Clitheroe 4 Colne 1

A boisterous Bank Holiday crowd of almost 1,200 were richly entertained by a blood and thunder local derby, which Clitheroe in the end won comfortably, but not before the odd scare and bout of fireworks.

Inexplicably, Clitheroe found it hard to assert themselves in the opening few minutes but it was nevertheless a surprise when a lofted free kick into the Clitheroe box dropped behind the defence and saw keeper Chris Thompson having to commit himself to a challenge, which the referee adjudged to have been a foul. The penalty was converted with no great fuss by Colne. The mood around the ground became subdued as Clitheroe found themselves facing a bank of 10 players and chances were limited to half chances. On the half hour mark, Clitheroe should have equalised, when in a pinball sequence in the Colne box, three shots were unbelievably scrambled away. As the half ticked down, the crowd sensed that Clitheroe would not break the resolute defence, but when Sefton Gonzales was hauled down in the box and Reece Webb-Foster converted the penalty, the mood was decisively changed.

In the second half, Clitheroe simply attacked at will and chances came and went with regularity. On 50 minutes, a great run by Webb-Foster down the right saw him cross low to Gonzales, who stroked home his 20th goal of the campaign. The Colne defence was now creaking but still held firm, before on 74 minutes Marc Pugh showed all his class as he jinked on the wing and popped a delightful cross into the box for Billy Priestley to thump home with a powerful header. More Clitheroe pressure followed but there was needle developing in the match and from a coming together, Clitheroe’s Danny Wilkins received a straight red card and ex Blue Owen Watkinson also went for the long walk for his second yellow card of the day. As the game finally settled down after all the excitement, it was substitute Abimbola Obasoto who received a superb low cross from Gonzales and with virtually his first kick of the game rounded a defender and picked his spot beyond the Colne keeper.

The result was a fair reflection of Clitheroe’s domination of the second half, but did not reflect the lacklustre first half, which will give manager David Dempsey plenty of food for thought as next Saturday’s game away at Glossop hoves into view. A large travelling contingent is expected to see if Clitheroe can reach the play offs for the first time in their 19 years in the Northern Premier league.

Team : Chris Thompson, Jacob Hanson, Darren Holden, Richard Baker (c), Billy Priestley, Cameron Lancaster, Marc Pugh (Jamie Edwards), Callum Harris (Sidi Sanogo Fofana), Sefton Gonzales, Danny Wilkins, Reece Webb-Foster (Abimbola Obasoto). Subs - Sidi Sanogo Fofana, Abimbola Obasoto, Jamie Edwards. Not used - Jack Burrows, George Bristol.