Anderson brace hands Unison victory

A BRACE from top scorer Colin Anderson completed an amazing two days for Unison GLR, as they lifted the League Challenge Cup, just 48 hours after becoming the first side from the Hambleton League to ever win the North Riding County Cup.

Anderson struck once in each half at The Regency Stadium on Thursday of last week to finally see off the brave challenge of Brompton- On-Swale and give Unison what they hope will be the second leg of a possible treble, as they are still in the hunt to retain their division one title.

Defending champions Unison started the match with only one change from their successful North Riding Cup side, as Chris Kelly replaced the absent Dean Wilson, while Brompton were missing key man Kenyan David Etale. Unison looked sharp from the start, and the lively Mark Raw tested Brompton keeper Stephen Walker from the edge of the area after just six minutes.

But Brompton slowly began to settle into the match, and with old heads Lee Wasden and Eddie Nichol controlling the midfield they were soon on top. They most went ahead in the 11th minute when Peter Ackers combined well with strike partner Gabriel Radu, but the Romanian's shot from the edge of the area failed to really stretch Unison keeper Ian Moore.

Then, six minutes later, Matty Pollock shot narrowly wide of the right hand upright after a long clearance from Walker had fallen kindly to him 20 yards out.

Unison's cause was not helped by an early injury to James Raw which saw him limp off after 20 minutes, but they reorganised and with Martin Chambers coming on to replace him, they took lead with a well-worked 34th minute goal.

Anderson did well to win the ball on the edge of the Brompton area, and he played a clever 1-2 with Gary Shardha before drilling the ball past Walker at the neat post from 12 yards. It should have been two just before the break when the two combined well again, but Anderson placed his header too close to Walker and the Brompton keeper was able to smother his effort.

Indeed Unison started the second half on top, and they enjoyed some good spells of possession, but Brompton always looked dangerous on the break.

One such counter attack almost brought them level six minutes after the restart, but a powerful header from Thomas Ptak flew just the wrong side of the left hand upright following good work from Wasden. Brompton did equalise five minutes later when Radu drilled the ball into the bottom right hand corner of the the net with a fine strike from the edge of the area, after Jonathon Black and Chris Pickersgill had worked hard to create the opening.

After their exertions 48 hours earlier, it would have been easy for Unison to fold, but they dug deep and showed the grit of true champions to finish the match on top. They almost regained the lead in the 62nd minute when Matthew Dodsworth sent Chambers away down the right and, after Walker had done to deny him with a smart save, Ptak got back to clear the loose ball away from the onrushing Shardha.

However, it proved to be only a temporary reprieve for Brompton, as Anderson struck again just four minutes later. Walker had done well to keep out close range efforts from Raw and Chambers, but the ball fell to Anderson inside the six yard box and he made no mistake with a clinical right-footed finish.

Unison were now happy to hang on to what they had and, although Brompton enjoyed far more possession in the closing stages, they were unable to create any clearcut chances, mainly due to an awesome display at the back from man of the match Chris Walker.

Captain Ian Moore collected the trophy from league vice chairman Mike Stone to complete a great couple of days for Unison and keep them on course for a possible treble.