Winterton Rangers 3-4 North Ferriby

North Ferriby picked up a big win on the road, leaving Winterton with a 4-3 victory.

Chris Bolder gave a first-team debut to Antonio Ezeagba, who started on the bench.

It was a dominant start from Ferriby, with both Danny Earl and Jamie Forrester going close. The pressure kept coming, with captain Niall Tilsley smashing the ball home from a corner to put the Villagers ahead. After a positive approach, it was nothing less than they deserved.

Ferriby continued to have the ascendency after the goal, and they would have doubled their lead if not for a good save from the Winterton keeper. However, they never took their foot off the gas and were awarded an absolute stonewall penalty after a clear handball denied a goal-scoring opportunity. Danny Buttle made no mistake from the spot, burying the ball into the bottom corner.

Ferriby stayed on top in a pulsating first half, and from a Forrester free kick, Oli Donald finished to make it 3-0 to the Villagers.

Winterton pulled one back just before half-time as a mix-up at the back gifted Josh Walker a run-through on goal with the striker finishing into an empty net. It was a frustrating end to an almost perfect first-half performance from the Villagers, with Chris Bolder’s men taking a 3-1 lead into the break.

There were a couple of nervy moments at the start of the second half as Winterton pressed, but Ferriby got through them. The home side were then reduced to nine men after Jake Ratherham received a second bookable offence. It instantly told, with Danny Earl brilliantly dribbling around the Winterton defence before finishing into the roof of the net. It was well assisted by Ferriby debutant Antonio Ezeagba who neatly flicked on after coming on as a substitute.

However, almost instantly Winterton responded, as they played through Ferriby with Walker getting his second with a composed finish. The final twenty minutes were nervy to say the least, with Winterton’s Ryan Douglas getting their third goal. Ferriby held on for another three points that keeps them top of the table.

Chris Bolder summed up his thoughts after the game, “we made hard work of it, I thought we started the game exceptionally well, we were bright, we had some great opportunities, I think we had seven shots in the first ten minutes, we were a dominant force. We had a couple of opportunities in the first half to put the game to bed and we didn’t do it and in the end, we’ve made hard work of it”.

North Ferriby: Hill, Dennett, Donald, Tilsley, Smaller (Start), Kirk, Forrester, Earl (Jurkstis) Emerton, Buttle (Heeley), Corner (Ezeagba).
Sub not used: Exall

Report kindly provided by North Ferriby.