Cammell Laird's "reasonable" draw with Shepshed Dynamo (From Wirral Globe)

Cammell Laird's "reasonable" draw with Shepshed Dynamo

12:27pm Monday 8th February 2010

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)

CAMMELL Laird dropped off the play-off chasing pace this weekend with a reasonable draw against Shepshed Dynamo in a game that perhaps Lairds would have wanted to take more from looking at the tie on paper.

The game got off to a brisk start with both sides playing on a pitch showing battle scars from a Tranmere Reserve game earlier in the week.

The ground staff had worked minor miracles to ensure there was a playable surface in the first instance.

However the teams seemed to be tentatively sussing each other out, certainly for the first ten minutes or so at least.

On the quarter hour mark, Lairds recorded their first shot of the game when Anthony Gardner pounced on a loose ball ten yards out only to fire over the cross bar.

On 22 minutes it was the visitors turn to record an effort on goal with the lively David Pearson playing up front for Shepshed forcing Phil Palethorpe into a decent save from close quarters.

A period of sustained Shepshed pressure followed and this brought about the first goal of the game when Gokhan Ulker surged forwards down the left and was fed the ball about ten yards in from the corner flag.

He then jinked to the right, losing his marker and created acres of space for himself. He then fired in a neat shot just inside Palethorpe to put Shepshed a goal to the good.

Shepshed seemed fairly comfortable but Lairds still remained a threat, particularly from set-pieces and it was a free-kick that started the move that saw Lairds grab an equaliser with almost the last touch of the half.

A free kick was headed back across the goal by Ian Cooke to John Corrigan who let rip with a fantastic acrobatic effort from the edge of the box that left Nick Jupp all confused as the ball swerved, hit the post and into the net.

The second half was a tense and scrappy affair as a combination of the damaged pitch, creeping fog and fatigue crept in with neither side really dominating.

Shepshed pressed forwards at every opportunity with David Pearson looking lively and causing problems, whilst at the other end, Shaun Tuck was always running about and making himself available, however the play seemed to be stuck in the middle of the park more often than not.

Notable incidents included Shepshed having the ball in the back of the net on 75 minutes but the effort was swiftly disallowed for an offside player and then right at the death Lairds went agonisingly close to a winner when they were throwing everything at it to try and get a winner when a corner was played short and then the ball whipped across the goal, Lee Atherton heading the ball literally a couple of inches wide of the post meaning that the game finished a goal apiece.

After the game, Lairds Manager Alex Hay said: "That was a tough game out there today, the groundstaff were magnificent to get the pitch anywhere near playable after the amount of damage sustained to it in midweek.

"Shepshed came with a game plan and are a very physical side at the best of times and we just didn't seem to react to their defender coming right up from deep to get the ball for their goal.

"Other than that I felt we did enough out there to win the game and the players worked hard, it was good to see John Corrigan getting a goal and to see Ian Cooke out there causing havoc for the away defence but we just need to break this habit of home draws.

"We play Market Drayton away on Tuesday, February 9, whilst we are back here on Saturday to a very strong Belper side so these are two more of many big tests we face over the coming weeks."

Cammell Laird: Palethorpe, Rendell, Hammond, Gardner, Jones, Atherton (c), Andrews, Tuck, Cooke, Corrigan, Adamson. Subs: Bowen, King, Bigland, Hay, Forshaw.

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)