BBFC Win 4-1 against newbold fc 1st

After a minutes silence to remember Traci Garrington, a close friend of the Mistry family who suddenly passed away the previous week, the Bisons entertained Newbold at home just a few weeks after winning 4-3 against them in the away game. With Harry unavailable Elliot donned the yellow jersey. Conditions were not great with a muddy, sticky pitch and the lower goalmouth covered in dropped leaves. As such it was not surprising that the early stages were scrappy from both sides but the Bisons had the first opportunity with Duncan racing through and rounding the ‘keeper only to find his goal disallowed for offside. This was shortly followed by a free kick in a good position but the Newbold wall did its job blocking Harvey’s goal bound effort. Then a nice 1:2 between Duncan and Harvey ended with Duncan’s shot narrowly missing the far post.

The previous game provided enough evidence that Newbold were a force going forward and so it was today, first a decent shot on the angle hit the side netting and then from a similar position Elliot was down smartly with his feet at the near post to divert the ball away for a corner. At the other end Kyifer found some space and his shot was spilled by the ‘keeper but nobody was on hand to follow up. A good chance then fell to Duncan who narrowly headed over the bar after an excellent long flighted free kick from Ben. Newbold continued to press and Elliot was called into action saving a free kick from just outside the box and then Ravi came into his own with a superb block when a goal seemed inevitable. The Bisons are fortunate to have two ‘keepers on their books and Elliot really showed his class with a fantastic flying strong armed save to keep the scores level.

The Bisons then nearly took the lead when a strong run from Joe on the right provided Dylan with a chance and his shot was not held by the ‘keeper and Duncan following up was unlucky to see his shot cannon off the post.

Football is not just about the 90 minutes plus added time. Some games are won on the training ground but only if players think and put the routines into practice. With a corner to the Bisons the usual approach would be a cross into the box but with Kiran standing over the ball Harvey came off the post to receive the ball from Kiran who then moved wide to receive back the perfect pass from Harvey and then from the angel Kiran thumped the ball into the far corner to make it 1-0. So simple but needed two players to be switched on and prepared to take the training ground to the pitch. If that was spectacular in terms of execution what followed was quite remarkable with Joe receiving the ball some 35 yards out and central and looking up he chanced his arm and powered a shot high, which was right on the money as the ball sailed over the ‘keeper just under the bar to make it 2-0.

Going in 2-0 up was as in the away game and so it was important for the team to be resilient in the second half but the Bison’s conceded a sloppy route one goal with Elliot left exposed 1on 1 and the ending was inevitable. The second half review is limited as the writer had to run the line but the Bison’s increased the lead in bizarre circumstances. With the ball wide on the right close to the goal line and half way between the corner flag and the goal, Harvey was contesting the ball with the defender and somehow the ball ricocheted off the defender’s foot back towards goal and over the ‘keeper’s head. At 3-1 Newbold seemed to lose their shape and discipline in defence and the Bison’s were getting more and more of the ball in advanced and useful positions but struggled to take full advantage of the newfound space as they all too often overworked the possession rather than keeping it simple. With the game drawing to an end Joe and Owen combined perfectly to show how scoring a goal can be easy if you out number the opponent and use the angles to pass the ball in such a way that the ball can be rolled into an almost empty net, 4-1.

A thoroughly deserved win with positive contributions from all players and a confidence running through the team that should hold them in good stead for the rest of the season.