Report

The game was a major doubt with the pitch underwater at 9am, but Silsden were keen to play and worked tirelessly to get the game on.  The kickoff was delayed until 4pm to allow a later final decision as to whether the game would be played or not - and to prevent the Bears making a pointless journey.

The Bears starting line-up saw Adam Little in goal and Guest and Schwarz at left and right back.  Dan Doherty also returned.

The game started in a howling gale, with the wind behind the Bears and they made good use of it, creating a string of openings in the first few minutes. The best effort came from Basford who hammered in a shot from 18 yards which just went wide with the keeper stranded.  A few seconds later the ball was pushed wide to Graham and his cross was met with a powerful header from Basford which brought a great save from the keeper.  Another excellent run forward saw Guest into the penalty area and his legs were taken down – but unbelievably, the referee said no penalty.

Silsden were struggling to get forward but in the 11^th minute a move out wide saw Little pull off a good save at his near post.  In the Bears next attack, a great run from Reaney saw the ball played through on goal for Doherty and his effort and challenge left the keeper on the ground in pain – but with the ball in his grasp.

The Bears continued to have most of the play and were moving forward with relative ease – but the final ball was eluding the forwards.  On 28 minutes they were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box.  Guest stepped up and hammered the ball just over the bar.  A few minutes after this we were hit by a severe hail storm which, for five minutes, made it almost impossible to see the play.  Another free kick to the Bears on the edge of the box was tamely hit into the keepers arms.

On 38 minutes the ball was played out wide on the Silsden left, they moved the ball forward and Daniel Bryan hit a great effort across goal and into the net – almost the first real Silsden attack. Worse was to follow two minutes later, this time the ball went out to the Silsden right and some poor defending allowed Michael Garrod to hit the ball past Little and make it 2-0.

The Bears looked shell shocked and could have folded at this point – but this was not to be. A great run down the Bears left by Guest saw his cross met by Reaney who found the net to take the Bears in only 2-1 down at half time.

At half-time, Joe Wooliscroft replaced a limping Dan Doherty.

The second half started in bright sunshine and the Bears were even brighter. After just two minutes the ball was played out wide and the resulting cross caused mayhem in the Silsden area – several players tried to get on it and Reaney clashed with the keeper, but got a touch on the ball to make it 2-2, despite major protests from the Silsden defenders.

The Bears were now looking to go for the victory and Jack Graham made a great run on 58 minutes but was dispossessed on the edge of the box. 

On 61 minutes a howler from Adam Little gifted Silsden the lead.  A Silsden attack had been easily dealt with by the Bears keeper but instead of kicking the ball upfield he opted to throw it out – straight to Garrod who ran forward and hammered the ball past him to make it 3-2.

Silden were now looking the stronger as the wind once again picked up but this time in the face of the Bears. After his gaff, Little made several good saves to keep the Bears in the game. On 63 minutes a Silsden shot just whistled wide of the up right.  The Bears attacks were now losing their potency as Silsden gained in confidence.

The Bears second substitute saw Schwarz replaced by Jamie Turner after 76 minutes.

The The Bears equaliser came in the 77^th minute.  Andy Alston worked well out on the left with Guest exchanging passes, then he played in a deep cross which got caught up by the wind – everyone thought it had gone over, then it seemed to come back off the bar and the keeper collected – but the linesman was waving his flag frantically – the ball had come back into play off the back of the goal station – GOAL.  Alston seemed slightly embarrassed by the finish but the score was 3-3.

Silsden now pushed forward and a header went just wide, before Little once again pulled off two good saves and had to be alert to charge out and smother a through ball.  In the last minute Silsden gained a ffree kick on the edge of the box. The ball was hit well at goal but Little palmed it away brilliantly.   The final whistle came soon after and the 3-3 score was a fair reflection on the play.  The Bears had played well under the conditions with Reaney and Graham menacing the Silsden defenders at every opportunity. Kurtis Gill once and Geoff Basford combining well in midfield.

Photos

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