Poor decisions cost Dragons

With the season having started as badly as possible - four defeats from four - Bourne Deeping were desperate for victory when they welcomed Blueharts to Glinton on Saturday. The atmosphere was positive and the warm-up of a higher standard than previous weeks but the Dragons somehow failed to take this into the game and found themselves 3-0 down within fifteen minutes.
Blueharts began with more intensity and far more precision and took full advantage of sloppy play from the home side when a short corner broke down and, from the second phase, a player was allowed to stroll into the D unchallenged and fire a shot low into the corner.
This was soon followed by a strike from Blueharts’s left-hand side and a sense of déjà vu began to grow as Bourne Deeping found themselves 2-0 down before starting to play properly themselves.
The final goal of this early flurry came from the penalty spot, James Sharpe penalised for a stick tackle whilst an opponent was in the act of shooting. Despite some complaints, the decision stood and the penalty stroke was tucked into the bottom corner.
As is now customary, Bourne Deeping clawed their way back into the game. First, Rafa Parker-Humby did well to launch a counter-attack down the right before the ball broke to Ben Brittain who, with his first touch of the game, flicked high and hard into the goal.
More valiant effort, while not matched by quality of passing, led to a second for the home team when James Tavernor benefitted from a well-executed high press and, after a nice display of 3D skills, squared the ball for Simon Shorter to deflect in.
The half-time whistle blew soon after and the words of another rousing team talk were, sadly, not acted upon in the second half. A tetchy, scrappy affair marred by arguments between opponents and disputing of umpiring decisions was settled by a fourth and final goal for Blueharts. Another scrappy short corner led to a high shot being fortuitously turned in at the back post.
Bourne Deeping‘s woes thus continued but there are was little time to reflect on the result as an away fixture at fellow strugglers Shefford and Sandy followed the next day.