Guisborough Town 2, Bridlington Town 3 (FA Cup Preliminary Round)

GUISBOROUGH Town played Bridlington on Saturday in the FA Cup Preliminary Round and with just 11 minutes gone, it was 2-0 to the Priorymen, who were already thinking of cruising into the next qualifying round against either Newcastle Benfield or Padiham. However football can be a fickle and unpredictable game and by the 80th minute of a controversially incident-packed game Guisborough were reduced to nine men and were 3-2 down, heading out of the FA Cup for another season.

It started well for the Priorymen as they tore apart their Northern Counties East League opponents from the kick-off and sprinted into an early 2-0 lead thanks to a Bridlington own goal by Brett Agnew in the 6th minute and a well-taken Matty Pennal goal just five minutes later.

Guisborough looked in total command but from the midway point of the first half they seemed to take their foot off the pedal as Bridlington came more into the game and it was no surprise when the East Yorkshire club pulled a goal back in the 36th minute when, following a corner, Connor Harman crossed and full back Benn Lewis powered in to volley home for 2-1. Bridlington began to look dangerous, particularly on the counter with centre forward Brett Agnew, one of several former Hull players in their squad, causing problems up front for the Guisborough defence.

The Priorymen must have been relieved to get to half-time still 2-1 up but after the interval it sadly all went pear-shaped when first Bridlington were awarded a very soft penalty in the 54th minute when Agnew, who went down all too easily under what looked like a fair challenge in the box, picked himself up and scored from the spot to make it 2-2.

Then just four minutes later came the second major flashpoint of the game when Guisborough’s French midfielder Thibault Charmey was red-carded following an incident with Bridlington’s Conner Harman. The Bridlington man appeared to kick out at Charmey and when Harman squared up to Charmey, Harman fell to the ground theatrically even though there looked to be only minimal contact between both players.

After prolonged consultation with his linesmen, referee Connor Scott then showed Charmey the red card and the Frenchman walked off in disbelief. After the game he strongly protested his innocence and felt it had been a deliberate attempt to get him sent off, which, unfortunately for Guisborough, succeeded.

After that it became an ill-tempered affair and with feelings running high Guisborough were reduced to nine men in the 76th minute when Pete Bulmer was sent off following an unsightly melee in which players from both sides jostled and pushed each other. Hopelessly outnumbered, Guisborough battled on but on 80 minutes Bridlington got the winning goal when Agnew headed home powerfully to make it 3-2 to book his side a place in the next qualifying round against Newcastle Benfield.

After the game Guisborough Manager Steve Dowling commented, “What can you say about today’s game and performance? I try to never criticise referees as they have a very difficult job at times. But that said, I was bewildered today by the performance of the match officials. If my players do wrong I fully expect them to be punished but in my honest view the blatant play acting that got Thibault Charmey sent off was unbelievable and I believe ultimately it cost us the game.”

“Pete Bulmer’s sending off was a different case as he retaliated to a dangerous tackle and deserved his red card despite the provocation. With the game finely balanced at 2-2 my nine remaining players, including the substitutes I sent on, put in a great shift in but could not stop Bridlington getting the winning goal late on.”