ONE OF THOSE MATCHES…

Redcar Town 0 Horden CW 1 – Ebac Northern League Division Two

….that was more about grit and work rather than style and flowing football.  And one of those matches that pitted two evenly-matched, well-organised teams against each other.

No-one would have been surprised had it ended 0-0.

In the end it was Horden who secured the points, finishing one of the few moves that produced a clear-cut scoring opportunity.

For the opening quarter of an hour most of the play was in Horden’s half but Redcar couldn’t put keeper Craig Foster under much pressure.  Horden finally got going in the 17th minute when Jack Maskell headed a Olly Hotchkiss free kick goalwards, with Redcar keeper Mike Algie stopping it on the line.  But at that point, neither team had really clicked into gear.

It took more than half an hour for the game to warm up:  Horden winger Ewan Simpson was within a whisker of prodding the ball into the net but right back Harry Ord was able to clear it from his goal line.  At the other end, Redcar No. 5 Matty Frazer launched an overhead kick towards the goal, with the ball deflected to Kurtis Howes whose shot was saved close to the near post with his feet by Foster.

The solitary goal came five minutes after the break.  Horden winger Christopher Stevens hit a low shot from the right.  Algie was able to stop it but the loose ball fell to Simpson who guided it into the net.

The rest of the game saw only a couple of half chances for each side.  The last one came in the 91st minute with the second overhead kick of the match, but Redcar substitute Joe Dixon’s effort went wide left.

On the coldest night of the season so far, spectators were glad to reach the warmth of their cars and get out of the rain that heralded the closing minutes of the game.

Mike Snowdon