Boro slice through Cables

Scarborough Athletic made it six wins in a row on Saturday when the comfortably beat fellow promotion hopefuls Prescot Cables 3-0 at the Flamingo land Stadium.
Boro reportBoro report
Boro report

A Michael Coulson brace and a James Walshaw strike wowed the crowd of 1,342, but it was the all-round team performance that deserved much of the credit.

Boro made two switches from the win against Pickering, with Bailey Gooda returning from illness in place of Danny Stimpson, while James Cadman also dropped to the bench, his place being filled by Nathan Valentine.

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It was all-action in the opening minutes as both teams pressed for an opening, but the quality in the final third was a touch lacking.

Prescot managed to conjure up the first opportunity of the afternoon when the ball was floated in towards Chris Almond in the box, but the winger pulled out of his header when he faced up to the figure of Tommy Taylor and the chance was gone.

Boro began utilising the pace of Max Wright on the right flank and his first contribution was to fizz a ball into the box, but the visitors managed to clear from under the noses of a number of his teammates.

With play continuing the swing from end to end, Prescot's Joe Herbert stole his way onto another far-post ball, but he managed to loft over when it was possibly easier to at least hit the target.

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As the seconds ticked on, Boro began to assert themselves more and more on the fixture.

And predictably it was one of the three-pronged attack that struck the first killer blow.

Wright guided a lovely throughball onto the left foot of Walshaw and typically he finished delightfully, stabbing into the top corner with keeper Ben Barnes clutching at air.

Winger Wright then found himself on a pair of deliveries across the box, but his sights were ever-so-slightly askew and the drives fluttered the sidenetting on both occasions.

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Boro did manage to turn the screw further just after the half-hour, with Jack Johnson feeding the ball into Coulson. He spun and rolled neatly into the bottom corner for 2-0.

There probably should have been more home goals before the break, with Walshaw having a stinging drive tipped over and then Coulson, having been picked out in space on the far post, snatched at his shot with the keeper scrambling and he rolled wide.

With Prescot searching for a path back into the game, Boro opted for attacking bursts on the counter when the second half got underway.

Defender Bailey Gooda did look to have extended the advantage when he touched home after Barnes had palmed away a Walshaw shot, but the linesman's flag curtailed his celebrations.

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Walshaw again found a pocket of space following another lively Wright run, but keeper Barnes got a strong foot to his low effort.

After absorbing a touch of Prescot pressure, which created no real opportunities, Boro soon began to go for the kill.

The hosts broke swiftly and Tom White should have added further to the tally after being played in on goal by the charging Wright, but the on-loan Gateshead man lost his composure and scooped over the bar.

More great chances came and went, with James Cadman, who arrived on the pitch in the place of White, slicing wide when through on the keeper.

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Then Wright, after a clever ball from Walshaw, rolled just past the post.

The third finally came in the closing minutes and it was Coulson who rolled home from close range after Wright's wicked effort had been spilled by the keeper.

Prescot almost got themselves a consolation when Matt Hamilton's volley clipped the post, but by that point Boro were home, hosed and enjoying their three points.

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