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WEST AUCKLAND TOWN FC

West Auckland Town 2-1 Boro Rangers [26/10/2024] – Match Report

West headed back to The Northern Metal Recycling Stadium on Saturday, as we welcomed Boro Rangers. Boro Rangers are having a very impressive season, and were sitting third in the league. West took some confidence from last weekend’s victory against Tow Law Town.

On what was another pleasant afternoon, the team sheet was announced, and it saw Ben Dale and Josh Robertson come into the starting 11, with Gary Brown unavailable, and Alfie Conway as substitute. Recent West Reserves signing Ben Creamer came into the squad. There was plenty of early activity in the opening minutes. First, Layton Watts was caught offside for West, and then Boro Rangers had an opportunity at the other end which led to a goal-kick. The first shot at goal came after only 5 minutes, a chance for the away side, which was comfortably saved by West goalkeeper Nick Liversedge. There was another scare only a few minutes later. A ball played high into the West box, which took an awkward bounce, with Boro’s Callum Hickman looking to get in behind Liversedge, but Nick managed to avoid danger. The last meaningful chance of the opening 10 minutes fell to West. A great ball played into the box by Adam Mitchell, with Charlie Wood just heading over. With a quarter of the game gone, it was an even game, with the score still 0-0. That changed after 34 minutes. With good build-up play by West, James Harrison was played through and he calmly slotted it beyond Boro keeper Daniel Horner. 1-0 West. An injury to Josh Robertson saw Alfie Conway come on after 38 minutes. As half-time approached, Luke Bailey was in the wars, a cut to the head, followed by a nasty tackle after coming back on. The latter foul ended with Boro Rangers’ Harry Thompson receiving a yellow card. There was one more chance in the last few moments of the first half, a free-kick to West in the Boro 18 yard box, saved by the Boro keeper. We went in at half-time with a deserved 1-0 lead.  

As the second half got going, Boro Rangers looked to press, with West holding strong. The first ten minutes was a fairly caging affair, but West managed to increase their lead. With 58 minutes on the clock, and Joey Hope darted down the left wing, he played the ball to Layton Watts, who neatly and calmly put the ball passed the Boro Keeper, 2-0 West. Another chance fell to West on the hour, a header from Charlie Wood which just sailed over. Archie Dodds came on to replace Adam Mitchell on 70 minutes. There was then another period of pressure from Boro Rangers. This nearly resulted with the away team pulling a goal back. Stuart Rose, who had 26 league goals going into this game, managed to get a shot on target, but it hit the post, to the relief of West. Ben Creamer, who joined the Reserves from neighbors Bishop Auckland, came on for the last 10 minutes, making his debut for the club. That was followed by Lee Hume replacing Anthony Bell. As 90 minutes approached, Boro Rangers got their goal. Callum Hickman picked the ball up on the edge of the West Auckland area and slotted Rose through, who squeezed the ball just inside the near post. It set up a nervous last few minutes for West. The referee signaled 4 minutes of additional time, West looked to hang on. There was a chance to increase the lead, Layton Watts burst through and hit a shot, with the keeper just getting their fingers to the ball to put it behind for a corner. That was the last action. Seconds later the referee blew for full time. It was a fantastic team performance, with every player contributing and fighting until the end. Three points, which take us to 4th in the league table.

We spoke to Manager Gary Forrest after the game, on what was a great three points. 

“Delighted with the win. It should have been a few more to be honest, and I would like us to start killing teams off. Charlie Wood was outstanding today, Layton and Harra took their goals really well, and I thought young Ben came on and did well.”

Full-Time: West Auckland Town 2-1 Boro Rangers

Competition: Northern League Division One

Attendance: 168

Match Report by Phil Dodds

Photos by Phil Sage. 

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West Auckland Town FC

Winners of the first World Cup in 1909 and 1911.

Currently in Ebac Northern Division 1.
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