West Allotment Celtic (Away) Match Report

Opponent: West Allotment Celtic (Away)

Date/Time: 26 Jan 15:00

Competition: ANL1

Result: 3 - 2

Team:
Newton, Ryan B, Stewart, Ryan L,( Reay), Stephenson, Keegan, Scott, Walklate,(Ford), Tarrant, (Tait) Cogdon, Hodgson. Subs not used: Milner, Galley.

Report:
Third placed Sunderland Nissan unbeaten in seven matches took on fourth bottom West Allotment Celtic on a rainswept Whitley Park pitch. In the early exchanges both keepers were called upon to make routine saves made slightly more difficult due to the slippery surface. Nissan looked to be taking control of the game and after 20 minutes should have gone ahead when Gavin Cogdons well struck shot hit the legs of Kevin Morton and went behind for a corner, from the resulting kick Leon Ryan powered a downward header which was cleared off the line by Andrew Brown. Nissan took the lead when, during a goalmouth scramble the ball was back heeled into the net by Neil Tarrent. Five minutes later Cogdon scored to make it 2-0 and Nissan looked to be cruising to another victory. The second half saw Nissan piling on the pressure and only some brilliant defending and outstanding goalkeeping denied them a more substantial lead and this was to prove costly. Injuries to Leon Ryan and Steven Walklate meant that Nissan had to reshuffle but they were still the only team creating clear cut chances. Neil Tarrant was twice inches away from crosses delivered bt Steven Stewart and Gavin cogdon hit the post. With Nissan coasting the West manager made changes to his line up. A long ball out of defence found Keith Douglas free on the left, with the Nissan defence appealing in vain for offside he raced clear and blasted the ball into the net. With 5 minutes to go another hopeful ball was met by Wyn Fremlyn who guided the ball past the despairing dive of Paul Newton. In the last minute of normal time Paul Gibbs rose to head home a well taken freekick.

Scorers: Tarrant, Cogdon

Verdict:

"3 points thrown away in a 15 minute period at the end of the second half when defensive duties were none existant. We also need to convert a higher percentage of our chances. Having created and missed numerous chances we were punished with some clinical finishing by West Allotment substitutes."

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