Liversedge FC 2 v 2 Bridlington Town
By Alexander Fynn
Mike Thompson’s Seasiders travelled to Liversedge FC in the hope of securing another vital 3 points towards their NPL East survival.
A scrappy first half saw Bridlington lead at half time through a Danny Earl goal, which confirmed Liversedge’s relegation with a 2-2 draw.
Thompson made 3 changes to his squad from last week, adding Matty Dixon, Bolton Makwedze, and Michael Coulson to the starting 11.
With both teams desperate for victory, the first 10 minutes saw both sides cancel each other out.
Up until Michael Coulson had the first chance of the game from an Ahmed Salam cross, however, his shot was wide of the post. Against the run of play, Danny Earl broke the deadlock for the Seasiders from a Salam cross. Earl’s header hit the post, and he headed the rebound into the open goal with the goalkeeper stranded.
Tom Allan had another chance to double Bridlington’s lead from a Sam Leverett free kick; however, Allan’s diving header was dragged wide. Liversedge’s first shot came around the 27th minute, when Paulo Aguas laid the ball to Ben Atkinson, who also shot wide. Had it not been for Jack Hall, who made a superb save to deny Jack Crooks’ header, the scores would have been level.
George Sebine was next to try his luck with a shot from distance, which bobbled towards the goal; however, Hall tipped the ball over the bar. As the game entered stoppage time, had it not been for the heroics of Hall, the Seasiders could have easily found themselves behind.
Michael Coulson had a goal disallowed from a Salam through ball, as Coulson found the back of the net, but the referee deemed that the striker was offside.
It was the hosts who started the second half brightly, as Spencer Harris fired in a cross into the penalty area, which forced Jack Hall to tip the ball over the bar. With sustained pressure on the Bridlington goal, Joe Walton equalised for Liversedge from a cross into the middle. The ball rebounded off the crossbar, falling to Walton to head it into the back of the net.
Matty Dixon tried his luck and almost scored from a corner that the Sedge keeper didn’t properly clear; however, despite the scramble, the ball was cleared off the line by Chris Atkinson. Jack Dyche had a chance to put Liversedge in front from a corner; however, his shot was inches wide of the bar.
Liversedge took control of the second half for sustained periods, frustrating the visitors. But as the game entered the closing stages, Danny Earl thought he had scored his second goal of the match; referee Abdul Hakimy deemed that Earl headed the ball out of the keeper’s arms. However, Earl did score his second goal of the match from a through ball by Sam Leverett as he went one-on-one with Hassal to easily put the Seasiders ahead.
A frantic few minutes ensued as the Bridlington side looked to hold onto their lead. With the home side pushing, they managed to find a late equaliser from a cross as Ben Atkinson headed the ball past the stricken Hall while Bridlington struggled to deal with the attack.
Mike Thompson had this to say after the match: “I’m disappointed. I thought that we were poor. We had a conversation at half time that we didn’t deserve to be 1-0 up at the break; it felt passive that we came here and thought that we were going to win the game.”
The Seasiders still sit 17th in the NPL East, with only a point in the relegation zone; however, there is only one team remaining still to be relegated.
