Rainworth 3 Bridlington Town 1—by Gordon
Foster
BRIDLINGTON Town lost their unbeaten league
record as they felt the backlash of Rainworth’s midweek
League Cup humiliation at Grimsby Borough.
The Wrens turned on a feisty first half show
during which all four goals were scored and Seasiders’ keeper
Mark Wilberforce was sent off for handling outside his
area.
But in a tamer second period the home side
struggled to capitalise on their numerical advantage as
countless more chances went begging, and the main talking
point was a long delay when injured referee Stephen Fisher
was unable to continue.
It was a match which Rainworth, even at this
stage of the season, could not afford to lose in the
championship stakes, for a win for the Seasiders would have
put them out of sight.
Wrens boss Rudy Funk was also sent from the
dugout during the first half for his vehement protest when
the referee failed to punish a Bridlington player who
clattered into Matt Baxter and left him needing
treatment.
Funk said afterwards: “Fair play to the linesman
and the referee, I’m a passionate man where football is
concerned and I apologised to them after the
match.
“As to the match itself, I blamed myself for the
team selection on Wednesday night, and today we needed to get
it just right. We did, and although it wasn’t always pretty
to watch it was great entertainment for a good
crowd.
“Give credit to Bridlington. After their keeper
had been sent off, which is a stupid rule in my opinion and
spoils football matches which people have paid money to
watch, they still played well, made it hard for us, and
showed us why they are up at the top end of the
league.”
It was a much more familiar-looking team taking
the field than had done so in midweek, with only five players
having started both matches.
However, the signing of former Forest star Nigel
Jemson from Arnold Town did not happen quickly enough for the
veteran striker to take part in this match.
Bridlington had the first opening inside the
second minute when Phil Harrison’s shot was straight at Mark
Hales.
But Rainworth drew first blood in the seventh
minute with a peach of a goal. A tremendous run by Massiah
McDonald down the left, during which he left four Bridlington
players perplexed, resulted in a deep cross to Julian
Topliss. He laid the ball off and Danny Naylor drove it home
from some 20 yards out of Wilberforce’s reach.
The lead lasted only three minutes, then Mr
Fisher failed to spot a blatant push on Brendan Sweeney in
the Rainworth half. The visitors, allowed to play on, worked
their way into the box, where Barry Alberry was penalised for
a push on Harrison, and Frank Belt lived up to his name with
a perfect penalty kick.
But within a minute it was the home fans who
were cheering again, when Lynam found a way through on the
right to beat Wilberforce with a tremendous
angled drive.
Once again in the 16th minute the visitors
thought they had pulled level in a melee in the Rainworth six
yard area, but Mr Fisher had spotted that the ball went in
the net off a Bridlington hand and ruled it out.
As the visitors strove for a way back Hales
stuck out a leg to save from Nathan Hotte, Matt Draper got in
the way of Craig Palmer’s follow-up, and Hales recovered to
hold Town’s third bite of the cherry, from Dave
Ricardo.
As play continued to flow entertainingly from
end to end Rainworth upped the pace again, but when Topliss
blazed a path around Ash Dexter he could only finish
wide.
The game took on a different character in the
33rd minute. Naylor picked out Topliss on the right and as
Wilberforce left his area to close him down Topliss cleverly
chipped goalwards over him. The keeper stretched up and
handled, and off he went.
Skipper Dexter took over in goal, and
Bridlington withdrew Phil Harrison to send on Danny Brunton.
Harrison was not to know, but it was not to be the end of his
afternoon’s work.
Lynam’s resulting free kick took a deflection
off the wall for a corner, and Bridlington again hit back
with purpose to win a corner, which ended with Draper
clearing Tom Lee’s strong, towering header off the
line.
The ball was cleared and McDonald burst through
the middle to beat Dexter for the Wrens’ third goal in the
38th minute, a deserved one for the youngster’s brilliant
first half show.
Five minutes before the break Funk lost his cool
when a heavy challenge on Baxter went unpunished, the
linesman called the referee’s attention, and the manager was
sent from the dugout.
The second half did not live up to the first,
but Bridlington never looked like a side down to 10 men,
while Dexter kept a competent goal, doing very well in the
52nd minute to tip Alberry’s header over the bar from a
corner, and then nine minutes spreading himself well to deny
McDonald in a one on one.
More good work by McDonald carried him to the
by-line, but Lynam miscued the pull back.
Mr Fisher needed attention in the 68th minute
and although he resumed, five minutes later he was unable to
continue. Senior assistant Craige Hume took over the whistle
and, after a lengthy delay following an unsuccessful appeal
for a neutral linesman, Bridlington’s Harrison returned to
the field to run the line for the remaining
minutes.
Dexter continued to distinguish himself in his
unfamiliar role, saving at Naylor’s feet and then diving to
again deny Lynam in a one on one from McDonald’s headed
flick.
Seven minutes of stoppage time were signalled,
but over nine were played during which gutsy Bridlington
refused to concede defeat without a fight, but in
vain.
RAINWORTH: Hales, Baxter, Whitehead, L.
Wilkinson, Alberry, Draper, Topliss, Naylor, McDonald, Lynam
(Trimmer 86), Sweeney (Fearon 68). Sub not used:
Hollis.
BRIDLINGTON: Wilberforce, Belt, Dexter,
Allanson, Lee, Giblin, Harrison (Brunton 34), Ricardo, Hotte,
Palmer (Rhodes 68), Buttle. Sub not used: J.
Wilkinson.
REFEREE: Stephen Fisher of Lincoln (Craige Hume
of Billinghay 79).
ATTENDANCE: 130.
GOALS: Rainworth—Naylor 7; Lynam 11; McDonald
38. Bridlington—Belt 10 pen.
CAUTIONS: Rainworth—Baxter 45+3 (foul on
Buttle). Bridlington—Belt 24 (foul on McDonald); Buttle
45+3
(retaliation on Baxter); Ricardo 62 (foul on
Draper).
DISMISSAL: Bridlington—Wilberforce 33
(deliberate hands outside area).
MAN OF THE MATCH: Massiah McDonald.