IT seems that my hoodoo touch is stretching further afield.

Having put a curse on Blackburn Combination side Ivy Hotel last season, Bacup United are my latest victims.

I wasn't even out of the car before manager Graham Sanderson said: "Not you!"

"Now I know we are going to lose," before trying to tempt me with a better game going on down at Towneley Park.

He was of course referring to a game against Scruples last season where Bacup managed to throw away a two goal lead to lose.

And of course I was there.

However on this occasion, I was there to check out new boys Borrowdale United whose own manager Ken Inckle tried a little gentle persuasion over the phone earlier in the week to try and make me come back at a later date - mainly because the Burnley holidays had decimated his team.

I bet he's glad I turned up now.

In true football speak, this was a game of two halves.

Borrowdale raced to a 4-0 lead before the break then Bacup staged a remarkable comeback in the second half with only the crossbar denying them a dramatic equaliser with the last kick of the match. Borrowdale, playing in their first ever season at senior level, had a dream start when Lee Martin fed Kenny Lynch straight from the kick off and while Bacup keeper David Brown was favourite to get to the ball he managed to spill it and Lynch fired into an empty goal. Having not won a game all season, they must have felt like pinching themselves when Johnny Ashworth put them two up after Mark Hogan's corner was only partially cleared to edge of the area.

At this stage Bacup were not in the match and Borrowdale had a chance to go further ahead when Lynch was upended in the box.

But Brown made amends for his early blunder with a superb double save when he kept out Chris Roger's spot kick and turned Hogan's follow up around the post.

As the game wore on, Borrowdale grew in confidence and extended their lead in the next attack when Martin shot was well saved by Brown but Lynch was on hand to turn in the lose ball.

Bacup then threatened for the first time but keeper Tony Stephenson did well to save from Gary Brown after good work from Paul Halstead.

But Martin and Lynch combined again and Lynch completed his hat-trick to almost certainly put the game beyond Bacup. Or so we thought.

The Rossendale Valley side rolled their sleeves up after the break and got stuck in and decided to rough things up a little which put Borrowdale out of their stride.

However if Martin had been wearing his shooting boots then the game would surely have been beyond Bacup before they eventually pulled a goal back.

On this occasion I think Martin would probably like to call himself a goal provider rather than goal poacher.

Bacup were handed a lifeline when Andrew Holt scored from the penalty spot. Then second half substitute Shaun Ruhne underlined his influence on the game when he powered into the area, rounded the keeper and slot the ball home. Now it was Bacup's turn to get the tails up and it was Ruhne who was involved in their goal.

This time on the left hand side of the box, Ruhne lifted the ball over the advancing keeper and young Rowan Sudrick rose to head the ball home.

Martin had yet another chance to seal it for Borrowdale put flashed a volley across the six yard box.

But in the closing minutes, it was a rare break from action in the Borrowdale penalty area and Gary Brown came within the width of a crossbar of grabbing a last-gasp equaliser.

But he didn't and the Tinniswood curse lives on and I don't think I'll be invited back!

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.