Colwyn Bay 3 - Garforth Town 1

19-9-09

Throughout history, foreign occupations have been repelled with both strong-arm assaults and guerrilla violence. Today, on foreign soil, Garforth’s seemingly easy, surefire victory was not overturned by the strong-arm, decisive play of the home side at all, but solely through the guerrilla tactics of poor officiating and strikers capitalising on our bad luck, as The Miner’s were toppled by two dubious second half sucker punches to the metaphorical chin. We played ‘The Seagulls’, and were left feeling like we’d just walked beneath a huge flock of them flying directly after a bad dose of Blackpool chippy scraps.

In a game where Garforth were violated by the duo of fate and human error (the officials) it was a situation where defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory. Tellingly, Colwyn manager Neil Young (that is his name) was quoted as saying “You have to give Garforth credit for coming here with a game plan and making it tough - other teams have found it hard to break them down this season, with Halifax only beating them 1-0.” And in legal goals, I scored today as a score draw, personally…

The first half saw no real clear cut chances fashioned by either team, as the home and away defences held out well and the midfield area saw both passing interchanges and sporadic, niggly battles for the ball. From the Garforth perspective, Tom Claisse had an effort that diverted off his own man, and for our hosts, a triple whammy of saved shot, a header from the subsequent corner, and a rebound effort that went narrowly wide.

Nathan Kamara looked to be injured after a ball through to Darren Thornton, but the defender returned, and showed more of the form that has seen him arguably the best player in the team thus far in 09/10.

One such fine moment from that man led to the goal in the fifty-fifth minute. A hopeful Colwyn ball was curled upfield, and Kamara showed composure in controlling the ball. Chesting it before bursting past a Bay man, Nathan sent Thornton free down the left channel, and the striker played an inch perfect ball across the grey area between goalkeeper and defender, setting up Tom Greaves for a foregone conclusion of a three inch finish at the back post. 1-0 to the English team.

The Seagulls did not look capable of converting one of their non-existent chances at this point, but less than a quarter of an hour later something went down that didn’t ‘fly’ with what we all saw. A shot sent well wide saw a striker scrambling to claim a ball he couldn’t, went sailing, and a penalty was awarded. The player was perhaps making the most of slight contact, but is he to blame? Premier League Italians dive weekly with impunity, and earn beaucoup bucks in the process. Television poisons minds. The penalty was converted, flawlessly taken.

Outrageously, a ball up the right channel could not be intercepted due to a very apparent obstruction on the nearest defender, yet again things ‘flew’ for the Gulls. The striker – using the expanse afforded to him – angled to shoot, took a quiz, fell asleep, danced a jig, then finished off the chance that may never have occurred were it not for a clear and blatant obstruction made on a player who was involved with play, by a man who was affecting play. 1-2 it was to the Welshmen.

Kamara sent a carbon copy ball to Thornton, but unfortunately the end product wasn’t identical as the former Ossett man elected to cut the ball back for Greaves, who could not adjust in time.

A nice interchange across the pitch that carved Colwyn open climaxed with a professional foul. Fox, Harding, Kamara and Ormsby combined to feed Thornton on the right wing, but as he dextrously passed his man, he was cynically hacked down.

As the game was chased, the final nail in the coffin came with an excellently taken goal, as a cut in from the left preceded a sharp near post finish. Tom Greaves almost replied for the visitors after turning his man, but while beating the keeper, his shot slid agonisingly wide.

Ultimately, this game represented a nailed down, signed sealed delivered clean sheet, and but for some shoddy officiating, it probably would have been. Performance wise though, another step in the right direction.