Disappointing night at Colne

Bacup Borough travelled to Colne looking to put some valuable points on the board following Saturday’s encouraging draw away at Thornton Cleveleys.

Manager Brent Peters named the same starting XI that began at Thornton, and Borough made a positive start to the contest. During the opening ten minutes, Kaiden Barlow and Connor Morris were seeing plenty of the ball in the final third, while James Bartholomew and Aiden Lancaster continued to provide an attacking threat from the wide areas.

However, as the first half progressed, the home side began to take control of proceedings.

Colne started to dominate possession and, crucially, moved the ball with much greater speed and purpose. Borough struggled to get close to their opponents and were increasingly forced to defend deep as the hosts began to create chances.

It was only some outstanding goalkeeping from Billy Blake that kept Borough in the contest.

Billy Blake showed his quality throughout

Blake produced a series of excellent saves to deny Colne and keep the score level, while the home side also missed a golden opportunity from the penalty spot in the 25th minute. Had it not been for Blake's heroics, Borough could quite easily have found themselves several goals behind at the interval.

The second half followed much the same pattern.

Colne continued to dictate the game and, for long periods, Borough simply couldn't get close to Andy Harrison's side. There was an urgency and intensity to the home team's play which left Borough chasing shadows.

Blake was once again called upon to keep Colne at bay, but eventually the pressure told.

On 53 minutes, Miles Storey delivered a cross into the Borough penalty area from the right which found Barney Wiggin. The Colne forward was allowed far too much time and space, controlling the ball before turning and finding the bottom corner to give the hosts the lead.

It was a goal which will disappoint the Borough management, with the initial cross needing to be dealt with and the defending allowing Wiggin to finish with far too much ease.

Peters responded with a triple substitution, introducing Josh Walne, Charlie Cowin and Callum Hewitt in an attempt to change the momentum of the game.

The changes did give Borough more possession and helped them spend more time with the ball, but they were unable to prevent Colne from continuing to enjoy themselves in the attacking third.

Once again, Blake came to Borough's rescue with more excellent goalkeeping as the home side searched for a second.

Borough did have a chance to level when Josh Walne saw an effort from the edge of the penalty area take a deflection and crash back off the crossbar. Aside from that, though, former Borough goalkeeper Harry Turner enjoyed what was possibly his quietest game of the season so far.

The final whistle brought a disappointing evening for Borough, who were beaten 1–0 despite another outstanding individual performance from their goalkeeper.

The display was a total contrast to what we saw from Borough at Thornton Cleveleys on Saturday. That performance had shown plenty of energy, determination and purpose, whereas at Colne, Borough struggled to match the intensity of their opponents and rarely found a way to impose themselves on the game.

Consistency will be one of the biggest factors if Borough are to enjoy a successful season. Performances like the one at Colne simply cannot become a regular occurrence.

Brent Peters left the field looking deep in thought, and there will undoubtedly be plenty for the manager and his coaching staff to reflect upon before Saturday.

There is little time to dwell on the defeat, however, with AFC Blackpool the visitors to the Brian Boys Stadium on Saturday, with kick-off at 3pm.