BRONTE WANDERERS [7] V HEMSWORTH [2]
A team newly promoted from Div.2 versus a team newly relegated the Premier div. looked on paper like a tough opening fixture for Bronte. Watching Hemsworth warm up before the game though raised a few questions. Clearly they were a young side and would they be able to cope with Bronte’s experienced players better than Farsley academy side was the main question.
Bronte certainly set off with clear determination to boss this game from the fist whistle. Within the first minute Bailey blasted over the bar but when Danny Mac floated in an excellent cross Armstrong guided his header into the net with only two minutes on the clock. The chances just kept on coming. Ritson’s cross found Bailey but this time his shot was saved. Good work by [M] Maude created a chance for newcomer Simmy but his shot was also saved this time at the expense of a corner. A good delivery was not taken full advantage of as [L] Blacka’s header sailed wide. Another excellent run and cross from Ritson saw Armstrong’s flick/chip go just wide.
A rare opportunity for the visitors came in the shape of a free-kick but Maude blocked and cleared. Yet another good build up from the home side promised but failed to deliver as this time Armstrong drove his shot into the side netting when a ball across the box might have provided higher dividends. So was Bronte going to pay for these missed opportunities? The answer-Yes. On the half hour Hemsworth whipped in a cross from the right which took a wicked bounce in front of Maude and the ref adjudged that he used his arm to block the ball. There certainly wasn’t much argument from the Bronte players. The striker made no mistake from the penalty spot as his effort hit the roof of the net 1 – 1. A minute later Bronte seemed asleep as Simmy lost the ball in mid-field and a poor attempt at the off-side trap misfired and Hemsworth’s forward ghosted past them and placed his shot past a stranded Bainbridge. 2 – 1 could this be a major upset on the cards? Absolutely not! Back came Bronte with a charge.
Ritson again out paces the Hemsworth midfield/defence and his cross was flicked on by Armstrong but Makinson blasted over. Maude makes a great run from the back but sees his shot go wide but Bronte were definitely threatening again. Bailey’s running this time pays off as he latches on to a through-ball from Simmy. His left foot shot to the near post ricochets of both posts before Butcher following up drives in the re-bound to level the scores. A mistake by Hemsworth’s defence was then pounced on by the ever alert (predator) Armstrong but once more his attempt is saved.
There is no doubting that Bailey’s delivery from corners is going to be an asset for the Wanderers this season as was proved again here. His cross from the above corner dropped invitingly for Simmy at the far post and he volleyed in to make it 3 -2 almost on the stroke of half-time.
Take a deep breath guys-second half yet to come.
Bronte roared straight into the attack after the break. Bailey’s cross is almost met by Armstrong sneaking in on goal but the keeper just gets a hand to it to take it off his head. One thing Bronte will have to be aware of as the season progresses is that the do not concede too many unnecessary free kicks. They seemed determined to keep Emsworth in this game by just suck tactics. First a free kick is blocked resulting in a corner which is fortunately cleared. Then another is driven wide before Bainbridge is called upon to gather another. Still he has been known to change these situations into a quick attack and he did so again. A quick throw out to Butcher, who had been a little quiet in the first half, saw him run the ball to the by-line before crossing into the box. Unfortunately the keeper was alert and collected the ball comfortably. Maude has persisted all pre-season in providing quality ball from the back. This time he found Bailey out wide and his cross was cheekily flicked over the keeper, as he went down anticipating a driven shot no doubt, by Armstrong making a run to the near post 4 – 2.
Another free kick for the visitors but again it was blasted wide. With 20 minutes gone in this half they tried to take the game to Bronte and managed to force a corner. Blacka headed clear and the following shot flew wide. Bronte’s next goal was an absolute delight. Super build up play and possession football involving Blacka, Butcher, Simmy and Makinson led to Makinson’s cross being superbly headed over the advancing keeper by Bailey for Bronte’s fifth.
Makinson, Butcher and Armstrong were replaced by Taylor, Conway and Fox. Any hope that these changes might halt Bronte’s dominance was quickly dispelled. Swift passing and Bailey, yet again whips in a tremendous cross from the by-line to find Fox, whose positional sense is one of his best attributes, and he volleys in for his first league goal for Bronte-I’m sure there are many more to come.
As the pressure mounted on the visitors’ goal Bailey found himself in the box with the ball delivered to his feet. As he twisted and turned some contact from the defender seemed to cause him to stumble but he was quickly on his feet to lash the ball into the net for his second a Bronte’s seventh.
By this time Conway and Taylor were looking menacing down the right flank. A link up with Blacka led to his cross just eluding the Bronte strikers. Then Taylor skipped past the defenders and crossed but the keeper smothered the ball before a Bronte player could get on the end of it. Following a now rare attack (by comparison) from the visitors Bainbrige, ever alert to an opportunity, quickly rolled the ball out to Taylor. Good link-up play between him and Conway opened up a chance for Taylor to feed Fox but his shot was parried for yet another corner though nothing came of this one. A late run by Maude would have deserved a good finish and put a final justified seal on the game but his shot just skimmed over the bar. End of game. Mom Liam Blacka, Ref's mom James Bailey