Prescot Cables 0 - 1 Worksop Town

Date: Saturday 7th March 2009
Competition: Unibond League Premier Division
Venue: Valarie Park, Prescot, Merseyside
Attendance: 227



Ticket In: £7.00
Programme: £1.50
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Total: £8.50


A hastily arranged visit to Valarie Park this afternoon after a late change of mind as to which game to take in. Prescot Cables Vs Worksop Town is pretty much a must win encounter for the home side this afternoon as their relegation worries become even deeper, finding themselves 5 points from safety as the season begins its run in. Worksop are not completely safe themselves at this present stage, being just three points above the relegation zone going into todays game. Prescot’s results have been mixed coming into todays encounter with two very impressive draws against Eastwood Town and Bradford Park Avenue but also a heavy defeat to Guiseley. This is in contrast to Worksop who have come into this match on the back of a 3-1 victory over Frickley Athletic. Both teams badly need the points so this match has all the makings of an absolute cracker!

The two teams made their way onto the pitch at just before 3pm, Prescot in their home colours of amber and black, Worksop in green and white. The two sides change ends after the coin toss and it would be Worksop Town that would get the match underway. And they got it underway in some style as they very nearly took the lead within the opening two minutes of the match. A shot hit at the goal had the Worksop Town fans behind the goal celebrating, but it hit the inside of the post and rolled along the line before being cleared at the last by a desperate defender. But Worksop would lead after 10 minutes when they won themselves a corner. The delivery was played into the middle of the box where Gareth Holmes took the ball of a Prescot defenders chest and sent the ball into the net to give the visitors the lead. Prescot had yet to get going in the match and soon found themselves under pressure again when some good work from a Worksop forward won his team a corner. The delivery of this corner was cleared by the Prescot defence before an injury to a Prescot player brought a temporary halt to proceedings. Worksop were not keen to relent on their opposition and when a free kick was delivered into the Prescot half in the 20th minute, the ball eventually fell to the feet of Alex Callery whose shot through a mass of players was comfortably saved by Prescot keeper Zak Hibbert. Prescot’s first half decent chance in the match came in the 25th minute when the offside flag stayed down and a cross into the box was headed on by Karl Connolly and drilled wide of the target by Karl Carney when he would have done well to hit the target. Some ten minutes later, Prescot came within a lick of paint of levelling the match then Worksop carelessly gave away a throw in and a Prescot forward entered the penalty area with the attentions of three Worksop defenders. Under extreme pressure, the forward managed to get a daisy cutter shot away that had Worksop keeper Adam Ogden scrambling to his left hand side to attempt a save, but he was well beaten as the ball brushed the outside of the post before going harmlessly for a goal kick. But just before half time Worksop nearly struck a deadly blow to Prescot’s hopes when they won themselves a free kick right on the edge of the penalty area. The delivery into the box from Chris Adam was met superbly by the head of Tom Jones whose effort thundered against the crossbar and was pounced upon by Hibbert in the Cables goal, well, it’s not unusual! Sorry, I just couldn’t resist that little bit of unoriginality there. So as the half time whistle sounded from referee Bartlett, Worksop took a deserved one goal advantage into the break. The Prescot Cables fans seem far from happy with the level of performance from their team so far and with probable just cause. Prescot have created very little and Worksop have been the better of the two sides. There is work to do for Prescot if they are to recover in the 2nd half.

Half Time:
Prescot Cables 0 – 1 Worksop Town

The 2nd half would start the way the first ended, with Worksop Town looking the more likely of the two sides to score. The 51st minute saw a good run from Ben Tomlinson turn into a powerful low shot that Zak Hibbert had to get down well to save before his defence managed to clear the danger. Prescot then almost levelled the match in the 55th minute when a shot from range by Cables substitute Cameron Dalton had the keeper worried, but it sailed just wide of the far post and the scores remained the same. As the half wore on, Cables came more into the match as they searched for this elusive levelling goal, winning themselves some free kicks in the process, but failing to threaten from any of them. The next best chance Prescot had came after a sustained spell of pressure towards the end of the game but without making that killer breakthrough that would level the scores. It would be added on time at the end of the match that would see a long ball played into the penalty area eventually fall to the feet of Cameron Dalton after the Worksop Town defence had failed to clear. Dalton’s first time volley sailed over the crossbar though as Cables once again failed to turn an opportunity into a score. This was pretty much the story of the half as despite the large amount of pressure they were put under, Worksop held out and the full time whistle sounded to give the Tigers back to back victories in the league campaign.

Cables huff and puff couldn’t blow the Tigers house down and they now find themselves in real trouble indeed as they were defeated in this “six-pointer”. Now joint bottom of the league with Leigh Genesis and seven points from safety, Cables have it all to do if they are to survive the drop this season, I’m sure their fans will not want another uncomfortable end to the season like the one they were forced to endure last season. The victory for Worksop however sees them jump a league position and move four points clear from the relegation zone, but with things still being very tight at the bottom we could be in for another exciting conclusion to the Unibond League season come April. Congratulations to Worksop Town!

Full Time:
Prescot Cables 0 – 1 Worksop Town

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