Shifnal Town 3 Town 1
IT was billed as a make or break game for both Shropshire sides and in the end it was Shifnal who completely outplayed their neighbours.
The comprehensive victory for the home side at Phoenix Park has given Shifnal the lifeline they so desperately needed and Bridgnorth some serious questions after coming up short in yet another derby. Shifnal remain in the bottom two with 18 points, but with Cradley propping up the league on six points and Bridgnorth staying on 22 points, it means just four points separate the two sides – although the Crown Meadow men have played two games less.
Going into the match – which saw the lowest ever attendance for a derby at 85 – the two side’s recent form could not have been further apart, with Bridgnorth enjoying a great away victory at Boldmere and narrowly losing to Coalville by a single goal.
Shifnal, on the other hand, went into Tuesday night’s fixture on the back of five straight defeats with the most recent a 5-0 thumping against Loughborough. But everyone knows the form guide goes out the window on derby day and so it proved.
Bridgnorth Town chairman Eric Eagles said: “Obviously it’s a very, very disappointing result, particular on the back of two good performances.
“We never seem to play well in local derbies; we just seem to struggle with them. It’s what happens in football and we’ve just go to move forward. Our manager Andy Marlowe is going to have to lift the players again as we’ve got two more massive games coming up.”
Shifnal could have taken the lead as early as the second minute when a Danny Walne’s free kick came out to Matt Delves, whose 18-yard drive thundered against the upright. A deep cross from Steve Broome was volleyed by Jason Pike into the side netting from 15 yards for the visitors’ first attempt.
The home side opened the scoring after 19 minutes when Mike Evans picked the ball up on the edge of the penalty area and coolly slotted past Walters. An equaliser looked on the cards on 24 minutes when a ball over the top found Gareth Horler in space, but he could only win a corner. With a minute played in the second half Andy Rich crossed from the by-line to Delves who clipped a volley home from 10 yards to make it 2-0.
A Matt Ball free kick on 57 minutes was headed back by Andy Davies for Delves whose first-time shot from 15 yards beat Walters. Zac Jackson fired narrowly wide for the visitors on the hour, but the home defence were rarely troubled until Shifnal lost Walne in the 73rd minute for a second yellow card offence. This sparked Bridgnorth into life and a rasping drive from Jason Pike from 20 yards shaved the bar. In the 88th minute Kevin Thompson hit a 35-yard drive in off the crossbar, with Dave Jones rooted to the spot, for what turned out to a consolation goal.
Bridgnorth have three huge games coming up, which could realistically make or break their season. Tomorrow (February 20) they face bottom club Cradley, at Crown Meadow, from 3pm, followed an away fixture to third from bottom Rocester the following Saturday. On Tuesday March 2 they travel Malvern Town who currently sit one place above them in 19th.
Town 0 Coalville 1
A cameron Stuart free kick on 64 minutes settle this scrappy affair. Questions were raised after the game about Luke Wilson’s dismissal just prior to half time when Ryan Guryn was clearly at fault, and Coalville had already lost Martin Thompson on 15 minutes following a challenge on Zac Jackson.
Town deserved a point and were unfortunate not to level when efforts from Jackson and Sturridge-Packer rebounded off the post.
