There were actually about five Leigh fans behind this big flag !
Ellington lines up his penalty equaliser
Honest - this is Winn's late late late late winner !!!!!
Tameside in bloom - daffs & speedcam on Mottram Road !!
Stalybridge were quickly out of the blocks with Hume hooking the ball over the bar after only 8 minutes. A couple of minutes later a corner was again met by Hume only for his effort to be cleared off the line – and then the final part of the Hume trilogy saw his shot hit the post ! It was all Celtic early on, with the Leigh defence looking remarkably shaky. An exquisite flicked header from Brodie brought an excellent save from the Leigh ‘keeper, and it was a good 25 minutes before RMI had their first real sniff on goal. A shot from Winn flew wide as did an Ellington header following a free-kick – surely it was only a matter of time before Stalybridge scored. Another header went just wide following a long throw, and it was amazing that the first half ended 0-0 – Celtic could have been home and dry – or at least vigorously towelling themselves down.
You know what’s coming next – early Leigh pressure in the second half – and for Hume in the first half substitute Rapley in the second – yes that Kevin Rapley the ex-Droylsden chappie. After watching one snap shot go narrowly wide, a free-kick took a wicked deflection giving Bishop no chance - 1-0 and totally against the run of play.
Not to worry though – it was Hume to the rescue ten minutes later when he was clattered to the ground by the Leigh ‘keeper – the red card was inevitable – and was Ellington’s despatch of the resultant penalty. With a stand-in keeper, I’d have expected a little more pressure on him – despite Celtic’s complete superiority at this stage they couldn’t find a way past him – and there were a few nervy breakaways at the other end too.
Leigh did seem happy to run the clock down however – which was their undoing. There were four minutes of added time - after about 3 minutes 54 seconds of this time Ashley Winn picked up the ball (well he didn’t actually pick it up – that would have been a foul !) and stabbed it home through a crowded penalty box for a dramatic winner. Just time for Leigh to kick off before the ref blew for time.
You know what’s coming next – early Leigh pressure in the second half – and for Hume in the first half substitute Rapley in the second – yes that Kevin Rapley the ex-Droylsden chappie. After watching one snap shot go narrowly wide, a free-kick took a wicked deflection giving Bishop no chance - 1-0 and totally against the run of play.
Not to worry though – it was Hume to the rescue ten minutes later when he was clattered to the ground by the Leigh ‘keeper – the red card was inevitable – and was Ellington’s despatch of the resultant penalty. With a stand-in keeper, I’d have expected a little more pressure on him – despite Celtic’s complete superiority at this stage they couldn’t find a way past him – and there were a few nervy breakaways at the other end too.
Leigh did seem happy to run the clock down however – which was their undoing. There were four minutes of added time - after about 3 minutes 54 seconds of this time Ashley Winn picked up the ball (well he didn’t actually pick it up – that would have been a foul !) and stabbed it home through a crowded penalty box for a dramatic winner. Just time for Leigh to kick off before the ref blew for time.
1 comment:
Really enjoy reading your blog's Smiffy.
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