Bold Miners FC suffered a heavy defeat against new league entrants Cromwell Athletic in a match that ended 1-10. This game marked the second consecutive league loss for Bold Miners, and the result leaves them second from bottom in the Warrington & District Football League Division 3.
With manager Luke Lawson unavailable, assistants Darren Miller and Gavin Jones took charge. The coaching team experimented with player positions, shifting from their usual 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3 formation. Tommy Howard, typically a central defensive midfielder, was deployed as a center back alongside the returning Carl Chisnall. Owen Flaherty, normally a right back, played as a central defensive midfielder, while Gabriel Ursu and Gareth Griffiths, usually a center back and striker respectively, were positioned as central midfielders.
The match began poorly for Bold Miners, with Cromwell hitting the post just two minutes in. Cromwell Athletic took the lead in the 4th minute with a freak goal from a cross by Ben Bedford, which curled into the top corner. This early goal set the tone for a disastrous first half.
By the 18th minute, Cromwell doubled their lead, starting a disastrous spell for Bold Miners, who conceded four goals in just six minutes. Carl Chisnall’s overlapping run left the defense exposed, allowing Jack Van Dijk to convert after a counterattack. Three minutes later, a miscommunication between Chisnall and goalkeeper Paul Strickland left Strickland stranded, and Cromwell’s Elliot Jolley capitalized to make it 3-0. Less than a minute later, Cromwell’s slick passing move ended with a far-post cross met by Van Dijk, whose header squirmed under Strickland to make it 4-0. Dan Massey then struck a low drive into the far corner in the 24th minute, increasing the lead to 5-0.
Despite the scoreline, Cromwell continued to dominate, hitting the woodwork twice and having a goal disallowed for offside. Bold Miners tried to stabilize by reverting to their usual 4-2-3-1 formation, moving Gabriel Ursu back to center back and Tommy Howard to central defensive midfield. Gareth Griffiths made way for Mike Nilsen.
At halftime, Chisnall was replaced by Kieran McKelvie, with Damion Baker moving to center back to accommodate McKelvie at left back. Bold Miners started the second half more positively, with Nilsen testing the Cromwell keeper from outside the box. However, a penalty conceded by Baker in the 52nd minute allowed Van Dijk to score, making it 6-0.
On the 56th minute, Bedford’s deflected effort looped over Strickland for his second goal of the game, bringing the score to 7-0. Bold Miners managed to pull one back when Ryan Gregory scored after good pressing by substitute Will McArthur led to Nilsen playing Gregory in, making it 7-1.
Substitutions continued, with Jake Wilson and Jamie Knowles replacing Euan McArthur and Alex Wright, both of whom were on yellow cards. However, Cromwell Athletic’s Hamish Essa curled a shot into the far corner in the 72nd minute, making it 8-1. Elliot Jolley added his second in the 81st minute with a powerful strike that went in off the crossbar after the Bold Miners defence mistakenly thought the ball was out of play.
Cromwell was awarded another penalty when Van Dijk was fouled by Strickland, but Van Dijk missed the spot-kick. Jolley completed the scoring and his hat-trick in the 88th minute with a lobbed effort on the counter-attack, sealing a 10-1 victory for Cromwell Athletic.
This was a tough day for Bold Miners, highlighting many areas for improvement. The team will need to regroup and learn from this defeat as they look to move up from their current position near the bottom of the table.
