Rothbury 1 Bedlington 1
Combination Cup
Only the width of the woodwork denied classy Paul Dunn a stunning goal on his Reds debut as Rothbury bounced back from their disappointing Minor Cup exit at the weekend.
Fully 30 yards from goal, the former Percy Main man flicked the ball up, span and fired beyond the sprawling keeper but blew out in disappointment as it pinged back out off the post.
Dunn suffered a leg break last September and boss Danny Olson was delighted for him to get a first 90 minutes under his belt in a Red shirt.
He was also impressed with the performances of Greg Woodburn, Kyle Smith, Alex Makin and keeper Jack Halton as Rothbury bounced back after going behind after just 30 seconds.
“It was a much improved performance and result against a very good Bedlington side,” said Olson.
“Our philosophy hasn’t changed and we still look to play a quick possession-based game. But we couldn’t have got off to a worse start and quickly found ourselves 1-0 down through poor defending. However, it seemed to kick us into action and throughout the first half we pinned our opponents back and created good chances,” continued the boss.
After Dunn had been denied by the woodwork, Chris Coe also cannoned one off the frame of the goal just minutes later. While Olson might have been worried that it wasn’t going to be the Reds’ night, their pressure paid off when Woodburn was brought down in the box and Tony Brown stepped up to convert coolly from the spot.
“The second half faded out a bit with both sides tiring - a draw was a fair result,” said Olson, and after such a long period of disruption to local football, tired legs are to be expected.
The visitors almost smashed-and-grabbed a win in the dying seconds but Halton pulled off one of his trademark spectacular diving saves to preserve a precious point in the Combination Cup, which takes the format of the Champions League.
Comments
Post a Comment