Boroughbridge Res 2, Burley Trojans 3

BURLEY Trojans brought the curtain down on a disappointing season with a morale boosting win at Boroughbridge. With nothing to play for other than pride manager Chris Worts fielded an experimental side with players all performing in unaccustomed positions.

The shake up seemed to snap the side out of their recent lethargy and everyone appeared keen to impress in their new roles.

Trojans weathered some early pressure and 'keeper Phil Constantine had to be alert on a couple of occasions and showed a safe pair of hands as he dealt comfortably with a series of high balls.

The whole back four looked quite at home with regular 'keeper Chris Hargreaves starring at right-back, tough tackling second teamer Steve Fozzard at left-back and the normal strike force of Chris Connolly and Gareth Goodison in central defence.

Once Trojans settled they started to put an uncertain home defence under pressure with Stuart Dibb and Dave McKain proving a handful.

Trojans' opener arrived on the half hour mark courtesy of a fine flowing move. Hargreaves shipped the ball on to Kieren Hanogue who was bossing the central midfield area along with player manager Worts.

Hanogue's through ball allowed Dibb to run clear and skip past onrushing 'keeper Neil Richardson before slotting into an empty net.

Within 60 seconds Trojans had doubled their advantage with Dibb again on target. Jonny Lofthouse broke up a Boroughbridge move and fed Dave McKain whose perceptive pass split the home defence leaving Dibb with the simple task of beating Richardson from ten yards.

Dibb almost completed one of the fastest hat-tricks on record when he latched onto a defence splitting pass from Worts but he saw his lob drop agonisingly over the bar.

Trojans sat back on their lead and allowed the home side back into it just before the interval when Mark Schofield's angled drive went across Constantine into the far corner. Trojans stand-in 'keeper provided much entertainment with his unorthodox style, dribbling out of his area on several occasions but managing to get away with it much to the growing frustration of the Boroughbridge side.

Trojans replaced the injured Chris Lloyd with Ben Woods at the break but it didn't disrupt their rhythm, with the substitute providing a useful outlet on the right flank.

Whilst the home side did exert more pressure in the second period Connolly, booked for inappropriate comments to referee Adam Bowen in the first-half, marshalled his back line brilliantly and may have found a niche for himself.

Dibb continued to provide a threat up front although he did fall foul of veteran assistant referee Ray Pyke's off-side flag on more occasions than he will care to be reminded about. His strike partner McKain, looked dangerous and was narrowly off target with three excellent efforts.

Lofthouse headed over and Dibb saw a goal ruled out for off-side as Trojans sought to put the game beyond their hosts. Hargreaves drew a remarkable save from Richardson when the 'keeper somehow turned his fiercely struck free-kick over the bar with his outstretched foot.

Hargreaves tested Richardson with another long range set piece. With two minutes remaining Dibb finally got the hat-trick his persistence deserved.

The home side mounted one final assault and substitute Matthew Wix blasted the ball past Constantine from close range.

There were a number of contenders for match point with Hargreaves, Hanogue, McKain and Dibb all in the reckoning but Connolly shaded the verdict for his accomplished display and excellent reading of the game.

Trojans hold their Presentation Evening on Friday at Burley Cricket Club at 8pm. All players and supporters are invited.