Athletic held by Pikes in derby clash
Scarborough Athletic were held to a 0-0 draw at Pickering Town on Tuesday, writes Steve Adamson.
Assistant Michael Ingham took charge of the Boro team in the absence of manager Jono Greening, while hosts Pickering, managed by ex-Boro coach Steve Roberts, included Athletic old boys Wayne Brooksby, who captained the team, Jack Johnson and Jackson Jowett who came on from the bench.
On a glorious night at Mill Lane both teams passed the ball around, but failed to create many chances in an evenly contested first half.
Boro’s Lewis Maloney limped off injured on 23 minutes, while the best moment of the game came on 29 minutes when Ryan Watson fired in a blistering shot that was heading for the bottom corner, but the Pikes keeper dived to his right and pushed the ball round the post.
Shortly before the interval Nathan Cartman connected with a Watson cross, but his dipping shot landed on the roof of the net.
After a number of substitutions for both teams, Boro made a decent start to the second half with Michael Coulson chasing and harrying the home defence and trialist Sam Barker impressing with his work rate and movement.
Trialist Nick Hutton had a shot charged down and Cartman curled an effort wide before a scuffle involving several players brought play to a halt, but was quickly dealt with by referee George Roberts.
Jowett had a shot saved by Boro keeper Vaughan Gemeiner, who handled confidently throughout.
Cartman bundled a shot wide and a Josh Barrett cross to the far post saw Coulson dive to head narrowly wide. Five minutes from time Cartman appeared to be fouled in the area, but penalty appeals were waved away as the game ended in a goalless draw.
The main positive for Boro was the performance of man of the match Coulson who got 90 minutes under his belt, while Watson, Bailey Gooda and Sam Barker also shone.