AFC Emley fall short in heated contest

In what turned out to be a heated contest that saw two red cards and two disallowed goals, AFC Emley slipped to a 2-1 defeat against Grimsby Borough.

Both teams threatened early on, with both keepers forced into making great saves. However, it was Borough who had the ball in the back of the net first when Adam Drury struck in the 6th minute, however this was one of two of his goals to be ruled offside.

Borough came close again minutes later, when midfielder Jack Bradbury’s header blazed just over the bar.

The deadlock was broken in the 17th minute, when Jack Debnams shot was saved by Emley keeper Henry Kendrick, however the shot was deflected into the path of James Wroot, who tapped in from close range.

15 Minutes later, Drury once again had the ball in the net, however similar to his first, the goal was ruled offside. Borough kept the pressure on, though Emley did have chances, they were far and few in-between.

Shortly before half time tempers began to flair between the two sides and Brendan Smythe received a yellow card for throwing the football towards an Emley player after the whistle had been blown for a foul. Emley went into the break 1-0 down.

Early into the second half, Smythe was given a second yellow and shown his marching orders, along with Emley’s Matthew Jackson, after a fight broke out between the two teams. Tensions remained high and that was clear, with some questionable tackles being put in from both sides.

Borough doubled their lead in the 65th minute, when Bradbury took on two defenders down the left wing, and chipped the ball over the keeper making it 2-0, allowing Borough some breathing room.

However Emley continued pressing the Borough defence and the persistence paid off in the 75th minute, when striker Lewis Dickinson climbed the highest, heading home from a well delivered corner, scoring his 6th goal in 8 league appearances.

The home side pushed for an equaliser, having numerous shots on goal blocked by a Borough defence who had everybody back behind the ball in an attempt to hang onto their thin lead.

Emley continued to press late into added time, however some last ditch defending kept them at bay, condemning them to their first defeat in four games. Emley will look to bounce back next game when they face Nostell Miners Welfare.