League

Helsby
Spectators: 7518 (Terracing: 5639, Seating: 1729, VIP seats: 150) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Garry Holland started the match with the kick off. After a rather tough play, Ripley's Tom Pilgrim got a free kick in the 4th minute. After some fancy dribbling in the 7th minute, Sly French managed to get in a good position for a shot. Ripley's supporters rose to their feet, but Sly French was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Nat Walls breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. An unexpectedly hard shot by Garry Holland in the 15th minute of play forced Ripley's goalkeeper Ashley Farrow to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Ashley Farrow was out of position in the 17 minute of play, and Marc Keane capitalized on the mistake with a soft shot into the goal. Marc Keane really showed his touch with that goal: 1-0. 26 minutes into the game, Ron Bostock was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Helsby's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Ripley the free kick. A collision led to Helsby getting a freekick after 26 minutes play. Ron Bostock hit a great ball. Tom Pilgrim received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 28th minute. Nat Walls tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Sly French fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 30th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Nat Walls having to interfere. 32 minutes into the match, Ripley's goalkeeper Ashley Farrow had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Mark Revell. After a defensive mix-up in Helsby's zone, Tom Pilgrim stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Nat Walls came out of the goal and Tom Pilgrim tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. In the 37th minute, Sly French ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Nat Walls was frozen by the shot and now it was 1-1. 42 minutes in the game, Garry Holland fired away an excellent shot, which passed to the side of the right post without Ashley Farrow having to interfere. Ashley Farrow made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Garry Holland in the 44th minute of play. When Mark Revell came up free with the goalie in the 46th minute, the Helsby fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Mark Revell couldn't finish the play. In the 48th minute, Ron Bostock left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Helsby fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 2-1. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 2-1 at half-time.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Tom Pilgrim was the one to do the kick off. In the 59th minute Garry Holland shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Ashley Farrow saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Ashley Farrow took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Mark Revell, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 62 minutes into the match, Ripley's goal looked a bit too open when Mark Revell came free, but Ashley Farrow reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Mark Revell received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 63rd minute. Ashley Farrow tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Garry Holland fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 68th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ashley Farrow having to interfere. Mark Revell sent away a hard shot on goal in the 72nd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Garry Holland received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 77th minute. Ashley Farrow tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. An unexpectedly hard shot by Marc Keane in the 79th minute of play forced Ripley's goalkeeper Ashley Farrow to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Ashley Farrow showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Mark Revell, who was totally free with the ball in the 80th minute. In the 81st match minute, Ripley was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Tom Pilgrim to maneuver through the defense. Garry Holland received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 83rd minute. Ashley Farrow tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Ron Bostock took the ball and in the 86 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Ashley Farrow. Ashley Farrow dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 4-1. In the 90th minute Garry Holland shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Ashley Farrow saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Sly French kicked well hit freekick during the 92nd minute of the match. Mark Revell fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 93rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ashley Farrow having to interfere. Ashley Farrow showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Garry Holland, who was totally free with the ball in the 95th minute. Helsby's Nat Walls proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 98th minute of the match, managed to save Helsby from getting a goal against them. Helsby's fans were exulted and cheered after their team won in a match that could easily have gone the other way.