CARLTON ATHLETIC 1 BOROUGHBRIDGE 2
Carlton may be County Challenge Cup semi finalists but they are also fighting for their Premier Division survival which was in evidence on Saturday as they pushed Bridge all the way on a difficult playing surface. Paul Eagling who scored a brace in the corresponding home fixture was in the thick of the action early on forcing a save out of Chris Young in the first minute but he was also on the receiving end of a couple of hefty tackles that required him to leave the field of play. Fortunately the early concerns did not materialize and on eight minutes he chipped in the opener from 20 yards after good work from Jimmy Binks and Danny Webster. As Carlton looked to get back into the game Alastair Hogg made a brilliant point blank save to deny Karl Ward only to be caught out in the 22nd minute by Stuart Walker who was able to side foot home from 25 yards and then, much to the chagrin of the home support, a marginal offside side decision prevented Lee Turner giving them a half time lead. Richie Mullen, Ben Darville and Eagling all failed to hit the target with good opportunities before the hour mark and at the other end Webster was on hand to clear a Ward effort following a Carlton corner. With the game entering the final ten minutes Eagling looked the likely player to bring out something special and two minutes after Webster had a goal disallowed he dribbled his way round two defenders and pulled the ball back for Mullen to drill into the bottom corner through a crowd of players. The remaining time proved a bit hectic but Bridge held out and with Beeston going down to Sherburn they moved into second place in the table.
MOM PAUL EAGLING