Reserves Beat York

By: Adam Haddock
Date: 26/03/2008

SEVERAL first teamers lined up tonight hoping to catch the manager’s eye in time for Sunday’s trip to the English capital. Injury plagued Ciaran Toner started in the centre of midfield, alongside academy product Drew Rhoades.

Danny North slotted into the centre of a front four with Bore and Taylor on the right and left flanks respectively and trialist-come-squad player Nathan Jarman partnering North in the middle. Boris Johnson’s double, Grant Normington, moved from his usual central midfield role to the right-back berth with Craig Parker at left back. Club skipper Whittle partnered another academy gem, Matt Bird, in the centre. Gary Montgomery wore the gloves on a chilly night at Blundell Park.

The young Mariners threatened their equally junior York counterparts straight from the off with Jarman stroking a tame shot straight into the keeper’s hands. Andy Taylor was next to try his luck with a 20-yarder that went straight down the keeper’s throat. Twice in the first half, dangerman North went down under heavy tackles but still lasted an hour.

York themselves provided little threat of their own with Monty only having to take the odd catch. The back-four had a calm, tidy evening with Bird very much under Whittle’s wing.

Half Time: 0-0

Shortly after the restart, Toner tried his luck from range with his volley which landed somewhere between Ramsden’s and Riby Square. Shortly after, he was subbed with a decent ovation from the 60-80 strong crowd. North followed a minute later as Watkiss sent on youth-team hitman Steve Davis. Taylor was making a nuisance of himself with a few darting runs, and after neat work from Normington, found space on the right-hand side of the box but hammered a low shot straight at the keeper.

Jarman almost opened the scoring but his long range shot on the turn fizzed a yard wide with the keeper stranded.

Town opened the scoring with about twenty minutes to go. A goalmouth scramble eventually landed at the feet of Davis who poked a low shot into the bottom corner from six yards. The lead was almost doubled minutes later as the otherwise anonymous Bore blasted a volley against the frozen buttocks of the York centre half. From the resulting corner, substitute Steel cracked a left footed volley from 30-yards, pounding the outside of the post.

Full time 1-0

Montgomery 6
Normington 7
Whittle 8 (MOM)
Bird 6
Parker 6
Toner 7
Rhoades 7
Bore 5
North 6
Jarman 7
Taylor 7

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