Coventry Sphinx 4 Glossop NE 3

Don’t let the scoreline fool you, Glossop were comprehensively beaten as they crashed out of the FA Vase on Saturday.  Late goals nearly got them a draw they didn’t deserve having conceded 4 against an ordinary looking side that relied on set pieces for their threat – 3 of the 4 came from set plays.

Steve Young has told fans all season that he has a good young side assembled at Surrey Street.  There have been flashes to suggest this is true – but how are supporters supposed to believe it when the players so patently don’t believe in themselves.

Yet again the same frailties that have been evident all season emerged.  Despite conceding 4, Glossop might have scored twice that but frustratingly missed chance after chance that they created, either by wasting the final pass in good position, or failing to at least put the ball on target when shooting.

The first chance missed on Saturday came after 10 seconds when Lunt had a shot from a tight angle from the kick off, but Harrison made a good save.  The ball went straight up the other end and, from a long thrown in, the ball was headed away softly to the edge of the area for Stevenson to pick up, side step Radford, and blast an early body blow into the top corner. 

Paul Nibloe nearly fashioned a goal from nothing when a speculative shot from outside the box hit the top of the bar, but it was the one moment of composure the side showed as so often they failed to deliver a quality ball in dangerous position.  Dave Hodges was a real paradox, frequently skinning his defender with skill and pace, and then putting in a real stinker of a pass, wasting his work. 

Sphinx, meanwhile, went for the tried and tested, using huge battering ram Cudworth up front, and he missed a great chance, shooting over, whilst Fielding, voted Goalkeeper of the month by the Vodkat League, pulled off a tremendous save from Woodward.

Glossop eventually got a grip of their opponents on the half hour, and Evans played a terrific ball through for Bailey to go one on one with the keeper, 12 yards out and central.  As is the story of the season, the keeper wasn’t troubled as the ball went over, and just a couple of minutes later, The Hillmen were punished when Cudworth out muscled Yates at a corner and headed home from no distance to make it 2-0 at half time (although not before a very strong looking penalty claim was dismissed that would have made it 3).

2 minutes into the second half, Lugsden wasted another good position, screwing his shot wide before the game hit a state of flux, broken on 65 minutes when substitute Owen picked up the ball on half wide, tight on the right touchline.  He streaked down the wing, unchallenged all the way into the box to shoot home from a tight angle…3-0. 

Glossop got what seemed like a lucky consolation on 74 when Hodges again did the hard work to get behind, only to shoot weakly.  However, the ball bounced off the keeper onto the winger’s head to net. 

Evans should have got another, behind the defence and screwing a shot wide when he should hit the target, and yet again they were punished in no time.  Just a minute later a deep corner was met by Ward at the far post for 4-1.

On 82, Lunt finally got the goal he craved when heading home Hodges’s wicked cross, but he couldn’t celebrate, as he was grabbing the ball and running to half way, and then Evans set up a possible barnstorming finish when a long ball beat the offside trap and he rounded the keeper to score.  But the final chance never came, and Glossop were out of a cup they could have gone much further in.

On Saturday the Hillmen are back in league action, at home to managerless Ramsbottom United.  It is time for the talking about the talent in the side to stop…and time for the players to start delivering on the park.

Glossop NE 1 Ramsbottom United 0

For the second consecutive week, don’t be fooled by the scoreline…Glossop absolutely battered Ramsbottom on Saturday, and it might have been 5 or 6 goals had it not been for the brilliant form of Ramsbottom keeper Steven Dryden.  As it was, The Hillmen were quite happy to take the 3 points from a scrappy goal from a corner that might have come of any part of Jason Gorton’s anatomy, apart from his foot.

For 10 minutes Ramsbottom made a fist of it, trading chances although their efforts came on the break from Glossop attacks.  For instance, after Hamilton had forced the keeper to be quick off his line a North End corner was cleared, and under pressure a terrible Lugsden back pass led to a corner that Fielding struggled to punch away.

Gradually though, the home side took charge, and a goal looked just a matter of time after Hodges got through on an angle, and just but the ball over the net.  But Dryden had other ideas. 

Bailey had a shot block and Dryden saved the follow up from Hodges.  Morris struck a sweet looping shot from the edge that had the keeper off his feet to push wide.  His next save shortly afterwards was even better though when Hamilton’s header looked to be perfectly directed into the net but Dryden somehow leaped high enough to turn it round the post.  When, from the corner, a Morris shot did beat him, a defender was on the post to head off the line.

The difference from last week’s debacle at Coventry was marked.  Whereas then the North End players shot themselves in the foot, this time they were being denied by one individual, and you could see the confidence and belief grow.

The pattern continued in the second half.  Hamilton had a shot just dip over and Holdsworth had to clear a sliced punt that was heading goalwards.  Hamilton had put Dryden under tremendous pressure, stepping into the role left open by the injured Lee Evans with aplomb.

Suddenly though, out of nowhere, Glossop were grateful to Steff Fielding in net when he made an incredible reflex save from a deflected shot on 63 minutes.  1-0 might have broken the spirit, but the keepers’ acrobatics inspired, and on 72 minutes the goal finally came.  A deep corner was swung in, and Dryden, in his first real mistake of the day, flapped at the ball, which dropped onto Gorton and then into the net.  The former Glossop junior knew very little about it, but given its importance, the whole team celebrated it like he’d hit it from half way.

Rick Bailey should have added a second in injury time after being put through and streaking clear, but his shot hit the post a rebounded to safety.  Bailey is desperate for a goal, having come to the club with the reputation of a goalscoring midfielder.  On today’s evidence he wont have to wait long – his drive was a vital part of this win, and a kind run of fixtures may propel them up the league now providing the performances stay at this level.

Atherton LR 0 Glossop NE 3

Time will tell as to whether this 2^nd consecutive win signals that the players have finally started believing in themselves, but to the naked eye they are certainly fulfilling some promise, refusing to let a goalless first half of missed chances get them down, and continue to toil for an important 3 points.  Important because they lift the club away from the top part of the league’s basement into the bottom part of mid-table.  The challenge now, of course, is to keep it going.

There were at least 10 Glossop shots on goal in the first half, but only a handful were on target.  However, Hodges, Bailey and Hamilton all had efforts blocked by an advancing keeper, whilst the custodian pushed a curling Young free kick wide.

LR meanwhile largely floundered, although occasionally the promptings of stand-out-player Bermingham threatened, but it was largely snuffed out.  Only when he had a curling free kick was Fielding troubled, but he impressively pushed it away.

Whereas in games at Squires Gate and Malvern, a hatful of missed chances had seen heads drop, Glossop kept their positive attitude in the second half and were soon rewarded when Hollin dinked a ball for Hamilton to run onto on the right.  He delivered the perfect low cross for Lunt to steer home from the 6 yard line. 

Then a bizarre incident took some of the sting out of the game when a firework was thrown onto the pitch from outside the ground and exploded with a cloud of smoke.  A delay followed with the referee threatening to remove the players from the pitch, but when they played on, some of the urgency had gone.

It was LR who recovered quickest, as Glossop went through a spell where they treated the ball like a hot potato, constantly giving away possession.  Despite that though, there was only one chance of note, when Young blocked a shot at the near post and then 10 minutes from the end the game was sown up.

North End broke quickly from an LR attack and Young had a choice of players to pass to, with only one defender back.  He picked out Bailey who took the ball in his stride, cut past a defender and despatched his first goal of the season.  What a relief!  And it showed in the celebration, Bailey sprinting to the sidelines before being swamped by team and management.

5 minutes later, Monks scored on only his 2^nd appearance, swivelling home a neat Morris pass to put a gloss on the scoreline the performance deserved, and there was still time for Gorton to hit the post seconds before the final whistle.

Glossop North End 1 Colne 1

Supporters would have liked to have had their video cameras filming the first half of this game, not for posterity, but because they could sell it as a sure-fire cure for insomnia and make millions.  It was awful, with neither side able to get the ball down and play, and therefore neither goalkeeper being forced into action.  There was only one chance; when Dave Hodges showed the only quality play of the 45 minutes, picking out Rick Bailey 6 yards out with the goal at his mercy.  True to the standards shown so far, Bailey sliced it wide.

Thankfully the second half did improve, thanks to an early goal to lift the slumber.  From a Hillman point of view it was in the wrong net, but there could only be one result when slack marking and a failure to attack the ball allowed a corner to drop to the feet of Harris, who despatched a low half volley into the net.

Glossop got the equaliser on 70 minutes at a point where they were beginning to boss possession, but showing little threat.  Gorton hopefully lofted a ball to the flank, but Lugsden took possession and made something of it, driving a hard cross in from the left that hit the Colne number 5 Richardson and bounced into the net. 

From there only Glossop were going to win it, and Young nearly did the trick with a low curling free kick that Crossley pushed away.  Minutes later, there was the games extraordinary moment when a low Bailey cross seemed to miss the toes of first Monks, then Young and finally Hind by millimetres on it’s way over the touchline.  It was amazing that none of the sliding players had quite enough stretch to turn the ball into the net with the faintest of touches that was required.

There were no more chances as the game became bad tempered.  Dave Young in particular was lucky not to see red for kicking out at Cunningham.  It was right though that the game finished level, because whilst you could easily make a case for both sides losing, it would be tough to argue that either should have won.

Hyde United 6 Glossop North End 4

On Saturday these two sides both put in performances that left match reporters desperately trying to find something to say about largely incident free matches.  What a difference a couple of days made as on Monday they combined net ten time between them, with Hyde only wearing down their less illustrious neighbours late in the second half.

It was terrific stuff for the loyal fans of both sides to enjoy, that was only marred by a serious injury to Hyde keeper Richard Humphries.  The game was delayed for over 5 minutes as he received treatment for a suspected dislocated hip, the injury forcing Matthew Tipton to take the gloves, and everyone in the crowd will wish Humphries a speedy recovery.

Unbelievably, it was 4 all at half time, with a burst of scoring in the first 25 minutes that was extraordinary.  Firstly, on 6 minutes, Simm took a high ball with a clever flick and turn that bamboozled Gorton, and he drove a finish past Fielding.

3 minutes later, Glossop were level when Dave Young picked up the ball 40 yards out in midfield.  He was allowed to stride forward 15 yards before curling a lovely shot into the bottom corner.

On 11 minutes, North End had the lead.  Dave Morris controlled a long ball at the corner of the box, and looped an overhead shot goalwards.  He was unlucky to see the ball bounce off the bar, but Lunt was liveliest in the area to head in the rebound.

Less than a minute later, Simm might have had another when he shot over on the turn, but the Tigers did level on 17, when a corner was poorly cleared and Cowan got a strong header in from 10 yards that when through Fielding’s hands.

Parity lasted just 4 minutes until Hodges got down the left for Glossop and put in a deep cross for Lunt.  He mis-controlled slightly, but this fooled the defender, allowing him the yard he needed to blast home.

How long would this lead last then?  Less than a minute, as Simm controlled and shaped to shoot, but instead of hitting it with his left peg, he accidentally knocked it sidewards with his right, directly into the path of Tipton, who netted easily.

The next goal came on 33 minutes when a cross from the right was spilled by Fielding, and Tipton had a simple tap in, but Glossop would not give up and on 41 Young played Lunt in on the right.  His shot was blocked, but ran to Bailey on the left, and he netted from a tight angle.

The second half was never going to be as open as the first, although had Humphries not got down well to tip Lunt’s early header round the post it might have been.  North End held their own until Humphries horror injury on 63 minutes. 

After the enforced break, Hyde began to assert, and Fielding was forced to tip over a dangerous free kick.  When the goal came though, it was a controversial one.  On 72 minutes Dave Young was fouled breaking from defence, but the referee waved play on whilst the Glossop man awaited treatment.  Hyde switched the ball wide to Williams, and 25 yards out he spotted Fielding off his line, and lobbed a beauty.  Did Young’s injury make a difference?  Only because the Glossop team had lost their focus temporarily, too focussed on arguing with the ref.  Young continued the row, and was booked for abusing the linesman, adding insult to his painful injury.

The Tigers finally took control, and Johnson went very close.  There was still time for a scare when Monks shot just wide with a looping shot, but a low cross to waiting forwards may have been a better option as Glossop failed to test the stand in goalie.  Instead it was the home team that sealed their progress when Parker brought down Lynch on the by-line - but in the box – and Simm netted the penalty.

Glossop North End 0, Bacup Borough 0

This wasn’t quite déjà vu, but the bore draw the previous Saturday against Colne did spring to mind.  However, on this occasion there were at least chances at both ends, Glossop unlucky to hit the woodwork 3 times whilst Bacup produced some off kilter finishing when they created their opportunities.

For the first quarter Bacup were on top, but showed their shooting was off colour when Luker twice shot straight at Fielding when either side of him was a goal and later took an age to control the ball when a snapshot would not have allowed Yates to recover and block.

Gradually North End got going, driven by the tireless running of Bailey from midfield, but on the half hour it was Hamilton who threaded the perfect pass through the defence for Young to run onto.  He won the race with the keeper to slide a shot under the Gallagher’s diving body, only to see the ball strike the post.  It bounced to Lunt, who shot first time only to see the ball cleared off the line.

Two minutes later Young hit a curling free kick from around 35 yards that gave the keeper no chance as it looped over his head.  He was therefore grateful to see the ball strike the bar and ricochet to safety.  Gallagher was required shortly before half time though when Westmerland, making his first start for the club, played a 1-2 with Hamilton and drove from the edge of the area, forcing a terrific save.

Bacup were dangerous at the start of the second half too.  A cross in that corridor of uncertainty between Goalkeeper and defence should have been turned in, whilst Shepherd wasted a glorious opportunity when the ball dropped to him from a free kick, but instead he shot over.  Meanwhile, Gorton had a goalward shot blocked on the line on 55 minutes.

The game then entered a state of flux as the teams battled for midfield supremacy, and in the end North End won, signalled by the chance carved out for Hamilton on 72 minutes by Hind and Monks, but the striker’s volley went wide.  A minute later Westmerland flicked a corner to Gorton, but his acrobatic effort was pushed over by Gallagher in an equally gymnastic save.

The closest chance was 5 minutes from the end when Hamilton struck a sweet shot against the underside of the bar.  It bounced back to him, but his on-target drive was saved wonderfully by Gallagher – he was diving the wrong way but stuck out a telescopic arm to deny. 

There was still time for Fielding to be called into action when Chadwick was put through the defence for what would have been a certain winner, but the Hillman keeper was off his line quickly to block the shot with his body and ensure a fair result – neither side deserved to lose.

Trafford 3, Glossop NE 1

The second half was better, but the first was as discouraging a 45 as any seen by Glossop fans this season as The Hillmen disintegrated into a mixture of hiding from the ball, poor control and passing and on pitch bickering between themselves.  Granted, Trafford are a good side, but in the opening period they were given the game on a platter.

Credit to the North End players, the second half was better.  They appeared to have taken in the team talk and finally put pressure on the home side, nicking one back before another Trafford goal finally ended their spirited effort.

It had started to go wrong as early as the 3^rd minute when a referee’s decision went against Glossop.  Hodges appeared to have fairly nicked the ball off keeper Campbell, but the ref spotted a handball when Hodges only had to slot into an empty net.  North End were incensed and Young picked up his inevitable booking for dissent.  It affected them for almost the entire half as Trafford attacked almost at will.

Barlow had a shot blocked, Lundy one well saved by Fielding and Ahern shot over, all exposing defensive disorganisation, before Ahern got the opener on 23 minutes.  They were gifted the ball in midfield and spread the play wide.  The cross was cleverly knocked down into Ahern’s path and he swivelled a shot just past Fielding’s outstretched arm into the net.

The second, on 27, was even more of a North End assist as they allowed a corner to bobble around the danger zone, finally clearing only for their own player to head it back into the 6 yard box for former Glossop man Max Kisseh to turn home.

Glossop promptly disappeared and for a while were a shambles, grateful for the half time whistle when it came.

In the 2^nd half Glossop tried to be more positive, although Barlow had a good chance for the hosts early on.  What changed the game was a scrappy goal from a corner that saw Danny Yates get the decisive touch over the line.

Suddenly Glossop were interested and Trafford rocking a little.  Campbell in goals was particularly shaky as he frequently came to punch, usually making a hash of it.

Yates headed over and Hamilton’s dipper only just cleared the bar before a deep cross from the left fooled everyone, bouncing on the line before being cleared – there were tellingly no Glossop bodies piling in to net.

The pressure lifted when Young tried one too many feint in midfield.  His dummy was read, he was robbed and the ball played through for Barlow to net the clincher.  From there Glossop had only one chance – a Gorton header cleared off the line.  The challenge petered out in the last 10 minutes as North End accepted their fate and Trafford cemented their place in the top two.