League Play-Off

Birch House
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Lenny Deighton took the kick off in the first half of the match. In the 6th minute the ball was on its way in behind Knottingley's goalkeeper Roger Cousens, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Lenny Deighton struck a weak shot in the 10th minute. James Picker didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Knottingley. In the 21st minute, Larry Morgan hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Jimmy Holstead was probably a little too eager to shoot when he, in the 22nd played minute, shot the ball from way out. The shot was hard, but the ball flew wide of the goal. Roger Cousens made a fantastic save in the 25th minute, when Felix Littlechild sent off a good shot on target. James Picker stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Chaz Beswetherick's shot from short distance in the 27th minute. If Lenny Deighton had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 30th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. When Chaz Beswetherick came up free with the goalie in the 32nd minute, the Knottingley 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 Chaz Beswetherick couldn't finish the play. Birch House City's Brett Porter got a good chance for a goal in the 37th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. After a defensive mix-up in Knottingley's zone, Felix Littlechild stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Roger Cousens came out of the goal and Felix Littlechild tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. After 45 played minutes Knottingley got a freekick which was hit by Jerome Perryman. An unexpectedly hard shot by Felix Littlechild in the 46th minute of play forced Knottingley's goalkeeper Roger Cousens to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Chaz Beswetherick received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 48th minute. James Picker tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Disappointed in the 0-1 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Felix Littlechild to make the kick off. Roger Cousens took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Felix Littlechild, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. If Lenny Deighton had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 57th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 61st minute the ball was on its way in behind Birch House City's goalkeeper James Picker, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Lenny Deighton blasted a shot towards the goal in the 64th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without James Picker having to make a save. James Picker showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Lenny Deighton in the 72nd minute of the match. Chaz Beswetherick struck a weak shot in the 76th minute. James Picker didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Knottingley. Lenny Deighton sent away a hard shot on goal in the 78th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Roger Cousens showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Brett Porter, who was totally free with the ball in the 80th minute. Lenny Deighton's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but James Picker read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 82nd minute of play. If Lenny Deighton had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 84th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After a defensive mix-up in Birch House City's zone, Lenny Deighton stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. James Picker came out of the goal and Lenny Deighton tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Chaz Beswetherick fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 94th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without James Picker having to interfere. After some fancy dribbling in the 96th minute, Lenny Deighton managed to get in a good position for a shot. Knottingley's supporters rose to their feet, but Lenny Deighton was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. James Picker breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. The Birch House City fans had already started to leave before the final whistle blew. Knottingley were clearly better and deserved to take the win.