BSFC 2-5 Peterborough Sports Match Report
Bishop’s Stortford 2-5 Peterborough Sports Match Report 3/8/21
Bishop’s Stortford’s penultimate pre-season friendly ended in defeat to Peterborough Sports at the R & D Advisors UK Stadium. The Turbines finished 2-5 winners, with Dan Lawlor scoring from the penalty spot, and Jordan Nicholson and Dan Jarvis both scored braces. Frankie Merrifield netted both goals in the first half for the Blues.
The first action in the match was referee Nathan Oakes pointing to the penalty spot after Ryan Henshaw’s foul on Ryan Fryatt from behind. Lawlor sent Jack Giddens the wrong way and fired into the right hand side of the net. Pierre Ange Omombe nearly doubled the visitor’s lead with a header from a left wing throw-in, but it went narrowly wide. Aaron Greene had the first venture forward for the Blues with a driving run down the left wing, his low cross was parried by Lewis Moat, and Trialist’s first time strike rattled the post from the edge of the box. Merrifield smartly beat the offside trap to meet a through ball in the box, before rounding the keeper and sliding home to equalise. A high press from Jonny Giles won him the ball, playing a defence splitting pass through to Jake Cass, who forced Moat into a smart save, and the follow-up shot was blocked by a defender. Ange Omombe and Nicholson both tested Giddens with low shots, before Merrifield won the corner at the other end with a deflected shot. From the corner, Giles received the ball from a clearance, and his attempted chip went off the crossbar and behind with Moat scrambling. Lewis Hilliard proved a constant threat for Peterborough Sports, running at the Blues defence and making pinpoint crosses, he assisted Nicholson’s first as they restored their lead, with Hilliard’s low cross giving Nicholson a tap in. Just two minutes later – Merrifield bagged his second, sticking out a boot to divert Giles’ whipped cross from deep into the bottom corner.
HT 2-2
Cass made a fast start to the second half, with Moat making two good saves to deny the forward, with a third strike going over the bar from the edge of the box. A bizarre situation occurred when the referee gave a second Peterborough Sports penalty for an Anthony Church handball, but following consultation with his assistant, Oakes awarded a corner instead. It made little difference, however, with a third Turbines goal coming from substitute Dan Jarvis firing into the top corner from long range. A weak back pass from Trialist to Giddens gave the visitors a chance for their fourth of the night, which they took, with Nicholson sliding home. The match sharpness and fitness was clear to see in the late stages of the match, with Peterborough Sports, who won 10-0 in their previous friendly, scoring their fifth through Jarvis’ curling effort.
FT 2-5
Bishop’s Stortford’s final pre-season friendly takes place on Friday 6 August at home to Coggeshall, before the trip to Bognor Regis Town in the first league match.
TEAMS
Blues XI
1 Jack Giddens
2 Rio Davidson-Phipps
3 Trialist
4 Jack Thomas (Yellow card 41’) (Sub Jones 58’)
6 Ryan Henshaw (c)
7 Jonny Giles (Sub Gardner 75’)
8 Anthony Church
9 Jake Cass (Sub Trialist #16 78’)
10 Frankie Merrifield (Goal 14’ 29’)
11 Aaron Greene (Sub Charles 58’)
17 Mark Haines (Sub Trialist #15 66’)
Subs
5 Pat Sankey
12 Ryan Charles
13 Connor Lee
14 Joe Gardner
15 Trialist
17 Trialist
18 Charlie Wardle
19 Archie Jones (Yellow card 60’)
Peterborough Sports XI
1 Lewis Moat
2 Mitch Griffiths
3 Johnny Herd
4 Ryan Fryatt
5 Richard Jones (c)
6 Dan Lawlor (Goal pen 4’)
7 Pierre Ange Omombe
8 Lewis Hilliard
9 Michael Gash (Yellow card 38’)
10 Josh McCammon
11 Jordan Nicholson (Goal 27’ 71’)
Subs
12 Dan Jarvis (Goal 67’ 85’)
13 Lewis Elsom
14 Brad McGowan
15 Jake Battersby
16 Matthew Miles