'62 Clitheroe Advertiser&Times, Thursday, Januaiy 19th, 2006


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Ciitheroe 422324 (Editoriai), 422323 (Advertisirig)l Burniey 422331 (Classified) Blues face explosive date! By Adrian Capstick '


TOMMY Lawson expects Saturday’s home game against Kendal to be as explosive as the Blues’ last two outings against the Cumbrian side this season. • September’s reverse league fixture saw


Name; ; Craig Sargeson


Date of birth: 05/07/1981


Town of Birth: Blackburn


Previous Clubs: Rossendale Utd ■Witton Albion


Position: ■Winger/Striker


(i*'


Sponsored by: John Robinson


Goals scored this sea­ son: 8 up to January 15th


Profession: Test Engineer


for BAE Systems


Most difficult opponent: None


Best player played witli; Jerome Rtzgerald


Worst dressed team mate:


Russ Clarke ,


Which team do you sup­ port: Blackburn Rovers


Favourite meal: King prawn stir fry


Favourite holiday: Malaysia


Favourite fdm: TheShawshank Redemption ,


Would most like to meet? Paul Gascoigne


Biggest influence: Dad


Last book I read: Midnight Express


the locals tear Kendal apart with a 4-1 win, before December’s UniBond League Challenge Cup tussle ended 4-3 in Kendal’s favour. Goals are almost guaranteed, and


Lawson believes that Ciitheroe are on an upward turn following last Saturday’s 0-0 draw a t Colwyn Bay, their first clean sheet since September, and only their sec­ ond this season. He said: “The last three league games.


have been lost, won and drawn and I ’ve got to say that is the start of a run in my . eyes. “■We conducted ourselves very well on


Saturday, and, as we showed the first time we played Kendal in the league, a vvin can give you a push.” ■ Kendal are currently fourth in the Uni- Bond First Division while Ciitheroe are ' 11th, and although 11 points separate the two sides, there is no gap on the field. Lawson said: “This will be the third time we have played one another this sea-


LATE - CHECK: Simon Garner


in the holding roll and i t worked. Admit­ tedly Paul Rogers had more to do, but he really worked his socks off and was a credittous. “Perhaps we could have nicked i t at


the end, as you’d expect Adam Birchall to have a shot in the six-yard box, but he thought Paul Stansfield was in a better position and the Colwyn defender got a toe to it, but I can’t fault him for that.” Availability for Saturday’s game is


again something of a mixed bag aS: although


- Centre-back Brad Clegg returns from


son. The 4-3 cup defeat was an entertain­ ing game for both managers, and I know that we won’t defend that badly again. • “Two teams very familiar with one


another will be lining up on Saturday and th a t makes for a very interesting and entertaining game.” Saturday’s game at Colwyn was cer­


tainly a tussle, but on balance Lawson thought it was a fair result: “Both sides had their chances. Peter Collinge had an excellent game and the back four more than played their part. “We changed the formation slightly too. Paul McNally played further behind


his suspension and will be back in the squad, but right-back Brian Holmes has sustained a slight tear to knee ligaments and faces a few weeks out. The versatile John Paul Fagan is


aavailable for the next two fixtures, and Lawson is hopeful that after a couple of weeks’ rest, Tony Evans’ groin injury will have healed in time for a return. However Lawson admits he may have


asked Simon Garner to return to the' team sooner than he should have done, hampering his rehabilitation, but states it was a necessary evil a t the time: “We’ll be looking at Simon again this week. “You realistically want your better players on board and perhaps I’ve com­


promised his full fitness. We should have given him longer as it has put him back a bit, but it was a necessary decision at the time.” • '


:


Neil Reynolds is apparently “champing at the bit” and according to Lawson it is


. just a case of “letting him off the leash”. . Lawson has also been very pleased by Fagan’s input: “John Paul was immense on Saturday, we know his weekend work is a problem, but his versatility gives us so many options. “He’s not a player I can build around at


the moment but I believe he wll be avail­ able to us for the next few fixtures.” However it is bad news for Gary Jack-


son as the result of his scan has shown that he has done damage to his cruciate ligament and his cartilage, and is now awaiting to see a consultant later this month to join a waiting list for a knee operation.


’ ^ This means that he will miss all of this


season and probably most, if not all, of next term too, as on average it takes nine months rehabilitation to make a come-, back. Lawson said: “Its a massive blow to the


club and to me as a manager as I know how Gary is feeling and it has really knocked him sideways.”


• , ’ Attacking game somehow ends goalless


Colwyn Ba y .................0 Clilhcroe . . . ............ 0 COLWYN Bay must hold East Lancashire football in high regard.. I t is often said that imi­


tation is the greatest form of flattery, so the fact that the Welsh side play a t home in the distinctive blue and white halves of Blackburn Rovers, and away in the legendary claret and blue of Burnley, perhaps points a t their respect for teams in our area. . A third Lancashire club


joined that group on Sat­ urday, as Ciitheroe returned to Llanelian Road for a second succes­ sive game and ground out a gratifying 0-0 draw. How this league fixture


remained goalless is any­ one’s guess, as there were a hatful of opportunities at either end. Colwyn have not lost


once this season at home, and this was only their fourth draw at Llanelian Road But the Colwyn crowd’s


respect for an attacking Ciitheroe was clear to see, and as one fan stood behind me said: “it was refreshing to see a side attack rather than have 11 men behind the ball at all times”. This was a totally dif­


ferent game to last week’s President’s Cup defeat, and saw Ciitheroe bounce back to good effect. Whereas goals flew in from all angles in th a t


game, th is fixture was about how the ball stayed out. Clitheroe’s best attempt


came in the first half when Paul Rogers had a close range shot cleared off the line, and Colwyn’scame from the penalty spot, which was smashed


' against the underside of the bar. John Paul Fagan


returned for his second game of the season, and was in inspirational form at right back, but it was Peter Collinge in goal that made the biggest differ­ ence as he brought confi­ dence to the rest of the side. Ciitheroe maintained


early pressure with shots from Rogers and Gary


Williams se t tin g the scene, before Craig Sarge- son’s 25th minute corner found the foot of Rogers, only to be denied on the line. P au l McNally had a


similar close range effort saved on the line, and Sargeson had an effort flash wide of the post. I t was Colwyn, howev­


er, who finished the half in the ascendancy, when George Melling gave a penalty away in the^43rd minute for holding a'play- erinthebox. The penalty was


missed, but the home side quickly bounced back and could have broken the deadlock through Darren Wright, but Fagan was in the right place a t the right


time to nod the ball off the line. .


' Clitheroe’s defence, cap­


tain Ian Kearney and Tom Hard\vick in particu­ lar, were called upon in the second half to keep Col­ wyn at bay, with the latter needing to make a great sliding tackle to deny a one-on-one situation \vith


.Collinge. And the few attempts


that slipped through their grasp forced some excel­ lent saves out of the Ciitheroe keeper. ■ Pressure built by Tom


Hardwick, and sustained by Rogers, on Colwyn keeper Matthew Perry, nearly gave Paul Stans­ field a goal of the season contender on 75 minutes. Perry’s under-pressure


Glitheroe miss out in big Roses battle


ciitheroe RUFC........... 8 Heath . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 8 A RAIDINfj party from over the Pennines crossed the border and left home for Yorkshire with the spoils, leaving a rueful Ciitheroe o u tf it licking their wounds, wondering how they managed to let this one slip away. As this was a so-called


1*4:


friendly match, the selec­ tors were able to make a' few changes in the line up to assess and te s t some players in fresh and new environments. . , To this end, i t was a


start a t loose head prop for Richard Edmundson, and


also for Andy King on the left wing. Dan Smith returned at


scrum half a f te r a pro­ longed Christmas holiday, plus, with the advantage of a strong bench, things looked fair for an open game of rugby. However i t never


panned out the way the Littlemoor side really wanted it to, and they spent far too long of the f irs t half camped and cramped back in their own 22.


Although they had the


possession, they found it all too difficult to escape the smothering defence of


the Halifax side. Mistakes-a-plenty were


the order of the day for the entire m atch ' from' Clitheroe's point of view. Secure enough at scrum


time, despite gi'ving away a hefty weight disadvan­ tage, and confident at the line outs. But it was really in the


driving play, or lack of it, th a t ' was Clitheroe's achilles heel, as the quick rucking th a t has been a key feature of the forwards play was noticeably absent. In fact, Ciitheroe were


not too upset at being only one try down after the first


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40 minutes after all the pressure they had to soak up, and went into the sec­ ond period with renewed confidence that they could still turn the game around. Ciitheroe began to creep


. back into the game, and the centre pairing , of James Podyvyn and Chris Waddington began, to show some glimpses of their latent talent. But ju s t like the first


half, Ciitheroe seemed unable to finish off the moves, and as a result, allowed Heath off the hook. : In fact, i t was Heath who scored again from


close range. This only spurred the town team on some more and in the last quarter they gave every­ thing. A Jim Moody penalty


gave them a boost, then Moody again put in a deft chip for the hard working ■Waddington to case and pressure the Heath full back, who then fumbled enough for. winger Simon Coulter to grab the loose ball and sprint over for the score. ■ Ciitheroe were now in


the ascendancy but it was all they could do to keep the game moving, as the wily old heads in the


Heath pack just managed to slow th e game down enough to run th e clock down. Although a reverse,


Ciitheroe can take heart from the performances of certain ■ individuals, Edmundson' and Rick Slinger in the pack, and also the welcome return of Jim Beary after having his appendix removed ju s t before Christmas.. There is a big league


match on Saturday when Carnforth are the visitors to Littlemoor, kick-off 2- 15 p.m. Ciitheroe will be desperate to avenge their early season defeat.


clearance fell to the Ciitheroe midfielder on the halfway line, but his volleyed lob fell a metre wide of the mark. But it was Adam Bir-


chall’s eight-yard effort in the final minute that had everyone gasping. I t was his third attempt


of the afternoon, following a gre a t interchange of passes, only he took too long and his shot was blocked by a well-timed tackle. A draw was a fair result,


enjoyed by . Colwyn’s largest crowd of the sea­ son of 426, so perhaps next term the Welsh side will be wearing all blue when the two teams meet! ADRIAN CAPSTICK


Pool league annual


meeting


THE date has been set for the Ciitheroe and Di.strict Pool League annual meet­ ing. I t will take place in the


upstairs room at the Royal British Legion Club in Ciitheroe on Monday, Febru­ ary 6th, starting at 8 pm. And all ■ teams are


reminded that they will be J awarded a two-point bonus


if they are represented by either their captain or i vice-captain.


• . 5.4 Meanwhile, team cap- ,


tains are reminded that v all outstanding fixtures must be played immedi-


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ft I'I on Cl Clitherqe Lions . . . . . '.".’i .'.3


Embsay"..............................................'.‘2 CLITHEROE Lions maintained their s hold on top'spot in the Grayen League First' Divisjon,'but they., had to battle 4 their;way.to victory, against a stubborn ■ Embsay side in their, first game follow­ ing the Festive break.


\ . . m They s ta r te d the game welli'.with -i


Ward having a couple of decent chances . to open the scoring and Callaghan pro4 : viding good.balance on the opposites flanki-'


-i The otherwise resilient Lions defence


were left stranded 15 minutes into the s game, however, as a good cross resultedi; in a simple scoring opportunity. ^ “ The Lions soon fought baefeas to p «


.a


scorer and man-of-the-match Einard;; lofted the ball over a stranded Embsay keeper with an excellent finish.-:? ■ * ■ : :Holdeniprovided good supportifor-


Pinard; and was p art, of 'a wonderfully; : flowing raovpinvolyin'giouKplayersjs ending with a great burst of speed from ’ Pinard and an equally good finish. :;By this time, the Lions were in to ta l:


contrbl of the game,'particularly in the centre where Gaughan and Avci had th e : better of-the midfield' battle,- despite attempts to aggravate the two. Day,'Pickup and Clegg also coped ;


with most of. the Embsay attacks .with ease, and it wasn’t long before the Lions went: 3-1 up .with a •long-range'ieffort from Gaughah that; went underneath the keeper."


, y ' - '. s Things started .well for the Lions in


:the second half again;-until a'scuffle broke out.inthe.middle of the park,


.resulting in;the Lions being reduced to 10 men.. . .


, - This meant a tactical switch'; with


Holden coming off: foy Bank,’ and th e impressive James .Glegg.coming into midfield.,


; The remaining part of the. game saw . Glitheroe soak up all the pressure and try to" hit Embsay on the break; howev­ er, their resolve was broken 40 minutes before the end as Embsay pulled a goal


-back to make i t a nervy, end to;the game.


. '


... .TCeeperMashiter out and was kept'on his toes towards


. the end,' and youngster Mark Faulkner constantly.chased.thebaU down.all afternoon.


. - The Lions.'remain in the hunt for'all


; silverware this season; the importance of which was heightened by. the recent


: cup .qiiarter-final draw against: local Premier Division team .Waddington;';


Chipping forced to settle for y a draw in Shield competition


I I


Mawdesley..................... 3 Chippiny....................... 3 CHIPPING had to settle for a share of the spoils as . they returned from their Christmas break with an away trip to Mawdesley in the group stage of the Shield competition. ‘ Chipping looked to have ■ the game won at one point, but Tan out of steam towards the end arid allowed their hosts to bat­ tle back from 3-1 down to claim a point. The locals had an early,


scare as a Mawdesley play­ er ran unmarked to head a cross goalwards, but keeper Rich Ireland produced a good reaction save to deny him. Following this. Chipping .


took a firm grip on the game and began to produce ■ some good football on a decent surface. ■ Their, reward came


through leading scorer Steve Proctor. A clever ball was deliv­


ered to Proctor’s feet and, seeing the keeper slightly off his line, he produced a sublime chip to open the scoring. . I t was another excellent


strike from an in-form Proctor whose goals have been vital to Chipping’s improvement since he joined in the summer. - A second goal came


shortly after from Mick Garth, playing in an unac­


customed role on the right wing. On picking the ball up,


he cut in off his flank and curled a wicked ball in off the far post and into the net past a bewildered goal­ keeper. Chipping looked com­


pletely in control but seemed to take their foot off the gas and allowed their hosts back into the game. The low sun had proved


a problem all through the first half for Chipping, and this proved a key factor as Mawdesley halved the deficit. A corner from the left


was only half cleared, and the home midfielder unleashed a fierce drive froiri outside the box. On a normal day, Ireland


would have saved it com­ fortably, but, due to the sun, he did not see it until i t . was past him. This concluded the first


half scoring and Chipping went into the break 2-1 up. ■ The second half began


mth Chipping in complete control and the game seemed there for the taking. Chipping created numer­


ous chances, but failed to convert them. However, Proctor creat­


ed the chance to score his second of the game from the penalty spot. Some dazzling skill on the left saw him bamboozle


the full back into dMgling out his leg and bringing Proctor to ground.. He dusted himself off


and netted clinically from the spot to make it 3-1. Chipping continued to


press and should have extended their lead with a number of chances. Man-of-the-match Chris


Leighton was unlucky when his curling effort was well saved by the keeper, b u t the inability to kill Mawdesley off was to prove costly as two late own goals brought the sides level. A good ball into the box


from the right saw Ryan Hilton unlucky to see the ball fly in the net under pressure from the striker, and the equaliser came in bizarre fashion. An excellent centre from


th e impressive home winger saw the striker can­ non a bullet header of the upright, and the ball rico­ cheted off Ireland’s head and into the net to bring the scores level. Mawdesley came closest


to winning the game late on but the striker fired high over the bar from eight yards and the game ended 3-3. The next game for Chip-.


ping is against Walmer Bridge a t home in the Shield on Saturday (kick­ off 2p.m.).


ciitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classified)


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Ciitheroe Advertiser &Times, Thursday, January 19th, 2006 63


Honours even as Green hold rivals


Hurst Green . . . . . . . . 1 Stacksteads.................. 1 THE E a s t Lancashire Football League’s top two met on S atu rd ay when leaders H u rs t Green played h o st to Stack - steads. Green made one change,


■ with Tom Bamber return­ ing from illness to replace the injured Oli Bolton at left back.


■ The locals started the game very brightly, play­ ing with confidence, and S ta cks te ad s found it extremely difficult to cope with the home side’s slick passing and movement.


However, in a first half


which Hurst Green total­ ly dominated, the locals couldn’t turn their many chances into the goals their play deserved. Alan Goar, twice, Simon


T ip ton , Mark Young, Vinny 'Wilkinson and Andy Waites all had decent efforts w ith o u t being able to score. Their only goal came


from Young, following his excellent control and superb right foot volley from the edge of the box. The second period


proved to be a much more even game with Stack-


s te a d s showing more urgency in their play, with H u r s t Green’s centre backs Ph il Walker and Colin Piper being tested by th e much-improved visitors. The home side still had


chances, with Goar and Tipton bringing excellent saves from the v is ito rs ’ keeper. However, with only 10


minutes remaining, .a Stacksteads break led to the lively Martin Taylor getting free on the right, and with Hurst Green’s defence appealing in vain , for off-side, his excellent


cross was headed home b’ the unmarked Tim Far ragher. Despite a late onslaugh


on the v is i to r s ’ goal Hurst Green were unable to force a winner and ha< to settle for a point. After the game, Hurs


Green manager Neah Brown p raised all hi; players for their efforts ii a whole-hearted display but felt th a t with a little more composure in from of goal, they could have won the game easily. H u r s t Green’s nex


game is a t home to Kel ^ brook on Saturday.


Razor-sharp Penman’s hat-trick extends run


Riminyton.................................... 5 Padiham .......................................1 A HAT-TRICK from Jon Penman helped Rimington continue their impressive run with a comfortable win over a young Padiham side. The first 15 minutes was poor,


with Rimington trying to pass the ball around too much, bu t when, Mankowski released Coulter down the right, the forward reached the bye-line before picking out Penman, who made no mistake from close range. I t was Coulter himself who broke


clear of the defence before hammer­ ing in the second on 35 minutes. The home side came out in a very positive manner a t the start of the


second half and scored almost immediately after good work from Coulter, who unselfishly set up his partner Penman, who finished with ease. And the big striker,grabbed his


third when Ben 'Walker attacked from left back and h i t a screamer which the keeper just got his fingers to, tipping it on to the underside of the bar and down. I t looked as though it may have


crossed the line, but Peiiman was on hand to make sure. He should have scored again fol­


lowing excellent work down the left by O’Neill, as his cross was headed over. Coulter made it five when he fol­


lowed up a parried shot to coolly slot home - just reward for all his unselfish work before making way for Dave Whalley, who also had two great chances to further increase the lead. Manager Terry Braithwaite was


able to give all three substitutes a good run out, and insists th a t if his side are to mount a challenge, he will need all his squad match fit - especially with all the games they have'to play, taking in the Craven and President’s Cups. But he is confident th a t if they


stay injury free, then they will be there or thereabouts a t the end of the season.


Read Utd Reserves . . .4 Riminytoh Reserves . .6 RIMINGTON s ta r te d slowly in this potential bana^na skin of a match, but ran out winners. Read took advantage of


their terrible home pitch,: which was an obvious lev­ eller for the teams, taking an early two-goal lead, before youngster Leach


pounced on a loose ball to pull one back, and Threlfall levelled matters courtesy of a goalkeeping error. Rimington then took


the lead through Leach’s second, McClean going on a run before squaring the ball for Leach to cheekily backheel home from three yards.


■ _


Rimington were still in


th e changing rooms for th e s ta r t of the second when Read punished them again with another two early goals from'very little pressure. But a spectacular own


goal from a deflected cross brought the teams level, th e ball flying in to the corner.


Dinsdale then latched


o n to a th ro u g h ball to give Rimington the lead for th e final time, and H ay th o rn thw a i te com­ pleted the 10-goal bonan­ za by slotting home with 10 minutes to go. Man-of-the-match was awarded to McClean.


Resilient Dog come out on top in must-win game


DOG Inn opened their 2006 cam­ paign in the best possible way, beat­ ing Great Harwood Rovers 5-3 in a thriller at Bullough Park. The Budweiser Boys s ta r ted


superbly, and fine goals from Nick Lord and Liam Porter saw them lead 2-0 after less than a quarter of an hour.


■' They had further cause for celebra­


tion when Rick Grafton hammered home from close range after the Great Harwood keeper had struggled to deal with both the wind and Chris:


■West's free kick. The Whalley side's three-goal


advantage was wiped out as defensive errors gifted Rovers two goals, and •Rovers then equalised from the penal­ ty spot to set up a thrilling finale. However, just when i t seemed th a t '


their chance might have gone. Dog reasserted their authority, and further fine goals from Porter and Lord saw them to victory.


. ■ ChrisWestwasnamedman-of-the-


, match by the referee. Manager Simon Kerins was


delighted: "That was a must-win game and we have won it. We made life difficult for ourselves in the second half but a monumental team effort has carried us through in the end. “Liam and Nick were superb up


front and thoroughly deserved their goals, but everyone has played their part and we are now back on track for the rest of the season." ■ Dog are once again due, a t Bul­


lough Park on Sunday, as they take on league leaders Stanhill WMC.


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