Nailers Leave It Late To Snatch Draw At Stocksbridge

Belper manager Lee Attenborough was looking for a positive response after last week’s reversal at Carlton and would have been pleased with the performance of his team despite conceding a needless goal.

The Nailers were without striker Cameron Johnson who was serving a one match suspension but were able to welcome back skipper Phi Watt who had completed his 3-match ban. Ryhs Dolan, signed on loan from Mickleover came in for his debut at left back.

Belper should have taken the lead in the 10th minute when Kevin Bastos raced through and switched the ball to the better positioned Rev James. Unfortunately, instead of shooting he opted to cut the ball back and it went straight to a Steels player.

The Nailers broke quickly in the 14th minute but couldn’t make the final ball count which was a feature of Belper’s play throughout most of the game.

Luke Rawson fired over the top as Steels caught the Nailers out on the break on 23 minutes, then after a scrappy passage of play Bastos headed wide on 36 minutes.

Rawson missed another good opportunity for the hosts on the stroke of half time when he headed the ball over the cross bar from and unmarked position.

Steels skipper Ross Goodwin clattered into Jonathan Hedge in the 52nd minute and to most onlookers’ surprise the referee issued a red card and after much protestation the Steels player left the pitch.

Belper set about trying to overcome a Steels’ side with only ten men and Danny South went close with a header on 56 minutes.

Then disaster struck when a calamitous defensive mistake gave possession to Luke Rawson who leapt on the opportunity to skirt the outcoming Hedge and pass the ball into the open goal.

The Nailers survived another close call on 74 minutes when Hedge cleared the ball to a Stocksbridge player 35 yard out and the resulting first time shot went narrowly wide.

Belper finally took the game to the hosts and had them pegged back in their own half for the latter stages and James Cadman saw his shot on 80 minutes pushed away by Ben Townsend.

Almost immediately Hedge was in action when he touched a fierce Rawson drive over the top, and Belper were virtually camped in Steels half searching for a goal.

Alex Troke’s near post header on 84 minutes had Townsend scurrying across his goal, and hard as Belper were trying nothing was coming off for them no matter what they did.

Finally, with time running out and in the 88th minute the Nailers scrambled an equaliser. Danny South somehow managed to get the ball at the near post and force it into the path of Revarnelle James who made sure that the ball crossed the line.

The Nailers continued to push hard for a winner, but no further opportunities presented themselves and on balance, a share a draw was a fair result.

Stocksbridge Park Steels: Townsend, Lemon, Tinker, Hogg, Oglesby, Murray, Turner, Goodwin, Rawson, Poole, Watson. Unused subs: O’Connor, Davies, Zottos, Nowak, Roxburgh.

Belper Town: Hedge, Rhodes (Troke 73), Dolan (Bessadi 68), Dunn, South, Watt, Bastos, Burrows (Burrows 68), James, Cadman, Warren. Unused subs: Gregory, Mackie.

Referee: Paul Roots

Att: 168