Lewis On Sport

Darwen fall to narrow defeat against play-off-chasing Holker

Darwen fell to a narrow, 1-0 defeat to Cumbrian side Holker Old Boys on ‘Pie and a Pint Day’ at The Anchor.

Holker took the lead through their number 8 William McGladdery in the 22nd minute.

Darwen did try to respond and find an equaliser in the remainder of the half, but to no avail.

In a goalless second half, The Salmoners really pushed for a leveller, but it just wasn’t forthcoming and Holker were able to take all three points back up the M6.

Darwen, fresh off the back of last week’s Vase win over Thornaby, got the game underway.

An early attempt from Sam Holt flew comfortably wide of target.

The visitors, who were looking for a win to break into the play-offs, should have taken the lead after a long diagonal from a free-kick left Darwen looking vulnerable at the back.

Holker’s number 11 Nathan Reid was the man who poked over the bar from close range.

Moments later, a lovely flick from Reid found Elliott Moore on the edge of the area but the forward couldn’t get a shot away and was closed down by a Darwen man.

The visitors dominated the ball in the opening 10, and had looked the much likelier of the two sides to open the scoring.

A firm deflected effort from David Lynch went behind for a corner, which Sam Holt almost scored from – the midfielder’s back-post drive rolled just past the left-hand post.

Old Boys were awarded a dubious looking free-kick right on the edge of the box, which McGladdery dispatched beyond Lenny Fieldhouse and into the top left corner with power. 0-1. 22 minutes on the clock.

Darwen almost replied instantly, Holker keeper Jay Barker tipped over the bar quite brilliantly to deny another headed goal for skipper Nathan Bond.

Anthony Lynch was enjoying a good first half, and a bit of trickery from the winger down the left-hand side almost opened up and opportunity for The Reds.

At the other end, the visitors almost doubled their advantage, the ball struck Fieldhouse’s right upright and went out for a goal kick.

Darwen were labouring to get themselves back on terms as the interval approached but they just couldn’t create a clear-cut chance.

HALF TIME: DARWEN 0-1 HOLKER OLD BOYS

SECOND HALF

Holker had the ball in the back of the net from a free-kick, and it seemed as though Darwen had fallen 2-0 behind, but, after a discussion with his linesman, the referee ruled the goal out for a handball. 49 minutes gone.

The away side wasted another great opportunity a couple of minutes later with Sam Joel smashing wide with a cross-goal shot from a tight angle after an impressive run beyond the Darwen back line.

10 minutes into the second half it felt as if Darwen were yet to get out of their own half, as Old Boys started to put the pressure on.

Substitute Sandro Da Costa latched on to a through ball down the right-hand side before cutting inside and unleashing a low well-struck, his effort was on target but was blocked by a Holker man before it could trouble Barker.

Darwen were starting to enjoy more of the ball and looked a bit more threatening going forward as the game entered its final 20 minutes.

A decent opportunity fell the way of Da Costa from a long throw, but he could only scuff a shot along the turf and into the arms of Barker.

It felt like a real struggle for The Salmoners, who were huffing and puffing and feeding mostly off scraps to try and force an equaliser.

Bond was able to reach forth and connect with a long ball over the top on the stretch but his volley dropped wide of goal.

Darwen did manage to win a free-kick in a really dangerous position a couple of yards from the right-hand edge of the penalty area.

The free-kick was lofted up into the area and Bond hit the post with a header. It was harsh on Darwen who had been grafting all half to find a leveller.

The Reds won another free-kick in what looked like the same position on the other side of the pitch, but this time the delivery was taken easily by Barker.

FULL TIME: DARWEN 0-1 HOLKER OLD BOYS

Kenny Langford’s men tried hard to get themselves back on level terms in the second period, but, unfortunately, it just wasn’t to be.

THE TEAMS

DARWEN

STARTING XI

1. Lenny Fieldhouse

2. Billy Flitcroft

3. Samuel Holt

4. Christopher Lynch

5. Matthew Johnson

6. Martin Middlehurst

7. Nathan Bond (C)

8. David Lynch

9. Alfie Carmichael

10. Rio Wilson-Heyes

11. Anthony Lynch

SUBSTITUTES

12. Alexander Mortimer

14. Ben Langford

15. Sandro Da Costa

16. Joshua Aspinall

HOLKER OLD BOYS

STARTING XI

1. Jay Barker

2. Hakan McCracken

3. Joshua Woodend (C)

4. Kevin Watkin

5. Luke Mitchell

6. Callum Fawcett

7. Frankie Ellis

8. William McGladdery

9. Elliot Moore

10. Samuel Joel

11. Nathan Reid

SUBSTITUTES

12. Gareth Smith

13. Harry Copeland

14. Reece Cresswell

15. Tyler Wood

16. David Round