Less than 48 hours after the encounter between these two sides at the Delta Taxi Stadium, Bootle came to Surrey Street looking to gain points to continue their push towards the single promotion spot available from the North West Counties League.
Match Report: Stewart Taylor
Pictures: Jim Lockwood
With so many matches at this time of year it was no surprise to see several changes in line up for both sides. For Bootle, influential player/manager Neil Prince kept himself in reserve on the bench whilst for the Hillmen right back Lee McGregor made a welcome return with Danny Browne taking a position up front.
The match started quickly as both sides tried to exert influence in midfield areas but the flow of play was interrupted by numerous free kicks. It was from one of these free kicks, awarded against the home side, that the most memorable action of the half came. The ball came in from the Bootle right and was met well by Thomas Foley only for Ben Proctor in the GNE goal to pull off a fine save.
Half time came with honours just about even and the scoreline at 0-0.
McGregor had been injured in a challenge in the first half and did not appear for the re-start, his place being taken by Paul Naylor. This prompted significant changes in the GNE formation with Naylor joining Sam Marshall up front with Mike Jones dropping back to right back.
The Hillmen looked to push on to win the match but were struggling to hold the ball up in the final third giving possession to their opponents and putting strain on both the defensive midfield and the defence. Darren Hamilton came on with 25 minutes to go to provide a more robust presence in the attacking third but still the ball could not be held up. However, the GNE defence were holding firm and neither side really looked like scoring until the pivotal action of the match.
Home captain Kelvin Lugsden was dismissed for a second yellow card offence with 10 minutes to play. This signalled the start of a rearguard action by the home side as the visitors sensed their opportunity to push on and seek out a winning goal. Two minutes later Bootle had the ball in the net from a corner but the referee had spotted an infringement in the box and gave a free kick to the home side. Bootle had several more chances as the clocked ticked down towards the final whistle but a draw was looking most likely until, three minutes into added time, the ball fell to Kevin Black whose shot, from a suspiciously offside position, was deflected past Proctor to give the visitors all three points.
A cruel blow for the Hillmen who had defended resolutely but, in fairness, had not provided much of a goal threat themselves.
GNE Team Proctor, McGregor (L) (Naylor), Brown (Mehmet), Hazelden. Lugsden, Allen, Marshall, Oakes, Smallwood, Browne, Jones (Hamilton).
Final Score: Glossop North End 0, Bootle 1
