Chorley 1 Scarborough Athletic 2: Second half to forget at Magpies pay price
A woeful second-half display cost the Magpies a first defeat of the season in another game in which they failed to make the most of first-half superiority.
They got away with a poor second 45 minutes on Saturday but not this time.
Even though Scarborough’s winning goal was delayed until the second minute of added time, there was an inevitability about it after the home defence came under mounting pressure and the visitors’ corner count in the second half reached double figures.
It could all have been so different if Chorley had gone in at the break more than one goal up.
Craig Hewitt had put them ahead after 10 minutes with a beautifully-struck low cross-shot, and Kole Hall was given the freedom of the park on the half-hour to double the lead.
But, allowed a clear run on goal, he steered his shot past the advancing keeper wide of the post – a game-changing miss in the context of the match.
Not that the visitors were completely out of the picture, Matt Urwin having to make two excellent saves to keep Chorley in front.
Only sheer bad luck denied Chorley that second goal just before the interval.
Hewitt stepped up to hit a cracking rising drive from a free-kick which struck the underside of the bar only to bounce down onto the goalline and be scrambled clear.
If the Magpies were unlucky there, fortune smiled on the Seadogs for their equaliser five minutes after half-time, Richie Bennett’s attempt on goal taking a huge deflection to wrongfoot Matt Urwin and nestle in the corner of the net.
The goal was the catalyst for Scarborough’s subsequent domination of proceedings.
The Magpies’ lightweight midfield was simply not up to the task, only Mike Calveley possessing the steel the occasion demanded.
And, as on Saturday, the visitors’ attacking substitutions made a difference, whereas the Chorley changes had little impact.
It was Frank Mulhern coming off the bench who glanced home a smart header from the last of the many Scarborough corners to seal the visitors’ victory which in the end was richly deserved.
CHORLEY: Urwin, Henley (Bird 93), Ellis, Wilson, Blakeman (Clarke 67), Nolan (Rice-Lethaby 83), Calveley, Hewitt, Horbury, Hall (Smith 83), Toray (Carr 74).
Attendance: 1,150.