By Matthew Burdin
Brighouse Town vs Matlock match report
Ten men Brighouse defeated by Matlock in close affair at the Heffernan Utilities Stadium
Brighouse Town lose out by three goals to one at the Heffernan Utilities Stadium on Saturday following an action-packed game that saw tempers flare.
It only took two minutes until the ball ended up in the back of the net.
Matlock applied instant pressure on Brighouse’s defence – and that pressure resulted in the opener when the ball was crossed in from the left-hand side, which consequently bobbled past the keeper and went into the goal off of one of Brighouse’s defenders.
After the opener, it seemed as if the day would be fairly comfortable for Matlock as they had a numerous amount of high-quality chances that were either saved by Brighouse Keeper, Michael Acquah or that narrowly went past the woodwork.
Matlock’s day got even better when 30 minutes into the first half Brighouse Captain, Harvey Booth, found himself with a straight red card for violent conduct following a reckless tackle that resulted in a minor bust up on the pitch.
Booth cannot have too many complaints over the decision, as he left his teammates in jeopardy as they had to reconfigure themselves into a shape that could handle Matlock with the extra man.
Despite things in the first half not favouring the Orange Army, a brilliant leaping header at the back post from Samuel Pashley saw the home side go into the break level at 1-1, leaving Matlock a bit shellshocked.
The second half saw Matlock again hit Brighouse with a lot of pressure, as Grant Black’s men looked to draw the away side in and then hit them on the counter.
Some good saves from Acquah, and fine blocks from the defence gave Brighouse a boost despite the fact they were playing with 10.
Brighouse were seemingly not phased by being a man down, which emphasises the credit that needs to be shown to the players and coaches who were fighting so hard to keep Matlock away from scoring.
The Orange Army even nearly took the lead following a great counterattack which allowed for Ethan Bojang to be 1 on 1 with the Matlock keeper, Dylan Wharton, where unfortunately on this occasion the keeper came out on top.
Shortly after, Matlock’s number nine, Conor Washington managed to give Matlock the lead following a composed finish which was as a result of a good save from Acquah which fortunately parried into the feet of the striker.
Brighouse fought incredibly hard to find an equaliser as the tempers started to flare amongst the players, with the referee having to stop and start the game frequently.
As the end of the game approached, Brighouse had earnt themselves a corner and following approval from the coaches, Brighouse goalie, Acquah found himself in the box as the Orange Army were looking to find any way of getting an equaliser.
The corner came in, and Acquah got the first contact, however it wasn’t enough to get the ball on target – the ball fell to Jason Davis, however he got smothered by Matlock’s press and consequently Matlock killed the game off via an open goal scored by Cameron Wilson.
Following this game, Brighouse remain in 15th place, whereas Matlock jump up into 2nd place as they chase promotion.