Bridlington Town sunk 5-0 by Worksop Town in first home friendly of pre-season

Assistant manager Andy Norfolk took the team for the afternoon in the absence of Adrian Costello, writes Ben Edwards.

Pete Davidson did well early doors to slide in and block a cross, putting the ball behind from the corner. The set-piece from the right was met by Connor O’Grady, who headed home to give the visitors a second-minute advantage.

Worksop looked to make it two, when an initial shot was blocked. The ball eventually found Vaughan Redford on the right, but his shot with the outside of his foot went over the bar.

Brid made it too easy for Worksop to pass the ball around the penalty area, though Luke Hall’s shot from the left flew over.

Halfway through the first half, Terry Hawkridge whipped in a free-kick from the right, finding Liam Hughes but he shot straight at James Hitchcock.

The hosts began to grow into the game on the half-hour mark, keeping the ball well in the Worksop half and applying pressure, though they failed to create any chances.

The visitors then went down the other end on the counter attack, beating the offside trap. The ball was squared to Paul Green in the middle, who incredibly missed the open goal from just a few yards out.

Redford doubled Worksop’s lead with six minutes of the first half remaining. His excellent finish from 20-yards crept under the arms of Hitchcock who couldn’t quite get down quick enough, and the ball nestled into the bottom right corner.

A Worksop effort from inside the area flew over the bar, moments before Jack Walters conceded a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area, Hall’s low, curling free-kick beat everybody in the middle and struck the left post and went behind for a goal-kick.

Not much happened in the opening stages of the second half, until just after the hour mark, when substitute Ellis Barkworth clipped the ball over the top to Trialist A on the right wing, but he couldn’t quite guide his first-time volley from a tight angle on target.

With 20 minutes to go, the ball was given away to Aleks Starcenko in a dangerous position, but his curling effort was well saved by Hitchcock. From the resulting corner, it was Starcenko who headed the ball home to make it 3-0 to the visitors.

Worksop had a fourth less than five minutes later, when a cross from the right was met by Ben Tomlinson unmarked, who headed the ball into the bottom left corner.

Jack Bulless tripped Regan Hutchinson, giving Hawkridge a chance from the free-kick 30 yards out, but he curled it over.

With five minutes to go, Starcenko’s excellent finish from the edge of the area added a fifth and final goal for the visitors.

Makeshift striker James Williamson saw his shot blocked for a corner. Barkworth then found Bulless, whose volley was blocked for a second corner, though nothing came of it.

In the 91st minute, Barkworth dispossessed a Worksop midfielder and unleashed Bridlington’s first and only shot on target on the game - a dinked effort from the half-way line having seen the ‘keeper off his line, though Adam Hayton saved comfortably.