Northern League: Kennie Malia frustrated by Jarrow's draw with Boldon CA
South Tyneside neighbours Jarrow and Boldon CA battled to a 2-2 draw at Perth Green on Monday.
Jarrow manager Kennie Malia cut a frustrated figure as his side dropped two points in their home game with South Tyneside rivals Boldon CA.
Malia’s men went into the game looking to all but secure third place in the Northern League Division Two table and secure a home tie in the play-off semi-final. However, they found themselves a goal down on the brink of half-time after Boldon midfielder Jordan Laidler fired home from the penalty spot. Jarrow’s reaction after the break was a positive one and they turned the game on its head as substitute Jay Barber and the lively Ryan Hardie netted in the space of ten minutes.
That appeared to have handed all three points to the hosts - but they suffered a late blow when goalkeeper Lewis Baker spilled a routine save from a Luke Grant header and allowed the ball to slip over his line to ensure Boldon claimed a big point in their battle against relegation. Malia admitted both he, his coaching staff and their players were unsure whether to push on for a third goal and kill the game when they got a ahead and revealed he had spoken to his goalkeeper about his error in the aftermath of the draw.
He told The Gazette: “I think players were caught and we as coaches were caught to be honest. From getting ahead, we had a chance to make it three-one and there’s always a chance they can get back in at just one up. They got balls into the box and that’s their game. Then it’s a case of do we see it out in terms of bringing on another centre back? But sometimes that can be shown as a negative thing and we wanted to be maybe a little more brave and change it with more pace up top to stop the long ball coming in. But it doesn’t matter if you bring that defender on and put another body at the back. He knows himself, we’ve had a big chat with the keeper (Baker), he knows he’s made an error and it came at the wrong time.”
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