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72 Clitheroe Advertiser &Times, Thursday, March 6th, 2008


RIBBLE VALLEY SOCCER


SCENE -PAGE 70


OOiLM 24 ieuri i day, 7 days a wieti ...jog on to NET GAIN! Girls crowned Valley champs


BOWLAND High School’s Year 11 Girls have been crowned Ribble Valley Schools’ Netball champions. The nine-girl side of Sarah Pate, Jenny Smith,


Megan Connolley, Katie Mercer, Emma Mort, Louise Hartley, Emma Wild, Sophie Walsh and Sarah Howe topped the five-team league. They came up against Ribblesdale High School


Technology College, St Augustine’s RC High School, Norden High School and Clitheroe Royal Grammar School and won the right to be called Valley champi­ ons. The school’s Year 10 Girls also did well in their league, in which they finished a close second.


Blues face top tussles in fight for survival


By Adrian Capstick ■


CLITHEROE continue their tussle with the league’s top teams when second place Ciu^n Ash­ ton come to Shawbridge on Saturday. Player-manager Neil


Reynolds was full of praise for his UniBond Plrst Divi­ sion North side against league leaders Skelmers- dale on Tuesday night, hailing it the best squad performance he’s seen this season. He believes his fourth-


<iir>


bottom ade has nothing to fear, and has set his sights on reaching 40 points as quickly as posable to move out of the six-team relega­ tion mire that currently engulfs them. Reynolds said: “In


terms of work ethic and application across the whole 14-man squad, it is probably our best perform­ ance of the season. “The quicker we can get


to 40 points the better. Everyone is going to beat everyone else at this time • of the year, but we’ve got nothing to fear, and at the moment we prefer to play


I


the top sides. “People are not going to


want to play us, but it’s the six-point games against Harrogate Railway, Bridlington, Radcliffe Bor­ ough and Chorley that we need to get something from.” There were performanc­


es throughout the ade, but special mention had to go to James Mann’s goalkeep­ ing heroics. “T h a t’s got to be the


best goalkeeping display I ’ve seen this season, on teievision, the Premier L e ^ e , anywhere. “How he pulled out


some of them I don’t know, if they’d been on Match of the Day we would be watching them over and over again “Take away his saves -


and his kicking, position­ ing, everything was immaculate. He’s had his doubters earlier in the sea­ son, but the last few games


- he’s been one of our best players, if not the best, and thoroughly deserved the plaudits on Tuesday.” Reynolds added: “The


defence looked solid. It was good to see John Osborne at left back, Russ Clarke


was unfortunate, and Paul Osborne and John Smith had ju s t got an under­ standing when Paul went off injured - but th a t ’s been our season and he’ll probably be out for six weeks. “Jonathan Smith has


been tremendous for us, and you won’t find a better header of the ball. The way he reads the ball, his timing is excellent, and it’s only a matter of time before he scores for us. “I don’t know how long


we’ll be able to keep hold of him, as he’s hitting form and Fleetwood may want him back for the run in. “We’ve got him for


another three games, and hopefuliy then we’li be able to renew the deal. “And what a great home


debut for Dave Hankin, and what a player he looks like he’ll be. “We’ve been crying out


for an out and out right winger, and, no disrespect to Craig Sargeson, but we’ve probabiy not had one since CHris Whitting- ham.” Russ McKenna, Nigei


Tayior, Gary Jackson, Jason Jones and Ian Flan­


nery are all out injured. Flannery has returned to light training, and Will Exton is ready to go out on


loan to Squires Gata Clitheroe.................... 0 Skelmersdale Utd.......0 JAMES Mann was at the core of CUtheroe's best per­ formance in months on 'Tuesday night. The inspired shot-stop­


per kept out some thump­ ing strikes to hold Uni- Bond PIrst Division North league leaders Skelmers­ dale to a draw in an all­ action game that saw' the Blues more than hold thdr own against a penetrating forward lina He clawed away at least


two outstanding strikes in the first half and sprung to reach another three fierce­ ly struck efforts that had the roof of the net written all over them after the break.


r Mann may have shone


out with his top drawer savas to deny the likes of George Donnelly, Steve Ackrigg and Chris Almond, bu t to a man there were performances seen throughout the Clitheroe ade in this enter­ taining encounter.


W lE l l S6J Substitutes Sam Heap


and Craig Sargeson added extra vigour going forward in the second half as they returned respectively to the team from honeymoon and injury, replacing the equally lirely Carl Lomax and Mickey Saunders in the second half to ensure the side stayed fresh on the attack. This was certainly no


bore draw as a hatful of chances were to be had at either end. And there was also a


double dismissal that saw each side reduced to 10 men before half-time when an altercation between Russell Clarke and Skelmersdale striker Anthony Murt resulted in a second yellow for the Clitheroe defender, a flash of red to both men and a bust up in the tunnel Apart from this one


heated exchange the game flowed. David Hankin enjoyed


space on the right wing to deliver the most successful completion rate of crosses Shawbridge has seen this season from that ada Scott Redhead was use­ ful down the left, although


his tree kicks struggled to hit the mark, while Ryan Fisher and GaiyStopforth toiled to win the bail and dealt with the pace of then- opposition. Even when injury struck


Paul Osboma Clitheroe re­ jigged and s t ^ finn. Mann wasn’t on his own


in keeping the ball from the b a ^ of the net, as cen­ tre back Jonathan Smith somehow got m front of a Donnelly strike .to see it out for a comer when the forward was given a gilt- edged chance fiom a right- wing Almond cross. Clitheroe threatened in


either half but i t wasn't until Sargeson threaded Heap through one-ontone that Ian Lowe was tested, the Skelmersdale keeper denying Clitheroe their best chance of the gama And Hankin had the


home side's next best chance of taking the lead when he sihashed a prime opportunity inade the area widebfthemarL, . But in the end, a third


clean sheet this seaton for Mann, and another posi­ tive poformance against a top-five club for the Blues, was all that mattered.


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Church....................... 0 Wolves Under 11s Red .(> A HAT-TRICK tor Andrew Tomlinson, and goals from Ryan Cattcr- mole, George Bicknell and William Milligan gave Wolves a straightforward Mn. The score could have


been more comfortable, but the goals will boost Wolves’ goal difference. Tomlinson's first goal


was a great strike from the left and set the tone for the game - \vith Wolves on top and searching for goals. This win keeps Wolves


top of the league, although rivals Accrington Stanley have games in hand. Wolves Under 16s........2 Oswaldtwistk Rangers 6 AVOLVES were at sixes and sevens in this defeat. They got off to the


worst possible start as the visitors scored in the first few minutes after capitalis­ ing on some sloppy play. Rangers dominated the


first 20 minutes, and wast­ ed numerous chances. Dominic Neary pulled


off a finger-tip save to keep the score down, but was left stranded on three fur­ ther occasions. Rangers had their keep­


er to thank for maintaining their advantage in the sec­ ond half, as he saved well from Charlie Jackson, Jack Parkinson and Ryan Dup- lessis. Wolves’ pressure was


rewarded midway through the half when Parkinson was felled in the box, and though his subsequent penalty was tipped on to the bar, the keeper was helpless to stop the follow up.


The comeback proved


short-lived, though, as Rangers grabbed another goal, and Wolves were left to make do with a consola­ tion strike from man-of- the-match Daniel Whit­ taker, who finished well from close range • The younger Wolves j have a change of venue for Saturday training.


They will be using the


artificial pitch at RoefiGo^ next to the tennis d om a ^ ^ Six and seven-year-olds


will train from 9-30 for an hour and then it will be the turn of the four and five-year-olds.


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