Missed Chances Cost Boro

Bacup Borough suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat away at Halewood Apollo FC on Saturday, despite enjoying spells of good football and creating opportunities to get something from the game.

Aiden Lancaster returned to the starting line-up, while Joey Fallon also returned to captain the side, with Paul Sholabi missing through injury.

Borough made a positive start, enjoying good possession during the opening 20 minutes. Early opportunities fell to Kyle Siddle and Charlie Cowin, but the visitors were unable to turn their promising start into a goal.

Unfortunately Borough lost the services of Ben Langley through a hamstring injury and was replaced by Tyler Williams in the right wing back position.

Ben Langley could be out of action for several weeks

Their failure to capitalise proved costly when Halewood took the lead on 29 minutes. Following a corner, Borough were unable to clear their lines, and when the ball was delivered back into the box, Tyler Williams could not fully clear the danger. Fidan Hajdari was on hand to smash the ball into the roof of the net at the near post.

Despite falling behind, Borough continued to produce some quality football, although at times they perhaps overplayed in their search for the perfect opening. Rather than getting the ball into dangerous areas and putting the opposition defence under pressure, the visitors sometimes looked for one pass too many.

That approach continued after the interval, with Borough working hard to find a way back into the contest. However, Halewood threatened to put the game beyond reach on several occasions, only to be denied by some excellent goalkeeping from Billy Blake, who kept his side in the game with a number of important saves.

Brent Peters made changes in an attempt to turn the tide, with Connor Morris replacing Charlie Cowin, Callum Hewitt replacing Jay Luker to strengthen and bring fresh legs into the midfield. Toby Wright also enjoyed further minutes, and the returning player came close to finding an equaliser on two occasions as Borough pushed for a late breakthrough.

The contest took another turn late on when Halewood substitute Kyle Schorah was shown a red card for kicking out at Callum Hewitt. With the hosts reduced to ten men, Borough looked to take advantage in the closing stages, but the visitors were unable to produce the final ball needed to create a clear-cut equaliser.

Callum Hewitt getting valauble minutes under his belt at Halewood

Brent Peters summed the match up perfectly when I spoke to him afterwards, he said;

“We started the game well, and in the opening 15 to 20 minutes, both Kyle Siddle and Charlie Cowin had excellent chances to put us in front. As the game progressed, though, we allowed Halewood to get more of a foothold, and sod’s law, they went and got the goal.

“Billy had no chance with the strike, but I’ve got to question the marking. When the lad hits the ball, there isn’t one of our players within ten yards of him, and we can’t afford to give opposition players that much space.

“In the second half, we made changes to try to affect the game, but that final ball into the box just wouldn’t happen for us. I think we deserved at least a draw from the game, but if you don’t take your chances, you can’t complain.

“We’ve now got another week to prepare and work on things ahead of our Macron Cup game against Charnock Richard.”

It was a frustrating afternoon for Borough, who showed plenty of endeavour and played some attractive football but ultimately paid the price for not making the most of their early possession and chances.

Borough now have a week to prepare for Premier Division opposition in the form of Charnock Richard visiting the Brian Boys Stadium in the second round of the Macron Cup on Saturday. Kick-Off 3pm