Match Report: Matlock Town 2-0 Redcar Athletic

So many negatives on the day, it seemed like it was one that was against us from the beginning.

Nearly leaving Louis Johnson behind in Thornaby, nearly leaving JJ behind at a service station, and then the chaos that occurred on the pitch, it was one long day for everyone involved with the club.

From the opening minutes, it was clear what quality Matlock possessed, as an early high press paid off for the hosts, and they were able to break into the box, where a player went down and the Matlock fans promptly screamed for a penalty

Luckily for us, those shouts were waved away, and we could continue to try to mount an attack.

In the 7th minute, Mazfari nearly gave away a goal, as he took too long to clear the ball and was closed down, but the keeper was able to smother the loose ball.

Play began to move more towards the middle of the pitch, and our first real chance came in the 12th minute when a cross from Dane Burlace pinged off the post and went out for a goal kick, despite it looking to have also came off a Matlock player in the process.

However, the bad times began for us not long after, as in the 15th minute we were forced into making our first substitution, with Rio May pulling up and having to come off early, seeing Kev Burgess come on in his place.

We kept pressing as the game progressed, with a neat passing move ending with Owen Burns laying it off to Curtis Round, with his shot from inside the box going just past the post.

The 32nd minute saw us get a corner which was cleared to the edge of the box. However, the recipient of that clearance was Round, who hit a pass to Burlace short, which allowed Matlock to counter rapidly.

In the process of tracking back, Burlace appeared to pull up in severe pain, and after several minutes on the turf he ultimately had to be stretchered off, with Bryan Taylor coming on in his place.

As the half came to an end, we began to fashion many more chances, with Fletcher, Guru, Round and Boyes all having shots on goal, but none of them being able to put the ball in the net.

Up the other end, and Mazfari was having a solid game, with some great stops having to be made to keep Matlock at bay.

Half-time ultimately came after 8 minutes added on, and it ended with the scores level at 0-0.

The start of the second half saw little happen in terms of action, and in all honesty, whatever action occurred in our half was partly obstructed for me as there was a floodlight in the way.

We received several bookings, with Burgess, Bartliff and Guru all getting a yellow, alongside one Fletcher received in the first half.

Some more brilliant saves from Mazfari began to create a thought that he was unbeatable, but those thoughts were ultimately brought back to earth as Matlock won a penalty in the 68th minute.

Said penalty was put into the bottom right corner, beating Mazfari and giving the hosts the lead, much to their fans’ jubilation.

However, this didn’t put Mazfari off, as he continued to make brilliant saves to keep the score the same, with a shot coming through a crowd of players before being smothered by our keeper.

As the game progressed, we further struggled to score, with Matlock’s defence stopping every chance we created.

As the minute’s ticked on things went from bad to worse, and then to awful, as in the 90th minute Johnson received a straight red for off the ball violent conduct, even though every Redcar fan I asked saw nothing happen

In the 94th minute, Matlock had a prime chance to double their lead, but their attacker hit the post despite having an open goal

But in the 95th they did get their second, as we failed to clear the ball in defence, and they capitalised and bagged the winner in what was also the last act of a very frustrating game.

Up next, we’re away at Consett on Wednesday night, with the aim to be cementing our position at the top of the league, and getting back on winning tracks.

If you are unable to make that game, then there will be live updates on Twitter, but if you are there, then see you soon!