Beeston AFC 5–3 Pendle Athletic: Otálora’s lonely brace

Opinion

Pendle Athletic have a peculiar way of making a brace feel like a consolation prize. Honorio Otálora scored twice on Wednesday 12 August, which is usually enough to secure a point. For Pendle, it was merely a decorative touch to a 5-3 defeat at Beeston AFC.

It is a specific kind of misery to have a striker in decent form while the rest of the team is effectively a bag of sand. Otálora did the hard work. He found the net twice. He then spent the remaining minutes watching his teammates allow Beeston to score five. It was a display of high individual quality and profound collective indifference.

The match was a frantic affair, though the word frantic is perhaps too kind for a defence that seems to view the concept of a marking system as a suggestion. Otálora will likely be told he did his part. To be fair, he did. He just happened to do it for a side that treats a lead like a hot potato.

While Mancunia FC and others continue to jostle at the top of the table, Pendle are occupied with the more immediate task of figuring out why they cannot stop the bleeding. They are renewing the season ticket anyway, presumably with Otálora hoping his next two goals actually count for something. It is a brave way to spend a Wednesday.