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+ www.clitheroeadvertlser.co.uk Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classified)


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-PAGE 54


RALLY REALISE


Frailties prove costly


Clitheroe.................... ... .1 .2 Harrogate Railway . . .3


By Adrian Capstick CLITHEROE chairman Carl Gar-


, ner has issued a rallying call to fans to get behind the club for Saturday’s


FA Cup game against Spennymoor Town.


The Blues are three games away


from the dream of a place in the first round proper, and want to make


home rule count by packing the stands. The North East club may play a


league below, but they have already taken two UniBond scalps in the competition, beating Garforth Town and Brigg Town to reach the second qualifying round. Whatever the result, entertain­


•:e--


ment seems almost guaranteed fol­ lowing the dramatic climax to the Blues last two successive cup ties at Shawbridge.


Gamer said: “The entertainment


factor is certainly there, i t’s been there all season for the neutral, and what we need now is for the town to get behind the team. “The more people get behind the


lads, the sooner they’ll turn that cor­ ner, as the commitment and determi­ nation is there for all to see.” One player that h ^ shone out in


itN


those cup games Is striker Sam Heap, and Gamer added: “Sam has been a massive boost and taken his chance with both hmids. His enthu­ siasm and effort has rubbed off on everyone, and his work rate is just fantastic.”


Meanwhile, Clitheroe have signed


former Burnley youth team full­ back Jack Overson, son of Clarets legend Vince, from Ashton United, while goalkeeper Peter Collinge has left the club to join Chbrley.


Clith e ro e................................................................. ColwynBay ..................'


....................... (AET, Colwyn Bay won 4-2 on pens)


SHAWBRIDGE served up another dramatic cup climax on Tuesday night after a tremendous late come­ back from Clitheroe. Ju s t like las t week's PA Cup


replay, the Blues had to come from behind to take this UniBond Chal­ lenge Cup game to extra time and penalties, but unlike the Chorley game, this match saw twice the


commitment and effort, without the end reward. Clitheroe and Colwyn Bay stood at one apiece after Ant Daniels


tucked away the Blues' first spot kick. Then the controversy began,


when James’Mann saved Colwyn Bay's second kick from Martin Crowder, only to see it retaken and


scored for negligible movement by the Clitheroe keeper on his line. Joel Byrom made it 2-2, but


Mann was flagged by the liner, before Colwyn Bay's third kick saw a serious humour bypass from the man ■with the flag, when the keeper stood two foot behind his line and asked if'he was far enough back. The flag went up, the ref was called over, and Mann was reprimanded. Anthony Murt netted, but both


■Nigel Taylor and Russ McKenna saw their efforts saved by former Accrington Stanley stopper Janiie Speare. '


Mann pulled off another save to


deny Kyle Armstrong in between the Blues' last two efforts, but he


couldn't stop Neil Black's winning kick. The Blues had bust a gut to come


back from 3-0 down after 50 min­ utes, thanks to goals from Gregg Anderson, David Dempsey and


4


unrelenting star man Sam Heap to take the game in to extra-time. Having gone behind as early as


the sixth minute to a poorly conced­ ed Mark Quayle strike, and gifted a second from the penalty spot for John Lawless to make i t 2-0, it looked like another disappointment for the side at half-time, as gilt- edged chances were missed. Colwyn grabbed their third early


in the secoiid half through Crowder, before Clitheroe finally broke through with 15 minutes to go. Byrom’s ball into the box was spilled by Speare, and Anderson was at hand to slot home. Then in the 84th minute of the


game. Heap was put through to round the back line and keeper to slot home an effort like one he missed only seven days earlier against Chorley.


And Dempsey got the all-lmpor-


tant touch to a long ball in to the back post in stoppage time to take the fight to the final round. However, the action didn't end


there, as centre back Taylor awarded the visitors a second penalty for a foul on Neil Black, which saw Law­ less successfully bag his second spot kick in open play.


; But just as Dempsey came to the rescue in regular time. Heap got ' nothing more than he deserved, having battled for 115 minutes and taken more than one unrecognised knock in and around the box. A 30-yard through ball from


Daniels slipped through an exhaust­ ed Bay back line, with Heap behind m hot pursuit ready to pounce and push the game beyond expectation. Clitheroe: Mann, Clarke, Donnelly


(Daniels), Taylor, Anderson, Fisher (Dempsey), Sprgeson, McKenna, Jackson (ExIon), Byrpm, Heap.


IT took a half-time rocket and three second-half sub­ stitutions to show Clitheroe the error of their ways a t home to Harro­ gate Railway on Saturday. But, despite a marked


improvement, and enough chances to a t least draw the game, the Blues' first- half defensive frailties proved too costly, and that elusive first league win evaded them once again. M a n -o f - th e -m a tc h


Craig Sargeson netted the Shawbridge side's first-half goal, struck the woodwork twice and saw numerous other efforts go close to the mark, as he was unlucky not to get more out of the game. The wing man played


well throughout, but it wasn't until the team got a good talking to a t half­ time, and player-manager Peter Smith, Will Exton and Sam Heap came bn to spark the Blues' attack, did things begin to really^ happen.


Harrogate were practi­


cally gifted their first two strikes, before compound­ ing Clitheroe's misery with a third from the penalty spot before the break. Dumb-struck Clitheroe


were left chasing the game from as early as the fourth minute when a weak right- wing cross by Ryan Haigh was gobbled up by. an unchallenged Danny Davidson at the back post. : The Blues could have


pulled it back sooner than they did, when a 30-yard


sure on the -visitors. Ryan Fisher made it 3-2


thanks again to Byrom, when the attacking mid­ fielder's placed shot was spilled for Fisher to smash home the rebound. And Byrom almost saw


CRAIG SARGESON


Sargeson free kick stuck the base of a post, before Gary Jackson was in a prime position to score only to fire over the bar. ^g e so n found the back


of the net when a quick Joel Byrom free kick released him down the right to rifle a clinical equaliser past Harrogate keeper


Jonathan


McLaughlin. However, a second mis­


take allowed Richard Mar­ shall to cross from the bye­ line and grant Davidson a second easy goal with a free header from the mid­ dle of the Blues’box. This was followed by a


clumsy challenge from behind on the double goal scorer, gifting Harrogate the chance to seal the game from the penalty spot, which was tucked away by Danny Lowe despite James Mann get- tingatouch.


A resurgent'Ciitheroe


one of his in-swinging cor­ ners tipped into the net by McLaughlin, but for the intervention of Haigh on the back post. However, after some


unbelievable refereeing that saw Harrogate win a number of free kicks around the Blues' box for blatant play acting, and Exton shown a yellow card and then a red for a first offence, only to have it rescinded because the ref­ eree thought he was Jack- ® son, Clitheroe were given their own free kick for very- little on the edge of the vis- ^ itors' box.


Sargeson stepped up ^


again to take it, and chipped the 87th minute effort against the bar. ' This could have quite


easily won the game, had Heap put away a chance minutes earlier, as, having raced away and rounded the defence and keeper, he screwed his shot behind an open goal And the final chance of


appeared for the second half ^ Smith got the team talking to one another, driving forward and play­ ing with commitment, as ■ the fresh legs of Exton and the pace of Heap put pres-


the game? That too fell to i ^ g ^ n , when he struck a sweet 20-yard strike wde of the mark in stoppage time. Clitheroe: Mann,


Koslowski, J. Osbourne (Exion), Fletcher, Ander­ son, Fisher, Sargeson, Daniels (Smith), Jackson (Heap), Byrom, McKenna.


By Chris Boden ci«¥'


MOORLAND School pupil ■ John Cofie is attracting interest from the top Pre­ mier League clubs. But Burnley are deter­


mined to hold onto the prodigious young striker. The 14-year-old was


linked with a £lm-plus move to Manchester Unit­ ed and Chelsea in one Sun­ day tabloid.


. However, Clarets boss


Steve Cotterill is eager to see Cofie, who was discov-


STEVE COTTERILL


ered by the club in Ger­ many at a youth tourna­ ment last year, progress


■:^- m ■ K


EBPHII11 1I1I ■ 111■ B B S H l i i P <i


:_ _ _ _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


, shirt for the firet team. The story on Sunday


through the'ranks/at Turf Moor and pull-on the famous ClareUand-Blue


boasted that Manchester United were set to win the race to sign Cofie, but Cot­ terill said: “There are a lot of clubs looking at John Cofie, but, unfortunately for them, he’s ours. “He’s registered and on


forms with us, so nobody can nick him, and th a t’s really where it stands. - “There’s a lot of specula­ tion that we didn’t really


want speculation labout, but scouts and agents all talk, and we’re just very lucky that we have a good 14-year-old with us. “I’ve had a few conversa­


tions, but, other than that, he’s our player.


, “He’s signed for us, irre­


spective of what anyone else says and does.” The vast majority of


Burnley fans willnot have seen the youngster in action, and Cotterill added: “He’s a special talent for his age, which is why every­ body wants him.


“He’s a big lad, strong,


like lightning, scores goals - other than that, he hasn’t got a lot going for him! “But we want him to be


a bit older and be a special talent with and for us. “With anybody at the


moment, who chooses to read it, anyone playing games with John Cofie at the moment is not doing him any favours. “But we’ll see what comes out in the wash in


this, it should be interest­ ing.” With the likes of Kyle


Laffertyand Chris McCann coming through the youth


set-up to become first team regulars, Cotterill hopes to add Cofie to that list, and he admits he is glad the Clarets’ youngsters are attracting attention from elsewhere: "To be honest, I’m actually quite chuffed about it. “I never had anyone


phoning about anybody when I first came here, and now we’ve got three really good young 'uns that every­ body wants.


“We’re quite Battered by


that at Burnley really. “When I first came here,


people used to say there was only Richard Chaplow in 20 years, but you’ve got to look (for players), and we are at that, whether it’s myself or my staff, or my scouts, and the youth team.”


9770963365225 9"/'70963 365225 -I- '■’'■■■ I k


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