Villagers get back to winning ways

On what turned out to be a damp Saturday afternoon, the Village beat a well organised Bournview Mill, newly formed from Bournview YM and Blackersmill’s amalgfamation, 3-1 in the first round of the Bob Radcliffe Cup at Havelock.

Seapatrick have had a very tough start to the season and manager David Dawson was relived to be back to winning ways.

“It was a great performance on the back of last week’s derby defeat and one we can be proud of,” he said. “Every player gave their all and got the result they deserved, hopefully today will be a platform to build on.”

Both sides started the game well with some neat passing on display but it was Seapatrick who looked most dangerous with Crawford and McBurney a constant threat up top.

As Seapatrick began to settle into the game, they turned their possession and territory into the game’s first goal. Blackwood found McBurney with a defence splitting pass, which the forward coolly slotted past the out-rushing keeper. Seapatrick could have stretched their lead further before the half when Crawford saw his shot well saved.

However, Seapatrick couldn’t keep up the momentum they had going into the interval and came out with a lack of hunger. Despite only having a 1-0 cushion, they seemed content to play some risky football in their own half and Bournview capitalised on this on 50 minutes by picking up a loose ball and playing a great through ball to their forward who rounded Doherty and slotted home despite McMaster’s chaseback.

This goal seemed to kick the Village into life and pass by pass they played their way back into the game. At 1-1, the home men created all sorts of problems going forward and were rewarded on 68 minutes when a short corner was taken to Myles who played in a neat cross to Crawford, to poke home after his intial header was met by a world-class save.

Bournview pressed on in search of an equaliser, but they were met by a resolute Village defence. On 82 minutes, the game was put to bed after some nice build up play saw Crawford cut the ball back for Aaron Buchanon to rifle home on the volley from the penalty spot. This finish was probably a career highlight for ‘Ernie’ who has recently made the change from full-back to winger. Despite a few players missing with injuries and work commitments, Seapatrick delivered a composed performance with some individual performances that will surely give manager Dawson a few headaches in the weeks to come.

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