Bogie defiant after losing first leg

DESPITE watching his side throw away a two-goal lead in Saturday's FA Trophy semi-final first-leg, Gateshead boss Ian Bogie insists everything is still to play for with 90 minutes remaining in the tie. First-half goals from Nathan Fisher and Adam Rundle put Gateshead in control, but a pulsating second half from Mark Cooper's side saw Darlington fight back to take a one-goal advantage into the second-leg. Although understandably frustrated by his side's second-half collapse, the Heed boss refused to accept the tie was over, and warned Quakers to expect an onslaught. "I'm bitterly disappointed," he said. "In the first-half we were cruising, comfortably two-up. At the start of the second-half, we should have gone three up and that would have been the game finished, but our inability to do our jobs properly, ie, defend, cost us. "We ripped them apart, there was no doubt we were far superior and it was making sure in the second period that we kept them at arm's length and contained them for the first 15 minutes, which we didn't. "Just like Tuesday night when they were 2-0 up, Darlington have roared back but there is 90 minutes still to be had and we look forward to the home tie. "Of course it's evenly poised. We've come here and attacked away from home when a lot of people might have thought we'd come here to defend and take a 0-0. "We came here to win the game and we'll do the same next week. We'll attack Darlington and we'll look to win the game. "It was a great advert for North-East football. You've seen the good atmosphere, good crowd, good football and it leaves it open for a cracking tie." Although Bogie remained upbeat, he was clearly frustrated by a number of defensive mistakes that let Quakers back into the tie. After Marc Bridge-Wilkinson had pulled one back for the home side, former Hartlepool centre-back Ben Clark needlessly fouled substitute Nathan Modest and from the resulting free-kick, Liam Hatch drew Quakers level. It was another defensive mistake that allowed Hatch through to win the game, when Clark's defensive partner Carl Jones, also a former Hartlepool player, missed an interception and it left the striker clear to fire past Paul Farman. Bogie admits it was his side's calamitous defending that ultimately cost them the game. "We knew Darlington's strengths and what they possessed and we failed to deal with it, simple as that," he said. "Our inability to defend properly, that's cost us the game. "We allowed them to get a scrappy, real sloppy goal and then conceded a stupid free-kick. The inability to pick up and defend from the set-piece let them back in it and the third goal, you see that in Sunday morning football - no disrespect to Sunday morning. "That was an absolute calamity so we're disappointed with the goals we've conceded and I'm sure Mark (Cooper) will say the same about the goals his team conceded but at the same time we were very, very comfortable at 2-0. "I'm very disappointed to concede three goals in the way we did. We'll have to be better and if we get our big centre-half (James Curtis) back next week, he'll combat a lot of the threats that Darlington possess, but we'll look forward to it."

Source: Northern_Echo