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Belper Town’s slender play-off
hopes are hanging by a thread following a frustrating evening in North
Wales where they failed to make their pressure pay at Colwyn Bay.
Belper travelled to North Wales
without Anthony Wilson, absent through work commitments, but otherwise
the Nailers were at full strength with Richard Tracey partnering Ross
Hannah up front whilst Ben Walker joined Michael Harcourt and Peter Smith
on the substitutes bench.
The pitch was in sublime
condition and with late evening sunshine bathing the Llanelian Road
ground, the stage was all set for this must-win encounter.
With both clubs knowing only a win was good enough, Belper
started the stronger of the two and after only seven minutes, got their
noses in front as Ross Hannah
latched onto a through ball that split the Bay defence. Jamie
Speare had to commit to trying to reach the ball first but Hannah was
always the favourite to get there first and lobbed the oncoming ‘keeper
to give Belper the lead.
The goal signalled a spell of
intense Belper pressure and Andy Rushbury's header from Danny Hudson’s
cross to the far post was brilliantly kept out by Speare.
After a slow start by Colwyn Bay they
eventually fired into life. On 18 minutes, Belper could count
themselves fortunate as Mark Quayle smashed the ball goal bound only for
Paul Pettinger to be in the right place at the right time as the ball
smashed straight into the keeper and out for a corner.
Play rapidly switched to the other end, with Hannah playing a superb ball
through to Lee Stevenson but the Belper midfielder blazed his shot inches
over the angle from 12 yards.
Colwyn Bay finally broke through on 39
minutes with a long clearance from Speare. John Lawless dragged the
ball down before releasing Anthony
Wright and his shot from the tightest of angles had the beating of
Pettinger and tucked itself just inside the far upright to pull Bay
level.
The Nailers though continued to create and spurn enough chances in the
first half to be well in front at the interval.
Stevenson
shaved the post with another blistering shot that had Speare scrambling
across his goal-line and then Richard Tracey also fired past Speare only
to see his goal disallowed for offside.
Colwyn Bay started the second half with a
real purpose and after only 3 minutes Wright, looking suspiciously offside, dragged down the ball
just inside the eighteen yard box. He drifted past his marker
before pulling the ball away from the oncoming keeper and shot low into
the net to put the Bay in front.
Speare then
came to Bay’s rescue again with a fine block from Tracey as Belper fought
to recover from the setback and Hannah had another goal heartbreakingly
disallowed by a marginal offside decision as the Nailers frustration
reached a crescendo.
Ben Walker was
similarly frustrated after he robbed Chris Taylor on the by-line, cut
inside and could only watch in anguish as Speare somehow blocked his
shot.
But the Nailers gave themselves a lifeline in the 80th minute when Andy Rushbury turned on the edge
of the area and his shot took a slight deflection and flew over the
stranded keeper into the net.
Both sides were now throwing caution to
the wind and Bay substitute Adam Wade made a great run down the right
before picking out fellow substitute Neil Black out at the far post but
as Black went to shoot, Pettinger did just enough to knock the ball wide.
And, in a heart-stopping finale, Belper almost snatched an injury-time
winner when Stevenson's 20-yard free kick cannoned back off the crossbar
with Speare a spectator.
Ultimately both sides had to be content with a point when it was three
they desperately needed to boost their play-off hopes.
Belper now need to hope that Grantham Town slip up at home
to Kidsgrove on Saturday whilst the Nailers themselves will have to win
by two clear goals at Carlton Town. This also presumes that Goole fail to
gain a victory at high-flying Nantwich Town on the same afternoon.
Dave Laughlin
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