Droylsden F.C.-The bloods on the net!

Redditch United 0 - 4 Droylsden

Blue Square North – Saturday 24th January 2009

Report by William Patterson

This result completed an excellent week for the Bloods, with six points gained from two away fixtures, and two clean sheets kept in the process. This will surely be encouraging for Dave Pace and his crew as they attempt to use games in hand to lift the side into contention for promotion.

Redditch are currently experiencing a variety of problems on and off the field, and their manager Gary Whild apparently has difficulty in putting a side together at the moment; his squad for this game included three players hastily signed during the week.

The playing surface looked to be in an atrocious state before the game, with large patches of mud in all areas of the pitch, and Dave Pace evidently took this into consideration when selecting his starting line-up. One outcome of this was the resurrection of the defensive partnership of Steve Halford and Carl Ruffer, which had provided outstanding service during the championship season two years since.

Redditch began the game brightly enough; there was an early scare for the visitors when Mawson spilt a cross from the right, leaving the defence to scramble the ball clear. However, play soon began to be concentrated at the other end of the field, and in the eighth minute Droylsden won a corner on the left. Sean Newton, who has developed into the Bloods’ set piece specialist, sent the flag kick deep into the box where Jamie McGuire lost his marker to put the visitors in front. This lead came close to being doubled less than two minutes later when a Newton free kick from far out on the right flew past everybody in a packed penalty area, whence Halford arrived a split second too late to connect at the far post.

Redditch actually came close to equalizing at this stage, by way of a bizarre incident during which Ruffer attempted to hook away a cross from Carl Heggs on the right and the ball somehow spun off his toe and shot towards his own net. Thankfully for Droylsden, Mawson was well placed to grab the ball at chest height.

The Bloods didn’t have long to wait for their lead to increase, for in the twelfth minute Carl Lamb slung over a cross from the left which was neatly diverted past keeper Danny Lewis by Tony Gray. An attempt by a defender to clear off the line merely drove the ball into the roof of the net. Droylsden were now very much in control, and they went further ahead six minutes later when the home defence failed to clear a long free kick from the right. The ball fell to Gray, who drove with lethal precision into the far corner from the edge of the box. To their credit, the makeshift home side did not disintegrate in this dire situation, and they tried hard to pass their way back into the game on the increasingly difficult surface. Simon Hollis, playing wide on the right, was often a threat, but the Bloods’ defence never really looked uncomfortable. To his obvious frustration, ex- Kettering frontman Marvin Robinson, one of the latest signings, was kept under close control by both Ruffer and Halford.

The game was ended as a contest just before the break when Newton sent yet another free kick into the box and Townson was there to head the ball on past the helpless Lewis.

The fact that there were no goals scored in the second half belies the fact that it was actually a keenly contested period of play, with both sides no doubt mindful of the importance of goal difference in potential promotion or relegation situations.

Redditch pressed doggedly forward, often with moves originating from left back Damien Whitcombe. Hollis was twice put through on the right, only to be thwarted both times by the linesman’s flag. Try as they would, the Reds failed to penetrate, with most of their shots coming from outside the box.

Droylsden’s attempts to add to their tally included efforts by Lamb and Gray, both of which Lewis did well to turn away. Newton fired a twenty-five yard free kick just over the bar.

Both sides made substitutions, one of which was the Bloods’ Matthew Tipton for Gray. Tipton’s involvement was curtailed, however, as he left the field having been subjected to a reckless midfield challenge five minutes from time.

The pressure in the final minutes was all from the visitors, with McGuire twice going close. The Bloods also had two penalty appeals waved away, both of which may well have been given had the scoreline been different.

TEAMS:

Redditch United

Lewis, McKerr, Whitcombe, Spittle, Charlton, Dickinson (C.), Hollis(Ball 65), Byrne, Heggs(Ford 72), Robinson(Babayo 84), Beswick.

Subs not used: Bullimore, Daniels.

Droylsden

Mawson, Roche, Newton, Halford, Ruffer, Sorvel (C.), McGuire, Pickford, Gray(Tipton 66)(Beck 85), Lamb, Townson(Prince 74).

Subs not used: Brownhill, Cryan.

Referee: S. Barrow

Attendance: 205