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Match Report |
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Blue
Square Premier - 27th August 2007
At Victoria Park - Att 1,302 |
Report
York City gained their first win of the season thanks to an
extra time goal by Paul
Brayson at the Victoria Stadium.
The game was heading for a goalless draw before the former Reading
player intercepted a Martyn
Woolford cross in the 92nd minute. Summer signings Brayson
and Stuart Elliott
excelled on their return to former club Northwich Victoria and
proved central to a hard fought victory.
Darren Craddock
beat Ben Purkiss
to the competitive right back spot while Ross
Greenwood overcame his broken finger to play in midfield.
Elliott started following a three match suspension and completed
his first full 90 minutes in a York shirt after his ignominious
red card against Cambridge United. He deputised for injured
skipper Manny Panther
in midfield and controlled play, feeding the ball to City’s
forwards.
Brayson made his presence known early on with an optimistic
and sprightly run of the type that, along with similar efforts
by Onome Sodje and
Richard Brodie,
came to characterise York’s gameplan. But the host’s
bulky centre back pair of Michael Welch and Greg Strong kept
the visitors at bay with some tough defending.
Northwich’s Chris Williams was a constant threat and the
player came close to scoring on several occasions. Stand-in
captain Dave McGurk
and Danny Parslow
struggled to contain his pace before he forced a goal line scramble
from a Ross Greenwood-conceded free kick.
The home side were persistent and York were lucky when Lee Steele
hit wide with only Tom
Evans to beat, while Williams failed to head home a rebound
after the City keeper could not hold Michael Carr’s strongly
taken shot.
The young York side struggled to contain the Northwich players
and the team lacked a finishing touch with Brodie and Elliott
both taking hopeful shots that were either easily intercepted
or swerved wide. The latter’s dramatic 25-yard effort
displayed the much travelled player’s intuition but was
never a genuine threat.
Soon after the break Billy
McEwan opted to turn to experience and introduced Craig
Farrell and Joe Hutchinson at the expense of youngsters
Onome Sodje and Danny Parslow. The reinvigorated team began
to match the home side’s style and played a slower, scrappier
game which saw injury prone Northwich concede a large number
of fouls and two yellow cards.
York were rewarded with a series of corners that came close
to being converted, most notably by a spectacular Paul Brayson
scissor kick.
Meanwhile Vics’ keeper Ben Connett tipped a fantastic
Craig Farrell free kick over the bar and Richard Brodie squandered
a perfect opportunity through hesitation.
But, despite the large number of chances, Northwich’s
potent counter attacks meant that the game was still finely
balanced, something made clear when Chris Williams came close
after Mark Robinson
had given him too much space near the York goal. Substitute
Kevin Townson hit the netting with a well hit cross from the
left.
Yet in the 92nd minute, as fans were heading for the exits,
a trademark Martyn Woolford sprint down the left wing led to
a perfectly timed cross into the centre. Three times Northwich
top scorer BRAYSON cleanly completed past the
helpless goalkeeper to register his first goal for the Minstermen
and send the large travelling support into raptures.
Ref: G.Horwood
The Teams
Northwich: Ben Connett, Mark Birch, Michael
Welch, Greg Strong, Kevin Sharp, Bradley Maylett (Dino Maamria
76), Simon Rusk, Michael Carr, Chris Williams, Jake Speight,
Lee Steele (Kevin Townson 27)
Subs (unused): Andy Murphy, Richard Battersby, Josh Wilson
Booked: Welch (82), Carr (83)
York City: Tom Evans, Darren Craddock (Ben
Purkiss 63), Danny Parslow (Joey Hutchinson 60), David McGurk,
Mark Robinson, Paul Brayson, Stuart Elliott, Ross Greenwood,
Martyn Woolford, Onome Sodje (Craig Farrell 54), Richard Brodie
Subs (unused): Carl Pentney, Chris Beardsley
Booked: none |
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