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Brighouse Town 1 Cleethorpes Town 2

Brighouse Town 1 Cleethorpes Town 2

David Simpson13 Nov 2022 - 15:35
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NEW ERA STARTS WITH AWAY WIN!

The Owls recorded an excellent road victory at Brighouse Town on Saturday afternoon to move up to 3rd in the NPL East. It finished 2-1, with goals coming from Curtis Bateson & Paul Walker.

Following his appointment to the hot-seat on Wednesday, Nathan Arnold had just 72 hours to get his troops galvanised to bounce-back from a brace of defeats.

The new manager made three changes from midweek. Josh Venney was forced out with a back injury, and Josh Smaller & Brody Robertson also missed out. In came Curtis Bateson, Will Annan & Jack McMenemy respectively.

The side lined-up as follows in a 4-2-3-1 formation:

Goal: Tom Jackson
Defence: Paul Walker, Jordon Cooke, Tim Lowe, Leon Dawson
Midfield 1: Sam Topliss, Jack Moore-Billam
Midfield 2: Curtis Bateson, Alex Flett (c), Will Annan
Attack: Jack McMenemy

Subs: Tyler Edwards, Jon Oglesby, Brody Robertson, Henry Curtis, Josh Smaller

It was a beautiful afternoon in West Yorkshire at the start, with bright sunshine greeting the players, ahead of the playing of the Last Post and a minute’s silence in memory of everyone killed serving their country.

Backed by a good, and boisterous, following over from the coast, Clee began positively. Nevertheless, on a difficult surface, fluent passing football was not easy.

Once established, the Owls gradually got on top and their best period culminated with a deserved breakthrough in the 32nd minute.

Shortly after an effort had been ruled out for offside, an Annan chip was athletically tipped onto the bar by Hassall. The keeper was out of luck though, with Curtis Bateson charging in to convert from close-range.

The hosts responded to find an equaliser on the stroke of half-time. Javelle Clarke was in the right place to stab home, after a goalmouth scramble.

HT Brighouse Town 1 (Clarke 45+1) Cleethorpes Town 1 (Bateson 32)

Following the refreshments, it became pretty even and largely a war of attrition, with half-chances very much the order of the day.

With time beginning to ebb away, a draw looked on the cards, until the best moment of the day arrived with 10 to play.

Defender Paul Walker accelerated smoothly through the inside-right channel and then unleashed an unstoppable rocket into the roof of the net. A memorable strike!

Wild scenes of delight in the Main Stand greeted the decisive intervention. The supporters could sense that an important victory was now close at hand.

The lads dug deep to see out the remainder of the contest and, after the best part of 4 minutes added time, they deserved their warm ovation.

FT Brighouse Town 1 (Clarke 45+1) Cleethorpes Town 2 (Bateson 32, Walker 80) Attendance: 187

It really was all about the result yesterday!

Brighouse is always a tricky place to go. I am absolutely delighted for Nathan Arnold to get off to a winning start. A real boost for everyone after the recent upheavals.

I thought that we did well in the first-half. However, once the home side grabbed an equaliser right on the whistle, the second period was much harder. We kept working our socks off though, and Paul Walker won’t score too many better to be fair – a real rocket!

Overall, a great start to the new era.

UP THE OWLS!

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