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54 Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, December 23rd, 2004 (»'


www.ciitheroetoday.co.uk


Improved Blues in shoot-out cup exits


Belper Town............. 2 Clitheroe .................2 (After extra-time, Belper win 3-1 on penalties)


CLITHEROE put in a much-improved perfor­ mance to last week's 1-0 league defeat to the same side and were very unlucky not to win this Chairman's Cup tie. There was a marked


improvement in the num­ ber of shots on goal and manager Paul Byron's vocal instructions were


^ very much in evidence. The defence also took a different shape with John Paul Fagan coming in at left back and Stuart Tod- hunter replacing Adam Gardner a t right back as


. the new manager swapped and changed. And from the results it


brought, Clitheroe were heading for a 2-1 win until Belper scored with the final kick game to send the game into extra-time and beyond. The locals started


brightly and saw Neil Spencer have a shot tipped around the post on seven minutes after Lee Cryer


Jason Jones


created enough space for the striker to fire in from 20 yards. Jason Jones had an


effort saved and so did Neil Reynolds before a swift counter attack saw the Blues go behind to Belper's first effort on tar­ get. A deep cross from the left was headed down in the 32nd minute by Anton Foster and the resulting ball bounced up and over Kris Richens for a soft goal which should have


Gary Jackson


seen the ball into the box dealt with better. But this route to the


back post was to cause Clitheroe problems all afternoon. The Blues continued to


force saves from the Belper keeper as Chris Whitting- ham, under the vocal encouragement of Byron, was on hand to scoop up a loose ball on the edge of the box only to see his shot well saved by the keeper. However, despite all


these efforts, it took until the second-half for substi­ tute Gary Jackson to score a deserved equaliser on 55 minutes with a close rising shot, and then, five min­ utes later, he had a point blank header parried away. This change spurred the side into life and on 68 minutes Whittingham was needlessly felled in the area allowing Jones to slot home the resulting penal- ty^ This caused Belper to


raise their game and for the rest of the match they laid siege to the Clitheroe goal, although Jackson had a great chance on 87 minutes. The Blues' forward


latched on to a superb Robbie Smith pass but, when one-on-one ivith the keeper, he took too long shaping to shoot allowing one of the Belper back line to recover and clear the ball out for a another quick counter attack. The home side strode


straight back down the other end and if it hadn't been for an excellent save by Richens Clitheroe's


Disappointing display as holders crash out


.


In g le ton...................2 THE Slater Marchant Craven Challenge Cup holders crashed out with another disappointing dis­ play which lacked spirit and commitment, too many misplaced passes and a lack of aggression in the tackle. Ingleton started bright­


R im ing ton .............. 1


ly and caused the home side problems with their pace and movement, but never really troubled Ker­ shaw in goal. When Rimington put together a good move


' ^ Bartlett’s shot flew wide of a post while at the other end Kershaw blocked a close-range shot and was grateful to Lawson on the line who headed the follow up effort away for a comer. Mankowski almost


scored when O'Neill whipped in a cross from


(<J*».the right but his diving header looped just over. The visitors took the lead mid-way tlu-pughthe sec­ ond half when they broke up a Rimington a t ta c k which left the defence out- numbered and ^ even


though Kershaw.got a hand to the shot the ball tickled agonisingly into the comer. Nelson, Sayle and


Braithwaite replaced Watkins, Whalley and Bartlett and when the ball was played up to Sayle he fed the manager who found Mankowski whose excellently chipped pass found Matt Coulter and he coolly finished into the comer of the net. The home side looked in


control but Ingleton broke down Rimington's right and across to the far post was finished off from an acute angle. The home side threw


everything forward and in last seconds O'Neill's free kick found Sayle whose header across goal reached the unmarked Mankowski but he could not put enough on his header to beat the keeper and the holders were out. Though the heavy pitch


didn't suit their passing game Terry Braithwaite was very disappointed with some of his players attitude and can only hope


that once Christmas and New Year festivities are over Rimington will return to some form and climb the table, plus they still have the President's Cup to defend. A reminder to all players


that training will continue on Tuesdays. Rock Rovers Reserves .1 Rimington Reserves .2 WITH the resignation earlier in the week of reserve team manager Jason Faulkner, new play­ er-manager Jamie Clark­ son had the unenviable task of taking charge of his first game against the side currently occupying second place in the league. And trae to recent form,


the village side found themselves a goal down within the opening min­ utes of the game. A deep run from mid-


field by the Rock Rovers striker was dispatched neatly past the outstretch­ ing Braithwaite in goal. To their credit though, unlike in recent weeks, Riming­ ton proved ■ strong in defence, held their nerve and took a one goal deficit


into the break. At half-time Scott


Brunker replaced the hob­ bling Zulfi up front and the impact was immedi­ ate, as he rattled the right- • hand post with his first shot. Midway through the


second half Rimington drew level. From an in­ swinging corner Burgess rose above the melee to head clear of the line. So with their tails up


Rimington could smell victor and with 2 minutes remaining man-of-the- match Threlfall pounced onto a loose ball, ran half the length of the field and coolly finished past the advancing keeper. And with a glaring miss


in the dying seconds by a Rock substitute, Riming­ ton new it was there day. A well-deserved victory and a result that will give the whole team a renewed confidence heading into the New Year. Special thanks go to


■ Jason for his recent efforts and to Colin Darlington for his services on the day.


Ciitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classified) i ___illjjiDniiLntgGiiinEinfflJCT


. Blues Eye View,-


-:.'WITH Paul-.Byrbn having cast his eye;over.the - ; players a.this dispo^ ^1 the telk .on theterraces has ~ beenW whdthe first si^ngs'are goiiigtobe.Sever-


.al nmnM, and positions have been thipTO about ^ ; the guessing gam^ began in time for the fetive peri-.-:


'::..That' mhde it:somewhat ironic-that.it was ’ announced, at the;,weekenti th a t .the first; player.,


od. - „ ^


slim advantage would have been lost. But with time running out and Clitheroe hanging on, Belper were awarded a last ditch opportunity with a right-wing free kick that took the game into extr.a time and beyond. This attempt was again


fired in to the back post where Belper defender Chris Feet firmly headed home to take the game into extra-time, where, despite both sides having plenty of opportunities, neither Clitheroe nor Belper could find a winner sending the game to penal­ ties. The Blues were given


the advantage when the first Belper kick struck the crossbar and John Paul Fagan slotted home. But the tables quickly


turned as Belper scored with their next three while Stuart Todhunter and Graham Price saw their efforts saved before Jones fired the deciding penalty over the bar. I t was a terrible end to


an impressive perfor­ mance.


Budweiser Boys set for New


Year cheer DOG INN manager Simon Kerins is confi­ dent that his side will press for a top-half fin­ ish in the New Year. After a run of excellent


form last month. The Budweiser Boys have only taken one point from their last three matches but Kerins is undaunted. He said: “While recent


results have been disap­ pointing, we are a cliib in very good heart. We have an excellent group of players and I am very hopeful that we will win a lot more than we lose in 2005. ' “Team spirit is excel­


lent and everyone in our core squad has a role to play in the coming weeks and months. I want to thank all the players for their efforts on and off the field, not least Martin MeShane who is an excellent club captain and right-hand man. Kerins went on to


thank everyone who has supported his team in 2004, particularly the management and cus­ tomers of The Dog Inn, Whalley as well as club sponsors Budweiser.


c-movement involved a player leaving theelub. :. -i ;; :;s';,i! ’li^Banie’H ^ -h ^ 'd ^ d e d to call time on miUi^tri-.; .ousShawbridgehaiwr/hayingspenttw’o'spellsatthe'- 'club; sandwicheld between a period vrith Accra


Stanley. . \ ■ _ , ^ , , _ , Barrie has been a g r^ t servant to the dub and his :•


xommitment and pasdon have always beena piyotid partof his game.'


•kvAS well as chipping in^ m^ :times stumung goals, a fully fit and available Same Hart is’ an as^t' Ip any team. . . ' . ; y' . ' , '.


, i',: His move to close rivals Mo^leyis perhaps jwhat siiiprising but is probably, not a d i ^ t result of--, the new’m a n ag em en t te am ; '\ ; '^


# This toasoh has ^ h t o availabihty reduce, iham-{. ■ ly:due,to the extra,travelling inyolveti


'workco’irmiitments.’^....'


: tiniiity has been a problem for ________ ^


:■


-As a result of vthisyve have seen several,players; tried a t left back this season and the lack of any com •


.................. amanr;i


jagiehniid -thisis n'owJpossibly-aha'rea;that;(m^ always rememberBa r rie ior .tto^


'anypnebad tiitiiig’to get-tte i pibnship'Trophy, oh; the yyay hack ias.Barrie helditJike’ afatherh’pldsbia^^^ ■childv.lt goes',without^ying-that he leaves Shaw-,‘ bndge-.'mth\bestiwishesfrom ew with the club. s 'So.whathas been a great year, for the.club'is how i 'drawing to a close. Hopefully we can. end 'oh a highV and get a much neededYesult at Kendal Tow^


, despite them beating,us twice already this season: ;jc - :" ;-All that remaiiis is .tiiwish,everyone a very Merry, Christmas and I look forward to a prosperous New,i Year for the Blues. - • '


' ' ” - \ . Bv Atidv Alston


Great goals move Lions closer to the league title


Clitheroe Lions............2 Pendle AFC...............1 CLITHEROE Lions won


. their top-of-the-table clash with Pendle AFC thanks to two wonderful strikes and arguably their best performance of the season. The Lions were extreme­


ly dominant in the first half, they hit the post and narrowly missed the goal on many occasions as they never looked in trouble from the Pendle attack. New signing Matt Day looked extremely accom­ plished alongside centre- back Paul Clegg with full­ backs Pickup and James Clegg also doing good work down the flanks. Midfielder Gaughan


danced and shimmied his way past the Pendle mid- field all through the match and could have scored with a superb 30-yard strike th a t shaved the upright. But the Lions saved


their best until the 35th minute after a flowing miove between forwards Callaghan, Pinard and Holden eventually saw the ball ballooned u d


to Conti


who lashed home an un­ stoppable volley th a t would have knocked the keeper through the net if he had got a touch to it. This was a fine attempt


and only just desserts at half-time for the buoyant Lions. Pendle came back much stronger after the break, though, and bom­ barded the goal, producing ^ superb saves from keeper Mashiter.


Peter Flclcher demonstrates curling at the events day at Roefield Leisure Centre. (T12120‘l/ll)


L-' ©


Special sports events day is a great success


A SPORTS day was held at Roefield Leisure Centre to kick-start disabled sport in the Ribble Valley. The event, organised


for adults and children aged over the age of eight who suffer from a disability, was arranged by Ribble Valley


Borough Council. The fuh-filled day gave


sport enthusiasts the opportunity to take part in numerous sporting activities, which included new age curling, volley ball and goal ball. Peter Fletcher,


disability sports officer, co-ordinated the event


and coached all the visitors who attended the centre. He said; “The event


has been a great success. I was thrilled with the turnout and I am feeling very hopeful and positive for our next event.”


SPORTS DESK; Phone 01282 426161 Fax; 01282 439863 e-mail; eln.spoit@eastlancsnews.co.uk -


■ s The Clitheroe shot stop- o


per, time and time again got them out of trouble ^ with some outstanding ^ saves. But i t was A Clitheroe, much against the run of play who went 2-0 into the lead through another long range strike from Conti for his l8th of . the season. Pendle’s constant pres- /• ,


sure paid off late on. how- - ■ ever, as they headed home v: but the Lions held on and -- took with then a well- deserved win. Surely now the Lions


have the title wrapped up as ^ they have won aU eleven of their league games, re-pay- ing Hussain Meho’s faith in his newlv-formed team.


Derby joy for locals


SkiplonRUFC ........... ............. 3 Clitheroe RUFC ..........................18 THE town's rugby team finished the first half of the season in pleasing style in this Roses battle. Three tries to none was a good return


on a greasy pitch that saw good handling moves at a premium. Clitheroe had all this to cope with as


well as a late reshuffle after an unaccept­ able last-minute cry-off. The experienced Brian Wood slotted in at scrum half for his first outing in senior XV colours this season. Clitheroe started brightly, and were


soon pressing hard in the Skipton half. The opening try was fashioned for right winger Simon Coulter, his first for the club, after some hard yardage was gained by the pack followed by some swift pass­ ing down the back line. Skipton had a brief re’vival late in the first half but a penalty was all they had


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to show for their efforts. The second half was nearly all


Clitheroe as the forwards began to physi­ cally dominate the close exchanges. It


a trademark break and finished it oii with an outrageous slide in under the


to open up, that centre Nathan Peel made


posts. The third try came courtesy of flanker


Ralph Rigby who was, somehow, loitering among the pretty boys in the backs, the rugby equivalent of “goal-hanging” in soccer - nevertheless he still had plenty to do from all of 15 yards outl The half term report tor Clitheroe


would be littered with phrases such as “with more effort could do better” and “let down by lack of concentration”. These are all issues that need address­


ing for the New Year programme which opens with an exacting trip to Chorley on


January 8th.


ANNA Griffiths’ first-ever 400m run was a big fillip for the Clitheroe athlete recently. The Westholme pupil finished


second in an impressive time of 60.3 seconds in Sheffield, close to the AAA qualifying standard.


•V tsi^rir ."'T',’'’


r iv e t Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classified)


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•.'"r'/Vr www.clitheroetoday.co.uk Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, December 23rd, 2004 55 -411 athlete Anna Anna, who has been restricted in


her training over the past two win­ ters due to injury, ran an even pace, going through the first lap in 30 sec­ onds, before relaxing in the third 100m and then digging deep for the line.


She was passed by an 800m run­


ner, but her performance was very promising. Anna will now look to build up


her endurance over the winter, with a ■view to running the 400m hurdles.


Defending champs score narrow victory


YMCA A, defending First Division champions of the Blackburn and District Badminton League, were almost defeated in their game against Stanhill A in a top-of-the-table encounter. The YMCA team were


fortunate in th a t they opened up the lead in the mixed doubles and, as a result of this, with the level games shared they recorded a 9-7 victory - this being their closest margin of the season. Elsewhere another top


side proved to be in trouble when locals Brockhall enter­ tained Westholme A. The second-placed side were forced to play with a lady short in their team, and Westholme took advantage of this to comfortably win 9- 7 on the night, thus opening up the question of who will be the runners-up in the


H


First Division. Following their narrow


defeat the preidous week, Telecom A almost did it again, when they gave Sec­ ond Division leaders Tag a fright. As the mixed dou­ bles was shared between the two, only to see this very competitive match turn in the favour of the visitors when they were able to take three of the men’s doubles events and see Tag retain their top place xvith a 9-7 win. In a closely-contested


match, second placed Hal­ steads were lucky to over­ come third placed Abacus A. The home side were trailing after the mixed doubles having only secured two games, but in the level doubles things were very different as the visitors fell apart and could only take one ladies


a HIGH old lime was enjoyed by members of


Clitberoe Mountaineering Club. They celebrated Christmas


with a team quiz and pie supper at Clilheroc CC with prizes awarded to the winning team. Next year’s season of meet­


ings will kick off on January 20lh with a slide show by Richard Haszko describing a unique three day climbing trip to the famous Scottish sea stacks of The Old Man of Hoy, Old Man of Slocrr and Am Buachillc. He made the trip with Joe


Simpson (of Touching the Void fame), former England wicket­ keeper Bruce French and John Stevenson. More details of the event will follow in January. Pictured arc members of


Clitheroe Mountaineering Club enjoying a wintry outing with January’s guest speaker Richard Haszko (third from the left) last New Year, (s)


i. ; ' ■ ' S I Rosie’s brace extends unbeaten run '


, ANOTHER excellent per­ formance from Readstone United Under 12 Girls saw the side continue their unbeaten start to the sea­ son with a 3-1 win over Borrowdale. The locals remain top-


of-the-table thanks to a brace of goals from Rosie Robinson and a third from p la y e r -o f - th e -m a tc h Alisha Cryer. Elsewhere the Under


12s continued their recent improvement with an


emphatic 4-0 victory over Barrowford Celtic. Strikes came courtesy of


Elliot Bywater, Ryan Molyneux, Sam Schofield and man-of-the-match Billy Crawshaw. Another excellent ■victo­


ry was seen in the Under 11s Blue's 5-3 victory over Barnoldswick Town that witnessed a hat-trick from man-of-the-match Kenny Taylor. Further goals came from Drew Bramley and Brad Shaw.


And the Under 13s fin­


ished the year in style to retain second place in the league after beating Fenis- cowles 2-1. Ryan Brereton and Simon Stuttard net­ ted the goals while Josh Garvey was named man- of-the-match. However both the Under


11s Yellow and Under 14s lost by the same 2-1 mar­ gin to Barnoldswick Barons and Barrowford Celtic respectively. The Under 11s Yellow


were unlucky to lose after competing well. Raees Bleasdale scored their only goal while man-of-the- match went to Nick Kelly. While the Under 14s


game saw goals from James Dalby, and Scott Renwick named star play­ er. This was an encourag­ ing performance by the lads and over the next cou­ ple of weeks new manager Mick Dalby is hoping to bring in new players to ^■ strengthen the team.


m i 31 ■#«(^ii4l SA’S'j 1


and one gents’ event apiece. With games fin­ ishing level, Halstead claimed ■victory by 22 aces. Olympic, who currently


occupy the bottom of the Second Division, were anx­ ious to repeat the pre’vious week's performance when they beat the top side only to find themselves back to their usual standards when Westholme B gave them a complete whitewash. The home side were unable to win a single game all night. So with second-placed


Abacus slipping up, and as a result of the youngsters from Westholme gaining maximum bonus points, these two sides changed places in the table. Things are very differ­


ent for Westholme’s third team in the Fourth Divi­ sion though as locals Roe­ field A, who are looking


promotion hopefuls, out­ played them in what was a battle of youth. Roefield recorded a 12-4 victory and now find themselves at the top-of-the-table. In the Lancashire Inter-


League First Division the Blackburn first team have started their season with mixed results. This is a highly-competitive divi­ sion to play in with all the teams able to draw upon their top county and national players. Blackburn, ha’ving lost


narrowly to Liverpool 7-4, went on to beat Southport by the same margin. The availability of young Eng­ land player Nick Hodgson will be the key to where Blackburn finish in the league this season as his 7®; inclusion in the singles’ event strengthens the team greatly.


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