BISHOP AUCKLAND v JARROW ROOFING

FA Cup Preliminary Round

After their surprise defeat of neighbours Shildon, Bishop Auckland host Jarrow Roofing to compete for a place in the first round proper. It is sunny but, as ever, breezy at Heritage Park and, with the wind behind, Bishops start well. Their key man Andrew Johnson, at centre forward, makes a couple of dangerous darts down the channels, but without end effect.

Jarrow look less lively but ten minutes in an innocuous handball in the box gives them a penalty. Their own key man, also centre forward, John Campbell hits the spot kick well but Bishop keeper Mark Bell dives right to save even better. The home team react well to the let off and press forward. Nichols passes cleverly to Palmer in the Jarrow box; his shot comes back off the far post and Lane, alive to the situation, hits the rebound into the net.

It is Jarrow’s turn to respond, and Campbell soon beats Bell to a cross to get the ball in the Bishop net, but only by using his fist; so no goal and a yellow card. It’s a while before they threaten again, but on the half hour another cross is floated over and a Bishop defender, misjudging the wind, allows it to pass overhead. Behind him Lewis Teasdale controls the ball and despite the difficult angle he fires low into the goal.

The half time score of 1-1 looks better from Jarrow’s viewpoint, as Bishop Auckland have had more of the play, and all of the wind.

The first action of note in the second half is a Jarrow free kick awarded thirty yards from goal. Campbell takes it and balloons it thirty yards over the bar and into Sainsbury’s petrol station. They come closer with a corner which Bell fails to gather, but the resulting scuffle at the far post end with the ball in the side netting.

Jarrow have the wind in their sails and when the next corner is whipped in full back Alex White’s close range glancing header proves unstoppable and gives the visitors a 2-1 lead.

Bishop fight back but find it hard work into the wind. With ten minutes left a chance falls to Johnson six yards from goal but he delays his shot and is closed down. From then on it becomes high speed hit and hope, but even the intervention of your correspondent, returning the ball quickly for a throw-in, cannot produce an equaliser.

So disappointment for the Two Blues but celebrations for the Roofers who have not yet reached the ceiling of their ambition in the 2015-16 FA cup.