SKELMERSDALE VS COLWYN BAY
ALEX HAY nicked a poachers goal 11 minutes from the end to give Colwyn Bay a 1-0 victory at Skelmersdale United and move back into the top three of the UniBond Division One North - two points behind joint leaders Halifax and Curzon Ashton.  And after some tough talking following the midweek cup defeat at Cammell Laird, manager Neil Young said he was pleased with the response of the players.  "We asked them to show passion and commitment, with plenty of talking and helping each other out, and to be fair they have done everything we asked. On overall chances I thought we deserved the win," said the manager afterwards.

Having conceded 11 goals in three defeats to Skelmersdale last season, to beat them on their ground was a real bonus result against a team that don't look a strong in attack as last season, but are still likely to be among the main rivals in the promotion race.
Although the Bay struggled to keep hold of the ball in midfield at times, nobody could fault their whole-hearted defending, with bodies thrown in the way of shots when necessary, and as a result Chris Sanna did not really have a save of note to make in the game.

Carl Clampitt came in for his first game of the season and the manager was delighted with his contribution as the team reverted to a 4-4-2 formation with Rob Hopley and Jamie Dunn starting up front.  Louis Corrigan also did well on his return to the side at left back and there was a man-of-the-match winning display from Anthony Sheehan in centre midfield.

In a fairly even first half Sanna only had a couple of fairly comfortable saves to make while Hopley tested home keeper Ryan McMahon with an angled shot and Sheehan put a shot narrowly wide from distance.  The Bay came closest to scoring early in the second half when Stuart Graves put a ball across the face of the goal and Ian Sheridan just failed to get a scoring touch as he slid in at the far post.

Skelmersdale then started to exert some pressure, but the Bay defended well, with Tim Brandreth outstanding, and then got the only goal of the game in the 79th minute.
Eddie Jebb, who made an impact when he came on as a second half substitute, broke down the right before cutting inside and pulling the ball back for Sheehan, whose shot was spilled by the keeper and Hay nipped in to score his first goal for the club.  "We've had a good chat to Alex and he wants to do well for the club, so hopefully this goal will give him a bit of confidence," added the manager.

Skelmersdale tried to rescue the game, but the Bay continued to defend with great determination and went close to a second goal when Corrigan's free kick was narrowly too high.  Jebb also put in an electrifying late run, going past player after player before being cynically hacked down by Shaun Foster as he approached the Skelmersdale penalty area - it was one of those so-called "professional fouls" where a yellow card seems paltry punishment.

The Bay have now won three and drawn the other of their four away league fixtures and with two home games to come in the next week (Leigh Genesis on Tuesday and Garforth next Saturday) the manager will be keen for the team to improve the home record and start to show the consistency he is demanding.  The one worry was the early retirement of Jamie Dunn with a legacy of the injury he received against St Helens Town in the FA Cup.  "Jamie is getting a pain in his knee when he opens up and tries to sprint and that is something we are going to have get looked at," reported the manager.

Colwyn Bay: Sanna, Aspinall (Jebb 66 mins), Corrigan, Brandreth, Challinor, Sheehan, Sheridan, Clampitt (Hurdman 66mins), Hopley, Dunn (Hay 40mins), Graves. Sub not used: Davey.

Report courtesy of Tim Channon

Pictures courtesy of Martin Lyons Photography