Bridlington Town 2 v 1 Knaresborough Town (after extra time)
FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round Replay
By Alexander Fynn
Extra time winner sees the Seasiders through to the next preliminary round of the FA Cup against Knaresborough Town.
It was a match not for the faint-hearted, as it was Knaresborough who had the first opportunities, firing a plethora of shots at the Seasiders’ goal, but shot-stopper Jonathan Dash was equal to the threat.
A weekday crowd of 363 at the Mounting Systems Stadium was in full voice cheering on the red and whites and almost had something to celebrate. Michael Coulson had the first chance for the Seasiders when he took a shot from distance; however, the Knaresborough keeper dealt with the threat.
The home side came close again when Jake Day took a shot at goal that deflected off a Knaresborough defender as the ball fell to Coulson, but his shot was saved and went for a corner.
Ahmed Salam was next to attempt a shot on goal as he took on three defenders, but the chance came to nothing.
Will Annan played a great cross into Day, but his header went straight to the Knaresborough keeper.
Jack Dyche for the visitors came close to finding the opener when he was through on goal, but his shot went over the bar as the first half wore on. Dyche came close again when he was one-on-one with the keeper, and Dash palmed the ball out of harm’s way.
Knaresborough Town began the second half brightly and soon got their reward when Jack Lazenby managed to find the bottom corner from a close-range opportunity.
Moments later, Brodie Sedman for the Seasiders was shown red for a reckless tackle on Aaron White.
Tempers began to flare when Coulson was brought down in the area from a tackle by Dan Thirkell; however, the official waved away any penalty appeals, much to the home crowd’s frustration as they made their voices heard towards the man in the middle.
About 10 minutes later, the home side found the equalizer when Coulson beat his man and passed the ball to Day, who crossed the ball into the middle for Ahmed Salam, who was there to fire a bullet header into the top corner of the goal.
As extra time began, Michael Coulson put Bridlington Town in the lead when Annan shot straight at the keeper; as he spilled the ball, Coulson calmly slotted the ball into the bottom corner from the rebound.
Day went one-on-one with the keeper; he tried his luck from distance, but the ball went over the bar.
Jonathan Dash went on to make a brilliant save from a Knaresborough attack as he parried the ball away for a corner, which was certain to go into the right-hand corner had it not been for his quick reactions. The game could have seen penalties.
The Bridlington defense held firm in the closing stages as the visitors briefly threatened; however, it was the Queensgate men who progressed to the next round against West Auckland Town.
Mike Thompson, after the match, had this to say: “We tried to take the positives from Saturday. It’s a game before the season starts; we could have potentially wrapped the match up earlier.
“The sending off appeared to galvanize us. Overall, I’m really pleased with the win and how the lads stuck together.”
