Penrith (Home): Northern League Division 1: Saturday 10th Sept 2011

Result: Marske United 0 Penrith 3     Scorers: -

Following a club record 6-2 Northern League defeat the previous midweek, Burto made as many changes as he could with the limited squad at his disposal.  Andy Raw and Mark Taylor both came into defence to mark their first appearances of the season, whilst Dom Gamble pushed up into midfield in place of Karl Charlton, and John Seaton returned to the opposite flank to replace the unavailable Derek Bradley.

The first action of note came on eight minutes when a long punt into the Penrith box was fumbled badly by James Holland, but after treating the ball like a hot potato, he finally fell on the ball with our front two unable to capitalise on the early gift.

The Cumbrians lead with the first real move of the game on 18 minutes.  Daniel Robinson latched onto a ball over the top that fell his way following a deflection off of Anthony Roberts.  He swung a leg at it, and despite Jonathan McDonald getting plenty of hand on it, the ball span into the back of the net.

It was the type of effort that usually trickles wide, but when your luck is out…

Marske created nothing until the 25^th minute, when a five minute spell saw them go close on several occasions.

Andy Raw was the first player to penetrate the Penrith defence when he made a surging run forward to the byline, but was unable to pick out a yellow shirt with his cut-back.

Then a minute later Raw made another surging run forward to win a free kick that Steve Cochrane played into Danny Brunskill’s feet, but the big strikers shot on the turn lacked power and accuracy.

In the 29th minute Brunskill showed some great touches on the left side and used his weight to bustle through two defenders like a battering ram, but his powerful shot was well parried away by Holland, with John Seaton square of him totally unmarked.

Then by far the best chance of the match came on the half hour mark when Gamble burst through to connect with a misplaced pass, but with just Holland to beat, failed to get past the keeper who managed to block.

Having survived the spell of Marske pressure, the visitors broke away to double their lead on 37 minutes after Seaton gave the ball away cheaply on the half way line.  Sean Elliott’s shot at goal was bravely blocked by Adam Wheatley, but the rebound was picked up by Ben Jackson on the edge of the box who gave McDonald no chance with a good low drive into the far corner.

Half-time:  Marske United 0 v 2 Penrith

Marske needed to start the second half brightly if they were going to get back into the game, but it was Penrith who created the better opening chances of the second half, as Roberts had to make a last-ditch tackle to deny Andrew Murray-Jones, and then on 53 minutes McDonald had to save from Robinson at the second attempt.

Having failed to improve, Burto made a double substitution on the hour mark as Mark Taylor and John Seaton were replaced by Jonathan Burton and Karl Charlton respectively.

Charlo was straight onto the offensive, and played the ball out wide to Cochrane, whose cross-come-shot had beaten Holland in the visiting goal but bounced back off the bar to safety.

As Marske began to push forward, the Cumbrians were afforded way too much space at the other end, and Robinson should have finished the game off on 67 minutes when he ran clean through on goal, only for McDonald to get off his line and block his effort from the corner of the six yard box.

However, Penrith finally put Marske out of their misery when they made it 3-0 on 75 minutes.  Having failed to adequately clear the ball, Murray-Jones was just about to pull the trigger when Raw lunged in to attempt a tackle.  Having mistimed it completely, the referee had no option but to point to the spot, and Raw can feel fortunate not to have received at least a yellow card.  Robinson stepped up to send McDonald the wrong way, and dismissed all lingering hope of a Marske comeback.

United almost pulled a consolation goal back in the 85^th minute when Charlton burst through and drew the keeper off the line, but after slipping the ball through his legs, could only look on agonisingly as the ball came back off the post to safety.

Full-time:  Marske United 0 v 3 Penrith

Having played so well in recent weeks against the likes of Spennymoor Town and Whitley Bay, it was extremely disappointing to have gone down so easily against a Penrith side who hadn’t until this game won a match in the league this season. 

Teams:

Marske United:  McDonald, Raw (Donachie), Wheatley, Gell, Roberts, Taylor (J.Burton), Seaton (Charlton), Cochrane, Brunskill, McGill, Gamble.  Not Used:  Ormerod, Skelton.

Penrith:  Holland, N.Davidson, Jones, G.Davidson, Gray, Jackson (Clasper), Ainsworth, Roberts (Gill), Murray-Jones, Robinson, Elliott.

Match Sponsors M/O/M:  Anthony Roberts

Referee:  Elton Martin (Hartlepool)