Bold Miners concluded their pre-season campaign with a challenging series of matches, including two tough defeats in two days, followed by a spirited draw a week later. The team faced some strong opposition and showed resilience as they prepare for the upcoming season.
Bold Miners 1-5 Sutton Junction (Thurs 22nd Aug)
The pre-season run began with a difficult match against Sutton Junction, where vice-captain Jack Seddon wore the armband in the absence of club captain Tommy Howard. The Miners struggled to find their footing, going 3-0 down by halftime against a strong Sutton Junction side, reportedly featuring several players from their premier division Sunday team. In the second half, Jake Wilson scored his first goal for Bold Miners, assisted by Al Wright. Despite a more dominant performance after the break, the Miners conceded two late goals, resulting in a 5-1 defeat.
Bold Miners 1-3 Whitecross (Sat 24th Aug)
Just two days later, Bold Miners faced Whitecross for the second time in pre-season, having lost 3-0 to them earlier in the summer. The match began with misfortune as a bobbling ball in the six-yard box led to an own goal by Gabriel Ursu. Whitecross added another goal before halftime, leaving Bold Miners with a 2-0 deficit. Ryan “Roundy” Gregory sparked some hope by scoring a debut goal three minutes into the second half, making it 2-1. The Miners dominated much of the second half, but Whitecross secured the win with a stunning goal directly from a corner. The match also saw the return of Kieran McKelvie from injury, but was marred by an injury to Jordan McCririe, who later was confirmed to have suffered a fracture.
Bold Miners 3-3 Clock Face Miners (Sat 31st Aug)
A week later, Bold Miners took to the pitch in their new blue home kit for the final pre-season game against Clock Face Miners. The match got off to a dramatic start as James Hynes missed an early penalty, and moments later, Clock Face took the lead through a penalty of their own.
Ryan Gregory, making his first start, turned the game around with a remarkable hat-trick. His first goal came after a precise pass from Jack Seddon. Just minutes later, Gregory capitalized on shaky defending to score again after Tommy Howard sent a ball over the top. Gregory almost completed a quick-fire hat-trick with a lobbed effort between his two goals, but the shot narrowly missed. Despite that, the Miners went into halftime leading 2-1.
In the second half, Gregory completed his hat-trick by calmly converting a penalty, sending the keeper the wrong way to make it 3-1. However, Clock Face Miners fought back, scoring two goals in the final 20 minutes to level the match at 3-3.
Summary
After a tough start to the week with two defeats, Bold Miners showed character in their final pre-season game, securing a 3-3 draw. The team will take the lessons learned into the upcoming season, aiming to build on the positives and address areas for improvement.
