Gsratng FC 4 Steeton 2: Riversiders make Macron Cup progress

Ric Coar opened the scoring as Garstang won their Macron Cup tie at the weekend

Despite the heavy rain in the days leading up to the game, the pitch was in excellent condition and manager Richard Cookney had a strong squad to select from.

The first half saw the Riversiders dominate from the first whistle, and aside from one excellent save from Will Kitchen, it was Garstang who did most of the attacking.

For all their dominance Garstang were initially struggling to hit the net with a number of clear chances being squandered.

On another day the home side could easily have been up by three goals early on in the game.

This dominance eventually turned into goals as Ric Coar broke the deadlock, and just before half-time, Ben Roberts scored a tremendous goal when he cut in from the left and curled a great shot into the bottom corner.

The second half was a continuation of the opening 45 minutes as Garstang were in total control of the midfield and the attacking trio never gave the Steeton defence a moment’s respite.

Garstang’s third goal was the result of great play down the right, and when the ball finally reached Joe Melling, he hit a pinpoint low cross into Jake Salisbury, who scored with a smart finish.

Steeton continued to press to get back into the game with Jack Swindlehurst and Cam Ross having excellent games at the heart of the Riversiders’ defence.

Further changes were made by Cookney with one of those, Andrew Murphy, scoring within 20 seconds of coming on.

A long ball by Kitchen was won by Alan Coar and his excellent cross saw Murphy outjump his marker to power home a header from close range.

Garstang proceeded to switch off for five minutes, and in that time, the visitors scored two quick goals.

One came from a diagonal free-kick and the other when Phil Nagy was caught in possession and duly dispossessed in the box with Tawonga Gumboh scoring both of the visitors’ goals.

Garstang, however, regained their composure and were able to comfortably see out the game to secure a well-earned victory with a scoreline that flattered the visitors.