Murray seals Reds' draw (From Redditch Advertiser)

Murray seals Reds' draw

8:36am Sunday 29th November 2009

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Redditch United 2, Blyth Spartans 2

Defenders Liam Murray and Tom Birch were on target as Redditch earned themselves a share of the spoils at the Valley Stadium.

And it was no more than they deserved after dominating for much of the game against their North East visitors.

The Reds opened the scoring on 17 when Andy Ducros crossed from the right and Birch rose to power his header beyond keeper Jack Norton.

Seven minutes later and Blyth almost drew level. Mark Doninger played a neat one-two with Alex Francis and then drilled a shot from 30 yards against the crossbar.

The remainder of the half belonged to the Reds though as they pushed for a second goal before the break.

On 33 minutes, Jack Byrne shot into the side netting with Jamie Sheldon forcing a good save from the Blyth keeper moments later.

In first half injury time, Sheldon again went close following good work from Ducros, his shot flying just wide of the target.

The home side began the second half in similar fashion and Joszef Jakab pushed a shot inched wide on 51 minutes following a goalmouth scramble.

But with 57 minutes on the clock, the visitors drew level against the run of play. Alex Francis cracked a shot against the crossbar and Paul Brayson was on hand to fire the rebound into the roof of the net.

Things went from bad to worse for Redditch when Brayson, a former Cheltenham Town teammate of Redditch’s own Jerry Gill, struck again three minutes later. Blyth were awarded a free-kick ten yards outside the area and Brayson curled an effort into the top left-hand corner.

But with 15 minutes to go, Murray secured a point for the Reds. The central defender, back at the Valley Stadium after leaving for Kings Lynn at the end of last season, broke free from his marker to power his header home from another excellent Ducros cross.

Reds: Lewis 6, Gill 7, Charlton 7, Clarke 8, Birch 7, Murray 8, Byrne 6, Sheldon 7 (McGrath 72), Jacob 7 (Semper 85), Blair 7, DUCROS 9. Subs (not used): Spittle, Moraka, Carter.

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