Laird pay for poor start (From Wirral Globe)

Laird pay for poor start

9:43am Wednesday 20th March 2013 in Sport

Clitherore..............2

Cammell Laird.......1

By Phillip Wilkinson

CAMMELL Laird travelled to Clitheroe on Saturday looking to claim another scalp as they faced the second-placed Lancashire outfit, but were made to pay for a poor opening 20 minutes.

Clitheroe began brightly and applied pressure from the first whistle and soon took the lead on 12 minutes.

After losing out in the midfield area, the ball broke on the edge of the Cammell Laird penalty and Clitheroe forward Chris Mason was quickest to react. He took only one touch before he coolly finished passed the Cammell’s keeper to give the home side the lead.

Laird's then arguably were the better side as they attempted to level the scoreboard and were unlucky when Craig Cairns hit the side netting from a tight angle when wriggling free of the Clitheroe defence.

While Laird pushed forward they were always going to be vulnerable to being caught short at the back, especially with the likes of Mason and Daley Woods at the top end of the pitch.

With 23 minutes gone, Clitheroe attacked down the right hand side, and after some good work from Mahoney to get to the dead ball line, his back heel found Chris Smalley whose cross was aimed for Mason but found Daley Woods 12 yards out. His measured finish left Kevin Atherton helpless as the ball curled away from the keepers out stretched hands for 2-0.

Cammell Laird were quite literally handed a way back in to the game when Jamie Henders cross from the right hand side was met by the hand of Jack Higgins under the nose of the referee who awarded a spot kick immediately, but issued no further punishment to the defender for his deliberate intervention.

Jamie Henders stepped up and got the Cammell’s back in to the game and something to fight for in the second half.

After the interval, it was like attack versus defence as Cammell Laird did everything but score, the best chance falling to midfielder John Couch who simply ran out of pitch and his shot shaved the post on its way out play.

The Cammell’s could have had a second penalty late on when Danny O’Brien was fouled in the area as he shot, but the referee - maybe unsighted - shook his head and the Lancashire side held on for victory.