Match Report: Brighouse Town 0-4 Redcar Athletic

After the postponements against both Brighouse, and then Blyth Town, it was nice to get one of those two crossed off, and also grab another 3 points

A cold night that was thankfully still dry, there was a lower attendance than usual, mainly in part to the fact that the distance between us and Brighouse was an 84-mile trek down south, but at least it ended on a positive.

Playing in our away kit for the first time since our FA Cup encounter with Guisborough Town, we started the game on the strong foot, with the Steelmen winning a few corners early on and pushing for something as the minutes ticked on.

Rio May, back in the starting XI since his injury against Matlock, was a commanding presence in defence, with the September signing winning every aerial duel he was involved in, and being involved in numerous attacks too.

We struggled to truly form any good chances as the game went on, until the 26th minute, where Bartliff won us a free kick in a great position, and said set piece was curled perfectly into the net by Oscar Fletcher, giving us the lead.

That goal sprung the game into life, as we nearly got another great chance, though a ball out wide to Curtis was blocked mid-flight

Brighouse then began pushing for an equaliser too, but they couldn’t craft any proper chances.

The game ultimately dulled down as the half ended, and both sides left the field for the break with the score sat at 1-0 to Redcar.

The second half saw the match resume, with an early scare occurring as Louis Johnson went down near Brighouse’s box.

He was luckily able to stay on the pitch, and he had a helping hand as we doubled our lead soon after

In the 57th minute, we, and Oscar Fletcher, bagged a 2nd goal, as Louis swept a pass into the box that went under Bosh but then found Oscar at the back post, who bundled the ball home.

Within minutes of that second and the mood quickly flipped, as Owen Burns went down in serious pain and had to be brought off for Bryan Taylor, with Burns’s ankle looking worse for wear.

Brighouse began to get some more chances once again, but their shots were either blocked, cleared, or more commonly, sent miles over the crossbar

Curtis Round then nearly bagged a stunner as his shot from miles out narrowly missed both posts.

However, that 3rd goal wasn’t too far away, as Louis Johnson was the one who grabbed it less than 10 minutes after Curtis’s shot

Getting the ball deep in Brighouse’s half, the attacker went on a run that saw him work his way into the box, where he was able to slot it past the keeper and into the net

A three goal cushion was always going to be welcomed by the Step’s highest scoring side, and as we ticked on in the match, it looked like that was how it would end.

Brighouse pushed a bit more for something, but kept coming up short, and in the end it was a Steelmen shutout as Oscar Fletcher bagged his hat trick with nearly the final kick of the game.

A passing move between himself and Mark Anderson saw it end with Oscar shooting from the edge of the box, and the ball went through a crowd before nestling in the bottom corner.

That was it, and a cold night ended with triumph. Another 3 points on the board, and December was started on the strong foot. Just another 5 games to go…or maybe more…or less.

Up next, we are on the road again as we head to Silsden on Saturday, before taking on Richmond in the North Riding Cup.

Hope to see you at both of those, but if you’re unable to make any of them, then there will, as always, be updates on our X page

Up the Steelmen!