Gainsborough Trinity 2 – 2 Ashton United

 Gainsborough Trinity 2 – 2 Ashton United 

An entertaining match up between Gainsborough and Ashton United ended all square with 4 goals scored across the 90. 

 

An intimidating, pressing force startled the 3^rdplaced visitors early in the game, Cogill intercepted a weak pass in the midfield, his pass to Southwell lead to a shot being put just wide of the post, challenging Luke Simpson. 

 

Just 2 minutes later, the demanding press of Gainsborough lead to a powerful, low hit volley being deflected wide and out for a corner. The Holy Blues had thought they had found an opening as Cogill and Johnson had close range efforts blocked inside the box and saved brilliantly by Simpson to keep the score at 0-0. 

 

Ashton began to find their feet 20 minutes into the game, a notable performance from Marcus Cusani who persistently created chances down the right-hand side. Ex-Trinity attacker, Alex Byrne, tested Luke Jackson in the home goal as his shot dipped down onto the keepers’ fingertips.

 

Javelle Clarke’s Man of The Match performance was notably shown from his high presses throughout the game and creating multiple chances from start to finish. His first significant chance created was through a press to win the ball off of Mitchell Rose, his outside of the boot pass found Declan Howe who’s shot was saved comfortably by Luke Simpson. 

 

The first goal came only 3 minutes later, a brilliant build from the Gainsborough midfield led to a thumping finish from the Bawtry born baller, Bobby Johnson, to put the Holy Blues ahead in the first half. However, this was closely cancelled out by a 35-yard effort from Rose which glimpsed past Luke Jackson. 

The press from both sides continued into the second half, the first significant chance of the second half came through Southwell having two close range shots saved by Simpson. 

Declan Howe put the Blues ahead after a beautifully timed through ball from Dayle Southwell found the feet of Howe finishing his 1 on 1 with Simpson with a chip. 

Ashton levelled through a Jason Gilchrist header in the 78th minute, Byrne’s cross was met by the head of Gilchrist to sink the home sides hope of a big three points that would have boosted them into the top half of the table. 

Trinity performed well tonight but would be gutted to only get a draw out of the game and things are really improving since the Wilcox takeover at The Northolme.

Whitby away next on Saturday 28th October. 

Attendance tonight- 384. 

The Merseyside Derby Preview

Liverpool host Everton in a massive Merseyside derby this Saturday as they look to defeat their local rivals and get off to a good start following the international break. 

The Reds will be looking for a win this weekend to get them back on track with the title race that could be on their hands. After their controversial loss to Tottenham in London and a deflating 2-2 draw on the South Coast against Brighton, they had put an end to their 5 game winning run and seem to be in a drop of form. However after the Spurs game, a hole was left within the team due to all of the controversy around the match. 

Klopp has urged his players for them to “put a proper shift in and go for it” in Saturday’s huge match up at home. The Liverpool boss has also confirmed that Andrew Robertson will be facing a long time out on the sidelines due to dislocating his shoulder in an international game with Scotland against Spain, Kostas Tsimikas will most likely come into the team in Robertson’s place.

The Reds will be looking to use their home fans to their advantage during the derby as they cause away teams to be pressured into mistakes and push the home side into winning. This is something that Dyche’s side would have to take into account. The high pressures that the Anfield crowd brings on a game like this may lead to mistakes, Dyche would be urging his team to fight off this pressure and play for the badge. 

Everton sit 16th with 2 wins and 1 draw from their last 8 games in the Premier League. Coming off of a  3-0 win over Bournemouth, the Toffee’s will be searching for the upset that they so desperately need to put the team back on track after multiple seasons of trouble at the bottom of the table. 

Sean Dyche admitted in his press conference earlier today that the “records need changing” in terms of the matches won by Everton against Liverpool and they look to force the Reds into a tough game at Anfield during the lunch time kick off. 

Salah Gives Aid to Palestinians in Gaza

After receiving negative backlash from some Egyptians about not publicly supporting Palestinians during the crisis that is currently occurring in Gaza, Mo Salah has donated to the Egyptian Red Crescent. 

The Liverpool star has been performing amazingly on the pitch this season for the Reds as he has put away 6 goals in just 10 games in all competitions this season, also providing 4 assists. 

His class off of the pitch has also been shown in recent days as he has donated to the Egyptian Red Crescent to provide aid to Palestinians in Gaza. 

The situation in Gaza continues to escalate and many innocent people are being injured and killed, moreover, many people are being left without homes, water, electricity or shelter. 

The money that is being donated will be used to provide everything that people in Gaza are needing. 

Class act from the Egyptian King! 🇪🇬👑

A match with entertainment from start to finish. 17th place, Gainsborough Trinity, hosted 2nd in the league, Warrington Rylands, at The Northolme in the wintery sunshine. 

The match began with pure pressure from both sides. The first chance of the match up was a defensive error from the Rylands defence which led to a wonderfully put away Declan Howe chip over the away side’s keeper, Luke Pilling, in only the 8th minute of the game. 

Just 5 minutes later, the Ryland attack threatened the home side as wingback, Clive Smith, made a beautiful run down the right wing, however, his cross was met by a sliding clearance from Trinity’s Hamish Douglas. 

Chances then came thick and fast for both sides. Declan Howe brought the ball round Pilling just to hit the post, then Rylands striker came close up the other end, putting the ball just wide of the home sides post. Trinity’s Javelle Clarke then came close after a sublime bit of play led to his shot curling just a whisker away from the post. 

An acrobatic attempt from Rylands’ Joeseph Piggott was put over that bar after a good bit of play from the away side. 

As the second half started, the weather took a turn, but this wasn’t the case on the pitch, Trinity came out strong as Howe’s shot was just wide of the post, 2 minutes into the half, then, Clarkes chance was blocked off of the line by a determined Ryland defence. 

The second half action began with Trinty’s Hornshaw being punished with a second yellow after wasting time on a throw in. Just 5 minutes later, the pressure was put on Gainsborough as Sidibeh went one-on-one with the Sheffield Wednesday loanee, Luke Jackson, only to be met with a composed save.

Just 14 minutes from the final whistle, Declan Howe was brought down in the middle of the park after a terrible challenge from Rylands, Ben Hough, leading to a sending off and an injury for Howe. 

With only 10 minutes left on the clock, the game sprang into life, 10v10 and lots of action. 

The home side were unlucky to have 3 close range efforts saved and cleared off the line, but in return, a penalty was awarded after a foul on Clarke. Johnson’s penalty was then saved by Pilling, the rebound only good enough to meet the keepers hands, a moment to forget for Johnson. 

The referee awarded 7 minutes of added time, was a late equaliser possible? 

After pushing hard for the upset, Ryland were blessed with a 95th minute equaliser. 3 chances saved and blocked off of the line by Trinity was pounced on by Clive Smith, putting it away past a wall of Trinity’s men. 

The referee blew for full time and an air of relief filled the stadium. A tough one to take for Trinity after a last minute equaliser. But, 17th going toe to toe with 2nd shows signs the Russ Wilcox’s side are improving massively. 

What Next?

I would like to firstly thanks everyone for reading my blog, the past month has been the best in terms of the number of readers, so i would just like to make my appreciation for this public. 

Secondly, I would like to ask all the readers what they would like to be seeing and reading from me. I am up for writing about pretty much anything Liverpool FC related and even private projects for anyone wanting graphics of players or Anfield or any pieces that you may want for your own pages. 

An example of the graphics I could make. 

Trying to increase my presence in the Liverpool community is one of my main goals for the next couple of months, so i have been taking part in different projects such as the Liverpool Transfer Room live streams that are daily and a Liverpool Radio show. 

My social media handles:

 

Twitter- @TopoftheKop97

Instagram- @topogthekop2022 

So, for the reader of this post, please feel free to comment and give me suggestions on what you would like to be reading, feel free to reach out to me on social media too. 

PGMOL Release Audio from Controversial Spurs v Liverpool Game

After Saturday's controversial loss to Tottenham in London, many questions have been asked about VAR and its use during football matches due to the lack of consistency for correct decision being given. 

A thrilling 90 of minutes ended in a 2-1 win for Spurs due to a 95th minute Joel Matip own goal. The Reds played the last 25 minutes of the game with only 9 men after Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota were perhaps controversially dismissed during the entertaining match in London. 

Jones was sent off in the first half after he had slipped over the ball and caught Yves Bissouma with his studs onto his shin, which led to a yellow card decision from the on-field team and then it was questionably overturned when VAR looked at the decision. 

Jota was then brought on at half time for an injured Cody Gakpo and within 25 minutes he was sent off after 2 very soft yellow cards, the first being a from Destiny Udogie tripping over his own feet and the second was a stupid challenge from Jota who was already on a yellow, however, there was no contact made on Udogie which caused even more outrage in the game than there already was. 

The main talking point of the game was the Luis Diaz goal that was wrongly ruled out for offside. Salah had played a great ball through to an emerging Diaz who went 1-on-1 with Tottenham's Italian keeper, Vicario, and came out on top to put the Reds 1-0 up. The on-field team of officials ruled the goal out for being 'offside' and when the goal was checked by VAR, they also decided the goal was offside. A last ditch attempt to correct the decision was turned away for being too late, leading to the goal being disallowed wrongfully and then Spurs taking it up the other end and scoring minutes later. 

Transcript of officials during decision making for Diaz offside goal: 

Assistant referee 1: "Waiting. Delaying, delaying."

VAR: "Possible offside, Diaz."

Assistant referee 1: "Coming back for the offside, mate."

VAR: "Just checking the offside, Delay, delay."

VAR: "Give the kick point, let's go. Kick point, please?"

Referee: "Yeah, no worries, mate."

Replay operator: "So here we are."

Referee: "Wait."

Replay operator: "Just get a tight angle."

VAR: "Yeah, give me a 2D line ready after this one for frame two after that."

Replay operator: "So frame two there?"

VAR: "That's fine."

VAR: "Perfect, yeah."

VAR: "2D line on the left boot."

Replay operator: "Let me just switch angles."

VAR: "Romero, I think it is?"

Replay operator: "I think it might be this angle [that is] better? Happy with this angle?"

VAR: "Yep."

Replay operator: "2D line on the boot?"

VAR: "2D line on the left boot."

Replay operator: "Yeah, okay."

Replay operator: "So, 2D line on the boot."

VAR: "And stop."

VAR: "Check complete, check complete. That's fine, perfect."

Assistant referee 1: "Playing."

Referee: "Cheers, mate."

VAR: "Thank you, mate."

Referee: "Well done, boys. Good process."

Replay operator: "Wait, wait, wait, wait. The on-field decision was offside."

Replay operator: "Are you happy with this?"

Assistant VAR: "Yeah."

Replay operator: "Are you happy with this?"

Assistant VAR: "Offside, goal, yeah."

Assistant VAR: "That's wrong that, Daz."

VAR: "What?"

Replay operator: "On-field decision was offside. Are you happy with this image? Yeah, it's onside. The image that we gave them is onside."

Assistant VAR: "The left-back he's played him, he's gone."

VAR: "Oh [expletive]."

Replay operator: "Delay, delay."

Replay operator: "Oli's [PGMOL Hub Ops] saying to delay, Oli's saying to delay."

VAR: "Pardon?"

Replay operator: "Oli's calling in to say delay the game. The decision is onside."

VAR: "Can't do anything."

Replay operator: "Oli's saying to delay, Oli's saying to delay."

VAR: "Oli?"

Fourth official: "Yeah?"

Replay operator: "Delay the game, delay the game. Stop the game."

VAR: "They've restarted the game. Can't do anything, can't do anything."

Assistant VAR: "Yeah, they've restarted. Yeah."

VAR: "Can't do anything."

Assistant VAR: "No."

VAR: "I can't do anything. I can't do anything. *Expletive*.

Despite the poor officiating and result, Liverpool showed a lot of passion, determination and character in the final 20 minutes of the game where they played with 9 men, they were left deflated after conceding in the 95th minute with a Matip own goal, totally undeserved.