North Ferriby VS Knaresborough Town

North Ferriby 1 Knaresborough Town 2

Ash Walker at the Dransfield Stadium

The Villagers continued their pre-season campaign with a 2-1 home defeat to NCEL Premier Division side Knaresborough Town. The North Yorkshire side who sat 18th in their respective division when the season was curtailed proved to be a tough test for the Villagers in a physical and tight encounter at a sun kissed Dransfield stadium. 

Manager Chris Bolder was pleased with some aspects of the game but not with the way his side gave away their goals when he said: “Again we played some good stuff especially from half-time onwards, we looked strong, we looked fitter and moved the ball well. That said there were some disappointing things today in the way we conceded. Even in pre-season it isn’t good enough and we shouldn’t be conceding gals like that.”

The manager had to call in two players from the Development Squad at short notice and they certainly didn’t let him down. It was also good for some of his returning players to get some minutes in the legs.

Bolder added: “It was also good to see Isaac (Hutchinson) and Frank (Muyololo) come into the first team and that is what the development team is all about. We are grateful to the Development Team’s management team they are able to give us a couple of players at short notice as well and it was great to get them on the pitch. They came on and got stuck in and there was a half chance for Frank. 

“There were some stand out performances and some of our players got some valuable minutes especially Matty Plummer in his first game back in a Ferriby shirt for us. It was nice to see Easty (Danny East) get some minutes.

“I thought Liam Nelthorpe was outstanding as were many other players who put in some good performances. It was tough conditions and I thought we covered an awful lot of ground out there and the fitness levels were pleasing.”

The opening exchanges of the game foreshadowed what was to come for the opening 45 minutes. The game was cagey with both midfields cancelling each other out. The game’s opening goal came on seven minutes, after a mix up between Ferriby skipper Niall Tilsley and goalkeeper Lewis Exall. 

Referee Carl Boyeson penalised Exall for a handball outside the area and from the resulting free kick, Sean Hunter’s free kick hit the wall and bounced back to the number 9 Callum Ward. The new Knaresborough striker hit a shot into the opposite corner for his fourth goal of pre-season. 

The Villagers looked to respond a few minutes later, Matthew Plummer, making his return debut in green and white, had a shot from outside the area, the shot however was high and wide. The shot from the Ferriby left back came after good work from Danny Emerton and Danny East. 

The latter was making his first appearance of the club’s pre-season campaign and proved to be a thorn in the visitor’s side again five minutes later. The winger outjumped former Villager Gregg Anderson to nod the ball down. He then juked past another Knaresborough defender before hitting his effort over Alfie Neale’s bar. 

After a well needed drinks break the game started to first half started to slow down. A couple of noteworthy incidents included a run out of defence from Levi Tarbotton which started in the Ferriby and ended with the centre half being fouled by Knaresborough right back Sam Cooke. The final incident of the half was when Gregg Anderson blocked a Niall Tilsley shot from outside the area which was eventually picked up by Alfie Neale. 

The Villagers started the second half with much more intent. Three minutes into the half, the game was level. The move started with some clever defending by Levi Tarbotton to earn a free kick. The free kick led to the ball being in the possession of Liam Nelthorpe. 

The Ferriby right back played an exceptional ball through to the dangerous Danny East. East played a ball across the face of goal and into the path of Trialist B who put the ball into the Knaresborough net. 

For the next 10 minutes, the villagers continued to impress moving forward. Levi Tarbotton had another great run out of defence and nearly created a chance for Danny Emerton. Tom Corner put in a good cross from the left-hand side which was met by Danny East.

 The attacker couldn’t head the ball cleanly, and the ball harmlessly ended up in the visiting goalkeeper’s hands. East was involved in the action again not long after. A brilliant ball over the top by skipper Tilsley allowed East to again get the better of Anderson. From a tight angle, East’s shot hit the top of the bar and out for a goal kick. 

The visitors regained their lead in the 65th minute. A ball out of midfield found the wide-open Sean Hunter who sprung the offside trap. The impressive Knaresborough attacker slid the ball under the on-rushing Lewis Exhall to put the visitors ahead. 

The heat of the afternoon really started to take a toll on both sides. After the 70th minute mark there were only a few half chances to talk about. Eddie Rogerson hit a shot over the bar and Levi Tarbotton hit an effort over the bar as well. 

A defeat is a harsh outcome for Ferriby after a strong second half performance. The Villagers can take plenty of positives form this game. Danny East made an impact on his return and right back Liam Nelthorpe looked calm and assured in possession and defending. 

 

North Ferriby FC: 1. Lewis Exall 2. Liam Nelthorpe, 4. Levi Tarbotton, 5. Niall Tilsley  (16. Isaac Hutchinson), 3. Matthew Plummer (12. Ben Leyland), 6. Joel Shortland, 8. Eddie Rogerson 11.  Joe McFayden (16. Trialist B), 9. Tom Corner (14. Trialist A),10.  Danny East (17. Frank Muyololo). Sub not used: Jordan Douglas. 

Knaresborough Town: 1. Alfie Neale (13. Jamie Hassle), 2. Sam Cooke, 3. Dom Creamer, 4. Ben Parkes, 5. Gregg Anderson (17. Craig Hall), 6. Greg Kid, 7. Ewan Gregson (14. Mitch Hamilton), 8. Craig Rampling, 9. Callum Ward, 10. Cameron Bedford, 11. Sean Hunter.

Referee: Carl Boyeson