56 Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, Thursday, January 17th, 2008


RIBBLE VALLEY SOCCER


SCENE -PAG E 54


Smith signs to boost the Blues


By Chris Boden


COMMANDING centre back Jonathan Smith is the latest addition to the Clitheroe ranks. And joint-boss Neil


Reynolds feels the former Accrington Stanley defender will have a major influence on the side. Reynolds has swooped


to land the 31-year-old from UniBond Premier Division title hopefuls Fleetwood Town, and believes he will add crucial experience and leadership qualities as the Blues look to climb away from the wrong end of the table. Clitheroe travel to sev­


enth-place Lancaster City on Saturday, lying five points from the relegation


UNIBOND LEAGUE First Division North


p W D L P


Curzon;\shton ..22 14 5 3 47 Ossett Albion... .25 13 5 7 44 Bradford PA ....20 13 3 4 42 FC United.........22 13 2 7 41 Skel’daleUtd ....21 12 5 4 41 BamberBridge ..21 13 2 6 41 Lancaster City ..23 II 4 8 37 Garforth Tn.......26 10 5 11 35 NewcastleBS ...22 8 7 7 31 RosscndaleUtd..2o 8 7 10 31 Mossley............25 9 3 13 30 Wakefield.......... 21 7 4 10 25 HarrogateRA ...21 6 7 8 25 Woodley Sports..25 6 7 12 25 Bridlington Tn ..2-i 5 5 14 20 CLITHEROE...20 5 4 11 19 Chorley............23 3 9 11 18 RaddiffeBor. ...22 2 8 12 14


spot. And Reynolds is thrilled to have got his man: “We’ve taken Jonathan on loan from Fleetwood, and Tony Greenwood has done us a massive favour there.


“He will give us great


presence, stature and organisation. People say we have not had a leader, and they might have a point, but Jonathan ticks all the boxes. “I ’m not putting any


pressure on him, but I’m sure he will be an amazing signing for us.” Smith spent six years at


his home town club after signing from Great Har­ wood Town, and helped the Reds into the Confer­ ence, before leaving for Barrow after being grant­ ed a testimonial. And Reynolds added:


“He played a massive part in Accrington’s success, and often chipped in with around 15 goals a season from centre back. “He had a couple of


www.ciitheroeadvertiser.co.uk


Ciitheroe 422324 (Editoriai), 422323 (Advertising), Burniey 422331 (Ciassified)


FANTASY FOOTBALL ® S '


TRANSFERS -PAGE 54 24 hoiirs a Hay, 7 days a week... iog on to www.clitkeroeailvartiser.Go.yi!


New system adds spice!


NEW


Clithcroc signing


other offers, from teams higher than us, but he wanted to come and help us out.” Smith adds to the likes


of midfielder Jason Jones, who has recently returned to the club, former Burn­ ley professional Joel Pilk- ington and Euxton Villa winger Matt Atherton as new signings. Meanwhile, Reynolds


was pleased with his side’s battling performance at Ossett Albion on Saturday, where he laid the blame for the 5-1 defeat firmly at the door of the referee. Clitheroe saw keeper


Paul Horridge and Will Exton receive their march­ ing orders, while Albion were awarded two penal­ ties - the second of which was retaken, and Reynolds


fumed: “I’ve been involved in non-league football for 15 years and it was the worst refereeing display I have ever been a part of. “I don’t often blame ref­


erees, I take responsibility for my team, but unfortu­ nately we were right up against it from the off. “It was an outrageous


decision to send Paul off, and although I’m not dis­ puting the penalties, to allow one to be taken for encroachment was ludi­ crous.” The Blues took the lead


with 10 men, and held on to it for 40 minutes, and Reynolds praised his side’s


Jonathan Smith


with the


Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy, (s)


attitude: “I took a lot of positives from the game. “I was proud of the lads.


I had said some harsh words last week after Bridlington, but they responded, and everyone could see there was an improvement.” And he is aiming for a


repeat of the Blues’ FA Trophy win at Lancaster on Saturday: “They are riding high, but there’s no reason why we can’t go there and shock them. “We’ve drawn with


them at home and won there this season, and we are stronger now, so we will look to go there and \vin”


Ossell A lb io n ..............5 C lillie ro e ....................J


CALAMITY beset nine- man Clitheroe at Ossett Albion on Saturday. They had two men sent-


off, and conceded two penalties and an own goal. The dismissal of Paul


Horridge for an unfortu­ nate incident outside his box after just 10 minutes dictated how the game would go. Trying to win the ball


with his feet, the ball flicked up the keeper’s body and struck his hand for an extremely harsh instant red card. New signing Matt


Calamity strikes Clitheroe in five-goal defeat BLUES’


So when Clitheroe took


NEXT GAME V Lancaster City, away


(UniBond First Division Norlli)


Saturday, 3 p.m.


Atherton from Euxton Villa traded the left wing for the goalkeeper's gloves in a memorable debut, as he coped admirably in arduous circumstances. And centre back Chris


Middleton showed his worth with some timely interventions to keep the home side at bay.


the lead with their only real effort of note on 24 minutes, it looked as though it could be a victo­ ry against all odds, in a true battling, determined display. I t was a well executed


move as Gary Stopforth slipped a probing pass through the home defence for Mickey Saunders to run on to, and he launched a pin-point cross from the bye-line for former Claret Joel Pilkington, Clitheroe's second debutant from Chorley, to head home. However, before the half was up, centre back Ian


Flannery had limped from the field for a second con­ secutive week. Unfortunately, substi­


tute Ryan Fisher turned an Ossett strike into his own net early in the second half, deflecting the effort past Atherton to level the game. John Osborne unneces­


sarily hauled down an Ossett winger just inside the box for the first of two penalties on 64 minutes, which striker Shane Kelsey tucked away to take the lead. And through the pace


and trickery of right winger Andrew Catton,


Ossett netted their third five minutes later when the ball pinged back and fourth across the six-yard box, before Adrian Bel­ lamy headed home at the near post. It had all gone v/rong by


the time Russ Clarke gave away Kelsey's second penalty, which the striker put wide of the post on his first attempt, only to net with the retake after the referee had booked Reynolds for questioning the decision. Neil Zarac made way for


AVill Exton by this point, and the side had welcomed back Craig Sargeson, but


THE new rally points tern added spice w h |H ' Clitheroe A entertained Stanhill A in the Black­ burn and District Bad­ minton Cup. Stephen Pym swept the opposition aside to win all four of his games, combin­ ing well with Pete Woods in the men’s doubles, and regular partner Louise Burrill in the mixed. The hidden handicap


system means the locals hold their breath to see if their 283-292 result is suf­ ficient to carry them through. Hitting a purple patch


of form in the Mid-Lancs League, feathers fairly flew when Clitheroe travelled to meet rivals Multipart .A. Richard Llewelyn once


again proved his worth by § taking five games to leave " promotion contenders Multipart floundering in a 12-6 defeat. Clitheroe B saw their


unbeaten home record come to an end at Oakhill College against promotion chasers St Vincent’s in the Mid-Lancs League Third Division. The locals gained the


wth 10 minutes to go there was still time for another dismissal and another goal. Exton picked up his first


yellow for an argument with the linesman, and a second for going through the back of a player for what must be one of the quickest dismissals for two bookable offences. And Ossett netted their


fifth and final strike in stoppage time when Kelsey came inside from the wing and found Catton at the near post. Atherton did well to stop the initial shot, but he couldn't stop the rebound firing in off the underside of the bar.


early advantage, with the ladies taking all four matches convincingly, with Jane MacEwan partnering Julie Pym, and then Liz Maskell, to victory. However, the men could


only win one of four, thanks to Tony Bush and Chris Tomlinson. The mixed doubles


reaped only three wins from a possible 10, with Pete Woods and Maskell picking up two as Clitheroe lost 10-8.


9770963365331 0 3 i ©


[I


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30