Basford get first win of the season

Stef Galinski heads home Basford’s opener in this 2-1 victory away at Lancaster City on Saturday. Pic by Craig Lamont.

Goals from Stef Galinski and Alex Howes cancelled out Andy Teague’s equaliser to get their Northern Premier League season up and running after defeat on the opening day.

“It’s a brilliant result. Tuesday wasn’t a great night and this game wasn’t a spectacle of football, but you have to win football matches in different ways, and I thought we scrapped and fought. We knew how Lancaster would play and it was going to be tough,” Chettle said.

“We scored two beautiful goals – one from a set play ourselves and “Spike” [Howes] scoring from a yard out after outstanding play down the right by Kane Richards – I’m a happy man, for sure.”

Despite early bouts of possession, the visitors, it was Lancaster who registered the games early opportunities. Jacob Gregory stung the hands of the returning Preston with a fierce strike from an angle before denying former Morecambe striker Matty Blinkhorn with a smart save down low.

At the other end, a series of United corners laid siege on the home goal and an overambitious Samuel Ashton misjudged Matt Thornhill’s delivery allowing Galinski to power home a header that was adjudged to have crossed the line despite Niall Cowperthwaite’s best efforts to clear.

The lead was short lived, however, when a low free-kick routine five minutes later was scuffed goalwards by Tom Kilifin and an unmarked Teague had the simple task of passing home after the ball fell kindly for the skipper.

Blinkhorn then had the ball in the net just before the break as Lancaster thought the turnaround was complete, though far side assistant Sohail Asghar had deemed journeyman David Norris to have fouled Lewis Carr in the build-up and the goal was rightfully chalked off.

Basford came out for the second period with great intention and four minutes after the restart, some fine work by Kane Richards saw him evade the attention of three before Rev James’ cross eventually found its way to Howes who slammed home for his first competitive strike since his arrival from Notts County in the summer.