BEDLINGTON TERRIERS 2-2 WEST AUCKLAND
Saturday 26 January, 3:00PM, League
West Auckland missed several good chances to claim all three points in the relegation clash at Bedlington although they will still feel aggrieved after being denied a seemingly stonewall penalty for handball and Bedlington's second goal coming from an initial handball that was not spotted.
West caught Bedlington cold from the off and gave a perfect tonic to manager Phil Owers, unable to make the game after a knee operation on Friday. A corner was well met in the air by Paul Freary whose thumping header gave the keeper little chance and West had a third minute lead.
A Bedlington player was fortunate to slice into his keepers arms under pressure in the 14th minute followed by Bryan Stewart's low shot that was well held as the visitors started the game in a confident manner following their recent run of form.
However with Gareth McAlindon and Tony Shandran resigning to Bedlington recently they had quality going forward and when the latter shrugged off Brian Fairhurst he was denied by an Alan Wilkinson save. And to cap a glut of efforts, in the 16th minute, West should have doubled their lead. Dale Jardine's good approach play saw him square the ball into the path of top scorer Danny Richmond only for the midfielder to steer his shot off target.
Following these chances, in form Dale Jardine looked to take the lead with some good play. He could not keep his first effort down, from Stuart Owen's flick on however in the 22nd minute saw his shot flash narrowly wide after beating one man and driving at the defence. Meanwhile Jardine then found strike partner Paul Freary with a good opening only for a slip at the crucial time, seeing the chance disappear.
Jardine again was the man giving the Bedlington defence now rest and in the 29th minute he should have doubled the West advantage. From Danny Richmond's well weighted through ball, Jardine lobbed the ball over the advancing keeper however also the wrong side of the post.
A 32nd minute corner caused problems for the Terriers' with Brian Fairhurst flicking it on at the near post with Ian Maddison unable to divert the ball on target on the stretch. As is often the case following missed chances, Bedlington then got an equaliser. Gareth McAlindon broke into room on the left and he had time to pick his spot and fire past Alan Wilkinson with an excellent finish (41).
A couple of minutes before the break a promising free kick saw Brian Fairhurst curl the ball low round the wall but into the keepers arms. From this a quick break brought the first controversy of the game. A seemingly clear handball was missed and McAlindon was allowed to continue, again finishing well past Wilkinson to give Bedlington the lead. The West keeper was then booked after furious protesting and tempers started to spill over with Danny Richmond the next in the book for a hard challenge.
Thankfully the half time whistle followed soon after and West were able to regroup. West had a great chance in the 49th minute, Paul Freary charged down a defenders clearance and went through on goal, then beat the keeper with a shot that clipped the top of the bar.
After defending well to deny Bedlington any good openings, West then took the game to the hosts, not wanting to lose a 'six pointer' clash. Dale Jardine's fierce 62nd minute shot hit Paul Freary and went out for a goal kick, Scott Nicholson could not generate enough power on a close range header (66) whilst Stuart Owen's flighted shot was narrowly too over.
Tony Shandran could have extended Bedlington's lead in the 70th minute when he held off Brian Fairhurst but was denied by a fine stop by Alan Wilkinson. This was a rare Terriers' attack and West kept pressing away at the Bedlington back line. Jardine rolled the ball into the path of Freary whose shot was straight at the keeper (75) before sub Thomas Louden flashed a shot across the face of goal. Jardine then won possession on the edge of the box but was unable to keep his shot on target as another chance went begging and it seemed that luck might be against West.
Meanwhile the referee was again to prove less than popular with the West fans when a Bedlington player looked to have blocked a low cross with his arm in the box - the official though, looking directly at the incident, waved claims away. However 9 minutes from the end, Danny Richmond grabbed a stunning equaliser with a shot from 20 yards that flew over the keeper and into the top corner.
After working hard to get back level, West nearly gifted Bedlington another lead when they were caught out and a player at the back post saw his shot excellently tipped over by Alan Wilkinson. The hosts had the better of the next few minutes before West saw the woodwork deny them again - a minute of normal time remained when Scott Nicholson's header hit the bar and bounced over.
The winner was not to follow for either team with both picking up a valuable point in their battle at the bottom of the table.
1. Alan Wilkinson, 2. Ian Maddison, 3. Kevin Bromley, 4. James Chapman, 5. Scott Nicholson, 6. Brian Fairhurst, 7. Bryan Stewart, 8. Danny Richmond , 9. Dale Jardine, 10. Paul Freary, 11. Stuart Owen (16. Thomas Louden 73 mins)
Subs Not Used: 12. Gary Close, 14. Richard Smith 15. James Middleton
Pictures