Toolstation NCEL Division One
Harrogate Railway 5-2 Worsbrough Bridge
Albert Ibrahimi and Luke Stewart got doubles for third-placed Harrogate Railway who survived a scare against Worsbrough Bridge.
Railway appeared to be course for a straight-forward win at half-time.
Worsbrough had other ideas as they were level within nine minutes at the start of the second half.
Worsbrough have come from 2-0 down to beat Harrogate before and the hosts were rocking for a short period until Luke Stewart restored the lead.
Ibrahimi scored again before the red card for Antony Leech and sin-binning of Conor Glavin left Worsbrough with nine men.
Jack Lazenby added the fifth with a blockbuster free kick.
Railway were dominant in the first half, without creating too many clear-cut chances.
Worsbrough dropped really deep and apart from one brief spell of pressure which resulted in a corner, the visitors were quiet going forward.
Ibrahimi pounced on the loose ball inside the penalty area from a Railway corner to put them ahead as the half-hour mark.
When Stewart leapt to head home Oli Norman’s brilliant cross, the game looked sown up.
The half-time introduction of Alex O’Connor added bite into the Worsbrough midfield and proved to be a key part of the comeback as he constantly won the ball back during the turnaround.
Worsbrough began playing with intensity and high up the pitch and it reaped its rewards when Silas Valladolid-Collins found himself in space on the right, allowing for a low drive into the bottom corner.
It was soon level. A cross from the left came back off the post and Glavin picked up the ball and scored thanks to help off the woodwork.
Railway were quaking in their boots at this point. The roles had been reversed and it was Harrogate who were stranded in their penalty area.
A couple of crosses certainly created tension as they were struggling to clear their lines.
Norman deserves credit for getting Railway back in the game. His energy and brilliance to beat his man on the wing was responsible for getting them up the pitch and ultimately back ahead.
Josh Hardcastle provided the cross for Stewart’s header for the third goal.
It was then Norman who crossed for Ibrahimi to put Railway in full control again.
The coup-de-grace came with 15 minutes to go.
Ibrahimi broke into a goal-scoring opportunity and was hauled down by Leech.
A brawl followed and once as order was restored, Leech was red carded and Glavin sent to the sin-bin.
Lazenby then sent a rocket of a free kick into the top corner to round off the victory.
What They Said
Harrogate Railway manager Mick O’Connell
“It showed today that we have had a month off.
“I thought we were a bit sloppy and we weren’t clinical enough. We didn’t execute passes well enough and we spoke about at half-time that Worsbrough have come 2-0 behind against us before and that’s twice now.
“They are a resolute and we just didn’t start the second half which was very frustrating but we showed great character to get back into it.
“When they scored the equaliser there was about a ten minute period where they pinned us a little bit. That was us hitting the default button and going too deep.
“But once as we opened up and started controlling the spaces in front of us, we soon got to grips with the game.”
Worsbrough Bridge manager Luke Forgione
“First half (Harrogate) were the better side in respect of controlling the ball and territory.
“You could argue they didn’t really cut us open in the first half. They had a lot of pressure and in my opinion we conceded two soft goals.
“They asked us questions, had rotations and it was a good first half performance from Harrogate who are one of the best sides we have been up against.
“Nobody expected us to get a result apart from our changing room and we said at half-time ‘let’s have a go’.
“We changed the system to get at them and credit to the lads for getting back into the game.
“We were the better side then and (Harrogate) were starting to rock.
“Their quality came through with the two goals which were soft ones from our perspective.
“The sending-off and the sin bin killed the game because we had to play with nine men.
“It was a quality free kick for the fifth goal but with nine men it always going to be a tow.
“I’ve said to the lads that I’m proud of the performance after half-time.
“We got forced back too much in the first half, we were too deep and I talked about playing on the front-foot.
“We were out of the traps in the second half, winning the ball and we were good value but (Harrogate) are a good side and they’re up there for a reason.”
The Teams
Harrogate Railway: Wilton, Hardcastle, McDaid (captain), Thirkell, Holmes, F Ibrahimi, Norman, Shepherd, A Ibrahimi, Lazenby, Stewart. Subs: Robertson, Hunter, Morris, Owen, Banks.
Worsbrough Bridge: Womack, Smith, Eagle, Leach, Wilson, Cadzow, Holt, Glavin (captain), Jepps, Blake, Valladolid-Collins. Subs: Danville, O’Connor, Robbemond, Hutchinson, Jones.
Who Was In Charge
George Smith (5/10)
How Many Were There
127
Man of the Match
Jack Lazenby (Harrogate Railway)
