Bedlington Terriers 0 Brandon United 3 – Ebac Northern League Division Two
The conditions – a heavy, lumpy pitch – made it a difficult match for both teams. Things got even tougher for the Terriers when they conceded a penalty and had their keeper sent off for the foul.
It was a body blow from which they never recovered. Brandon took their time to take advantage against the 10 men, but in the end they ran out comfortable winners.
For 25 minutes both sides had chances that were either off target or hit straight at the keeper. The first, decisive incident of the match came in the 26th minute with the penalty and red card.
A through ball by David Mitchell set Brandon No. 11 Scott Johnson clear with a run at goal. Terriers keeper Nathan Harker got to the ball first but his attempted clearance was charged down by the winger who was in turn brought down as he tried to round him – Harker off, with Johnson converting the spot kick.
From then on in, Terriers attackers were always outnumbered by defenders and their chances were few and far between, including Brampoque Serra Da Silva Sa poking a shot just to the right of the Brandon post in the 30th minute.
Quality moves, attacks and shots were at a premium for the rest of the half.
Johnson gave his team more breathing space seven minutes into the second half when he managed to evade two tackles and retain possession before finding the target to make it 0-2.
The game was put to bed in the 72nd minute: William Morris hitting the ball over the Terriers defence, allowing Reece Brown to race forward and chip it over stand-in keeper Sam Dinsley.
The visitors should have made it 0-4 when midfielder Paul Gardiner’s pass found Kai Hewitson onside but the No. 9 could only hit a weak shot with only the keeper to beat.
Mike Snowdon
