Stalemate in Ossett derby

Steven Jeff fires Ossett Town level in the derby with Ossett Albion

Steven Jeff fires Ossett Town level in the derby with Ossett Albion. Picture: Mark Gledhill

Ossett Albion survived a barrage of pressure in the closing stages as they battled for a 1-1 draw in the derby clash with Ossett Town in the Evo Stik Division One North.

A frantic first 15 minutes saw neither side settle or create much in the way of chances.

Then in the 17th minute the ball broke off a Town defender a ran out to the Albion right. Connor Brunt ran on to the ball and fired a quick cross low cross into the area and Nicky Matthews fired first time. Brad Dixon in the Town goal seemed to have the shot covered but the ball went under his body and into the net to give Albion the lead.

After the goal the teams were more settled but still were unable to create anything worth while. The only half-chance fell to Connor Bower when a cross from Nicky Matthews found him in the area. Bower turned well but was unable to get his shot on target. So Albion went in with the lead at the interval after a half which they just about shaded.

The second half seemed as if it was going to be more of the same but within five minutes of the restart Town had brought a save from Brett Souter in the Albion goal. He dived low to his right to save a shot from the edge of the box after a long throw.

In the 68th minute Town got an equaliser which their play had deserved. A long ball over to the left edge of the box found Steven Jeff who fired back across Souter and into the net. From then on it was Town who created the better openings and if they had taken their chances they could have gone away with all three points.

Matthews did find the side-netting for Albion, but Souter kept the scores level with a string of good save.

Ossett Albion: Souter; Harrison, Hardaker; Jones, Milnes, Riordan, Paylor (Reece), Sharry (Taylor), Bower, Brunt, Matthews. Subs unused : Walker, Grech-Brooksbank, Fixter.
Ossett Town: Dixon, Lucas (captain), Merris, Armstrong, Cheeseman, Connor, Curtis, Akeroyd, Cunningham, Payne, Jeff. Subs: Whiteley, Brook, Pashley, Exton, Backhouse.
Referee: Jane Simms
Attendance: 455

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *