Barton Town 1:0 Pontefract Collieries
Saturday 22^nd October 2011
FA Vase, First Round Proper

Ponte Colls lost their First Round Proper tie in the FA Vase on the banks of the Humber to the only goal of the game, but will consider themselves unlucky, having dominated the first half and created the better chances in the second.

In a good game between two sides separated by a single division of the NCEL the referee, a Humber native himself, proved to be the decisive figure, denying Pontefract on three occasions when most impartial observers – and much of the home crowd, to be fair – felt that the decision to deny the visitors was, at best, harsh. The first denied James Hicks a goal when he outjumped Barton ‘keeper Dave Bramley, penalising the striker for an infringement on the ‘keeper that nobody else in the ground appeared to see. The second also denied Hicks and was, if at all possible, even more clear cut than the first. An inswinging cross from Will Ramsay was mishandled by Bramley, who was only able to parry the ball into the path of the onrushing Hicks, who cushioned the ball with his midriff before marshalling it into the net. The referee suggested that Hicks used a hand. The third controversy – coming after the interval – also centred around the use of a hand, when Barton defender Gibson clearly handled a Ryan Poskitt cross. Again, the referee seemed to be the only person in the ground not to see the hand move to the ball, and Ponte’s penalty claims were waved away.

It was a shame for the official, who otherwise had a good game, that he got the three major decisions of the game wrong. It was a bigger shame for Ponte, who were on the receiving end of all three shockers!

Despite his undoubted disappointment in defeat, Colls’ manager Brendon Ormsby was able to look on the bright side, with his team having out-performed higher league opposition for the second round in succession.

Pontefract started the game on the offensive, with Gary Lumley heading a first minute corner goalwards, only to be denied by the flying fingertip save by Bramley, at the expense of another corner. The same two players featured in the second attempt, when Lumley’s header was comfortably saved by Bramley.

Pontefract enjoyed the brighter opening, pinning their hosts back inside their own half. Liam Ormsby found Stephen Edwards wide on the left with a raking pass over the right back’s head. Edwards fed the ball inside to Will Ramsay, who delivered a fine inswinging cross onto the head of Steve Lyon, who could not exert sufficient downward pressure on the ball to keep his header below the bar.

With Ponte using the width of the pitch to full effect Ryan Poskitt, having been fed by Scott McGrory, cut inside his marker before curling a left-footed shot inches wide of the far upright. Poskitt was in flying form: Ormsby and McGrory realised that the winger had the hex on his marker, feeding him the ball whenever possible.

With Pontefract camped inside their half of the pitch, the hosts relied on counter-attacks to threaten. They almost profited when Gareth Owen beat the offside trap before blasting wide across the face of Lee Kelsey’s goal.

However, despite the occasional breakaway to release pressure, it was all Ponte. Tom Robinson spurned a golden chance to open the scoring when Ryan Poskitt swung in a corner from the left. Robinson, arriving late at the far post after a perfectly-timed run, seemed surprised that the ball cleared the gaggle of players in the six yard area, and headed the chance wide of the upright.

Then came the first moment of controversy. When Edwards floated a ball into the area, Hicks outjumped the ‘keeper to present himself with the simplest of chances to roll the ball into the net. To his, and everybody else’s amazement, Hicks was penalised for an imaginary infringement on the ‘keeper. To add insult to injury, the incandescent Hicks was then booked for his protest.

With The Colls knocking on the door, Ryan Poskitt rapped the woodwork. Having been awarded a free kick 25 yards out for a foul on Ormsby, Poskitt curled a free-kick over the wall and goalwards. With Bramley beaten, the hosts were relieved to see the ball bouncing back off the post.

Pontefract thought they had scored moments later when Ramsay’s cross was fumbled by Bramley and pounced on by Hicks but again, the referee found a reason to deny the big striker, claiming that the ball had come off his hand, despite the lack of any such claims from Barton players or fans.

Sensing that the home ‘keeper was struggling to see the ball fully with the wind and the low winter sun in his eyes, Liam Ormsby tried his luck from distance, cutting back onto his unflavoured left foot before blasting wide from 30 yards.

With Ponte feeling both dominant but frustrated, they could well have fallen behind just before the interval, when Barton again sprung the offside trap, releasing Owen, who chipped the ball over both the onrushing Kelsey and the bar.

After the interval, the game was more even, with Barton enjoying the advantage of wind and sun that Ponte had before the break. From their first attack, Stephen Edwards headed a dangerous cross against his own crossbar. From the resultant corner, Danny Buttle volleyed against the foot of the post. With the hosts enjoying their best spell of the game, Richard Medcalf was denied by a fine save from Kelsey, who dived low to his left to prevent the 20 yard blast from opening the account.

With an hour gone, the decisive goal eventually came. Following a Barton corner, the ball pin-balled around the Pontefract penalty area, before Buttle was allowed the space to turn and deliver a chipped ball across the face of goal. Skipper Ashley Dexter – still in opposition territory having gone up for the corner – rose at the far post to head home beyond the outstretched hand of the despairing Kelsey.

Pontefract came back at their hosts, and should have been awarded the chance to plunder an equaliser when Poskitt – who had continued to torture whichever of the rotating full-backs Barton sent across to face him – beat his man before pulling the ball back into the path of the onrushing Greig McGrory. Gibson slipped, stuck out his hand, and denied McGrory the chance to score. Despite having “seen” the hand of Hicks early, the referee failed to detect the glaring hand-ball, and waved away the Pontefract protests.

When Liam Ormsby’s free-kick flew over the bar in the final minute of the match, Pontefract’s last chance had gone, and their FA Vase campaign was over for another year. However, the class of 2011-12 can exit the competition with their heads held high, having been drawn against higher league opposition in every round and equipping themselves well in all encounters. But for the opinions of one man – the one whose decisions matter than all others – they would have triumphed in this one.

To view full Facebook photo album from the game, click here

Pontefract: Lee Kelsey, Dean Twibey (captain), Stephen Edwards, Tom Robinson, Gary Lumley, Scott McGrory (repl. Paul Haigh, 80), Ryan Poskitt, Liam Ormsby, James Hicks (repl. Greig McGrory, 58), Will Ramsay

Subs not used: Connor Rollinson, Rob Oldham, Gareth Roberts

Cautions: James Hicks