Match report Vs North Ferriby UtdVenue: AggboroughDate: 21-11-17Att: 1198 (away fans: 7)

21-11-17 - Report - Harriers 4 North Ferriby Utd 0

How to win 4-0 yet come away disappointed

Report: Phil Lench

The Harriers cruised to a 4-0 win at Aggborough this evening against, arguably, the worst side in this division. The fact that North Ferriby are bottom of the table and looking a lost cause was enough for the fans to expect a goal feast of cricketing proportions and after a one sided first half that saw us going into the break with four goals and a clean sheet it was expected that the lads in Red would easily add more to that tally and at the same time improve our goal difference.

Sadly it wasn’t to be and even though we didn’t do as we had in previous games, when winning easily, and let sides back in to go home with a point we failed to add to the score in the second half and in the process made Ferriby look good.

It was a second half that saw fans restless and jeering our lack of work rate and creation of scoring opportunities and in the end most of the fans went home, not happy with the result, but disappointed.

A slightly clumsy opening five minutes was nothing like the same five minutes at York City provided on Saturday and even though it was the same starting eleven we couldn’t quite get it right. Not to worry though we soon started to click and just after that five we opened the scoring to set us on our way. 

Elton N’Gwatala set up Joe Ironside with an excellent cross as he made his way down the left hand side of the pitch. The ball went straight through a ruck of Ferriby defenders before it found Ironside who turned then placed the ball under the visiting keeper, Ross Durrant.

It was so easy you just knew the floodgates were about to open and they did. Ryan Croasdale was next on the scoresheet with his second goal in as many games and the first of his brace on the night. Again it was Elton that played the ball through for Ryan to run onto and he rounded the keeper with ease to put the ball into the net.

By that time we could have been even further in the lead but chances had gone begging for James McQuilkin, Andre Brown and Ironside but the third goal finally arrived just past the thirtieth minute when N’Gwatalas hard work earned himself a goal of his own and probably the best goal of the evening.

A ball was played out wide to him and he took the ball almost to the byeline before shooting across the keeper at a narrow angle and into the net just the right side of the upright for his third goal of the season.

The Harriers continued to run rings around Ferriby and at times the play was as good as we saw last season with some excellent one touch passing that we also saw at York. Visions of that cricket score could be coming true. When Croasdale doubled his tally on the night and put us four up you just knew it was going to be a great second half.

For that goal a poor challenge from the visitors number five, Mark Gray, was waved on by the referee as the ball broke free for Croasdale to run onto and fire home with aplomb.

HT: 4 – 0

Sadly the second half was just plain boring.

We defended deep and allowed Ferriby to come at us even though they hadn’t got a clue how to. All that slick passing of the first half had been left in the dressing room and the instructions to play like that must have come only from the management and not the players themselves. Surely a footballer with a pride in how he plays would want to take such a given opportunity to express himself and at the same time boost the whole teams confidence by rattling in as many goals as possible.

Also come the end of the season it might be that lack of a goal difference that stops us finishing in the play-offs.

Emmanuel Sonupè came on midway through and we thought that might liven us up a bit but it didn’t. His shooting was so wayward it was embarrassing to watch with at least three attempts to score skied over the North Stand.

Ferriby had the best chance of the half when Mason Warren fired in from distance and woke Brandon Hall from his slumbers to tip the ball over the bar for a corner.

Yes, it might have been a convincing win but it still ended up being disappointing. 

FT: 4 – 0


Goals for Harriers: Ironside 6, Croasdale 15, 40, N’Gwatala 31


The Harriers Online MotM is: Declan Weeks

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Latest table and stats here


HarriersGoalsSubsTimeCards
Hall    
Pearson    
Austin    
Croasdale   
Horsfall    
O’Connor    
Weeks    
McQuilkin 59 
Ironside   
N’Gwatala78 
A Brown 54 
 
Subs: 
Klukowski 59 
Truslove 78 
Sonupè 54 
Higginson    
Stratford    
 
North Ferriby UtdGoalsSubsTimeCards
Durrant   
Barrows    
Brogan    
Skelton    
Gray 46
Picton    
Russell    
Johnson 73 
Muskwe    
Cooke 46
Warren    
 
Subs: 
Gomes 46 
Ambalu    
Rzonca 46 
Pugh 73 
Loftus    
     
Referee: 
Mr James Oldham
Derbyshire