Live wire Rihoy the difference in Grand Fort Road derby

North 2, Vale Rec 1

DAVE RIHOY emphasised exactly why he is currently the players' player of the year in the Grand Fort Road derby on Saturday. The winger was a live wire all afternoon at Northfield and his second-half goal gave back the lead to the home side after Rec equalised ten minutes after the break. With his pace and mazy dribbles he ran the green-and-yellows defence ragged and he was as sparkling as his new bright silver boots.

He was the only real plus point in a game that was poor at times.

North's manager Phil Corbet was also not too impressed with what had just unveiled before him after the final whistle.

'It was a bit of a scrap,' said the former island coach.

'For the first 20 to 30 minutes we played some decent football but then we failed to match them in the latter part of the first half and at the start of the second, when they scored. You have to earn the right to play football and we didn't.

'We just scraped it in the end and deserved it. They played well, the Vale.'

As the teams lined up for the start, Vale Rec were missing four of the team that beat St Martin's on Tuesday night.

The game got off to a flyer for North as Jon Veron found the back of the net in the first minute. A mistake by Rec fullback Ross Elliott gifted Tom Duff the ball just outside the box and he crossed to striker Veron to shoot first time into the corner. Jody Bisson could only stand and watch it go in.

A goal rout looked on the cards for the chocolate-and-blues as they started to run the show, with Rihoy causing problems down the left.

He came close to scoring after 10 minutes as he sweetly struck a left-footed shot but it went straight at Bisson. Five minutes later, Veron should have got his second as the ball came over from the left and from two yards out he somehow managed to scoop it over the bar instead of under it for a certain goal.

North kept up the pressure and had a few more chances during this passage of play.

Rec's first real effort on goal came with 10 minutes left of the half, as Danny Bisson swivelled and shot from just inside the area and Paul de Garis had to pull off a fine one-handed save.

Bisson then nearly scored from the resulting corner as his header went just wide and for the first time in the game, Vale were in it.

Half-time came and went with Vale now the hungrier of the two teams and they got their well-deserved equaliser 10 minutes from the restart thanks to a super strike from Bisson.

His strike partner, David MacNab, flicked the ball over his head and Bisson unleashed a sweet volley past de Garis from the edge of the area. The North defence were guilty of napping.

Play deteriorated as the passion of the derby took over and it was left to Rihoy to lift it as he very nearly scored twice in three minutes around the 70min. mark. His first was a volley that forced a fine save out of Bisson in goal and his second effort hit the post.

But if anyone was going to score it was going to be him and that proved to be the case with 17 minutes left on the clock. Played through by Duff after Rec gave the ball away cheaply, Rihoy rounded Bisson to run the ball into the net.

Rec manager Chris Hamon felt his side did enough to get a point.

'I feel we deserved something out of the game,' he said.

'Through two team mistakes we gifted them two goals. You can't afford to give away cheap goals.

'I thought that it was a good game and I'm obviously disappointed that we didn't come away with something. But that's football.'