Bacup Borough came away from the Butchers Arms with a hard fought point against an extremely strong Droylsden FC.
The Butchers Arms Stadium
Brent Peters recalled Michael Gervin to the starting line up alongside Ryan Siddle in the midfield, with Malachi Clarke and new signing Joel Booth making the bench.
Borough knew coming into the game that Droylsden would present many problems especially in the attacking third and it didn't take them long to get into their stride. The lightening pace of Fuad Kasali and Sheriff Njie would remain a constant threat all afternoon.
The Borough backline were continually being tested with aerial balls into the box and driving runs from midfield causing problems everytime the home side ventured forward.
The Borough defence weren't the only department producing heroics. Borough's goalkeeper Billy Blake made two fantastic saves to deny Droylsden in the first half. The first was a shot from the edge of the penalty area destine for the top right hand corner. And the second was a cleanly struck shot that Blake was able to tip wide of his right hand post. Brilliant agility and positional sense from a young goalkeeper who seems to have settled in quite well to his new surroundings since joining from Atherton LR.
Excellent performance with two crucial saves from Billy Blake
Borough's chances were few and far between with Connor Morris and Toby Wright doing increasing amounts of running in order to get on the ball. Gervin and Ryan Siddle were another pairing covering the miles as they looked to slow down the progress of the Bloods Kyle Oakes and Caelan Kilheeney. The instruction was clear from Brent Peters before the game. 'Where they go, you go.' And it was apparent very early on that those instructions were being carried out to the letter and to good effect.
On yesterday's showing it is no surprise that Droylsden have been able to create lot of chances and score ample goals against their opposition this season. Going forward they are formidable. The pace in which they were able to transition from defence to attack was both scary and exciting at the same time. But everytime they mounted another attack Borough players were on hand to either clear the danger or put their bodies on the line.
In the second half Brent Peters swapped Ryan Siddle for Malachi Clarke. His aerial presence certainly meant that Borough would win a lot more of the aerial duels through the midfield, which in turn would give Borough more opportunity to feed off the flick ons and gain possession in the final third.
Malachi Clarke was introduced in the second half to bolster the midfield
Borough did see much more of the ball in the second half and generating more of an attacking threat for the Droylsden's central defensive partnership of Elvis Amoakwa and captain Owen Whitehead.
Changes were made by the Droylsden manager Dave Pace as he looked to throw caution to the wind in search of gaining all three points.
They were 645 inside the Butchers Arms Stadium with the majority of them getting behind the home team and creating a partisan atmosphere, as every single Borough player remained fully focused and disciplined in their duties.
An impressive crowd of 645 inside the Butchers Arms
Late on in the game Peters introduced Ollie Hodgson and Joel Booth, and the new signing almost managed to give Borough the lead when confusion in the Droylsden penalty area brought an error from their goalkeeper Jordan Latham. Thankfully for him he had defender Elvis in position to clear off the line and save his blushes.
Just before the end Droylsden must have thought they'd gained all three points when a header at the back post was cleared off the line by Ben Langley. As the ball was flighted towards the back post Langley realised that he wasn't able to intercept the header and intelligently positioned himself on the goal line to clear the danger. It was a clearance that epitomised everything positive about the Borough display and ultimately meant that they would be heading back down the M66 with one point in the bag.
At the final whistle it was handshakes all round on what had been a very competitive game. For Droylsden they may be thinking that it's two points dropped, but from a Borough stand point it was all about putting on a show for the travelling support who had witnessed disappointment in the previous game against Euxton Villa.
What we saw from Borough on Saturday was a discipline and professional performance. It was an illustration that there's plenty of determination and commitment in the team. And when every man carries out their roles and responsibilities to the direction of the manager and coaching staff, dogged displays like the one we witnessed on Saturday can be common place.
Borough now travel to Euxton Villa on Tuesday night in Macron Cup action. Hopefully the lads can deliver a similar performance and move into the next round.
Kick-Off 7.45pm
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