
Heath rang the changes at the start of the second half, bringing on Danny Walsh, Richard Dunnng, Danny Clarke and Leon Henry.
And the result was almost immediate as a Dunning free-kick produced a glancing header from Dean Jones which Danby pushed behind.
The Blues should have reduced the arrears on the hour when a scorching 20-yard drive caught Danby flat-footed but the ball came back off the inside of the far post.
Frickley got their reward in the 67th minute when Danny Clarke raced on to a Ben Chapman ball and hit the target from 20 yards.
It could have got better for the hosts as Simon Sturdy headed wide with ten minutes to go and Clarke broke clear six minutes later before rounding the keeper and seeing Town defender Matt Bailey coming to the rescue with a calm clearance.
A quick counter attack by the visitors in the 86th minute led to Markel Bailey lifting the ball over from two yards with only Simpson to beat.
But neither side were able to add to their goal tally and the Badgers claimed the win, with Frickley able to take plenty of positives from their workout.
Frickley: Ben Simpson, Charles Fisher, Ben Chapman, Patrick McGuire (Richard Dunning 46min), Simon Sturdy, Dean Jones (Jack Nodder 68min), Andy Catton (Dan Broadbent 64min), Grant Normington (Danny Walsh 46min), Adam Lee (Chris Davies 75min), Luke Melcher (Danny Clarke 46min), Andy Lee (Leon Henry 46min).
Eastwood: John Dany, Ryan Hanbury, Paul Riley, Russ Cooke (Markel Bailey 61min), Matt Bailey, John D'Lyea (Dave Haggerty 27min), Anton Foster (Tyesse Nightingale 55min), Lee Stevenson, Matt Rhead (Ian Deakin 55min), Sam Duncan (Andy Todd 75min), Jermain Hollis (Michael Simpson 61min).
Referee: Mr Adam McIntyre
Attendance: 135
See tomorrow's Hemsworth and South Elmsall express for all the latest sports news and results from around the area.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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