Teversal 0:3 Pontefract Collieries
Northern Counties East League First Division
Tuesday 29th March 2011

Ponte celebrated three goals, a clean sheet and a return to third place in an intriguing promotion race, but their evening was marred by an injury to skipper Nicky Handley that is likely to rule him out for the remainder of the season and hamstring his team’s pursuit of promotion.

In truth, the three-goal margin flattered the visitors, with the second and third goals coming in the final minutes of the game, which allowed them to leave Nottinghamshire with both their points total and their goal average boosted. The Mansfield side, whose lowly league status belies fine home form which had seen them unbeaten at Carnarvon Street since early November 2010, provided stiff opposition, and could have taken something from the game had they converted any of the several chances they carved from set-pieces during the first half of the game.

Colls manager Brendon Ormsby retained faith in the same starting eleven players who served him well during Saturday’s win over Rossington, with new signing Mark Claremont added to his options on the bench, while an injury picked up during a gruelling win for the U19s robbed him of the services of young Callum Green for the evening. His players repaid the manager’s faith, applying good early pressure to their hosts, with Ryan Poskitt and Dean Twibey combining well down the right flank to carve out openings and win a series of corners. From the second of these, Duncan Bray had a close range shot blocked, only to find his second effort also blocked at close quarters by brave Tevie defending.

From a Ponte corner, Teversal created their own first opening, counter-attacking at pace in a move that culminating in Colin Cockerill lifting the ball goalwards, to be denied by a goal-line clearance from Twibey. With both sides creating early openings and showing their positive intent, it seemed inevitable that the deadlock would be broken. In the event, it was the visitors who opened the scoring. Paul Haigh won the ball in the middle of the park, and fed Will Turl, who turned sharply, before sliding a precise pass between the two Teversal centre-halves and into the path of his strike partner, Duncan Bray. Bray took up the invitation, controlling the ball with his first touch before striking it home past Jono Wilson with his second. It was Bray’s seventh goal in ten appearances for the Colls, a strike rate that bears comparison with any competitor.

Teversal pushed forward in search for an early equaliser, and were unlucky not to score when the ball reached Daniel Pearson from a corner. The left-back shot hard and low, but was denied by the feet of Sam Dobbs in the Pontefract net. The chance set the pattern for the remainder of the first half, with Teversal threatening to profit from set-pieces, but repeatedly failing to find the target.

Firstly, Ryan Gregory headed wide at the far post, while completely unmarked for a Teversal free-kick. Then Pearson was denied again by Dobbs, this time with a fine flying save from a curling right-footed shot.

Pontefract responded with the best move of the first half: Andy Broadbent – the recipient of his third Man of the Match trophy for a tidy, controlled performance in the centre of the park – fed Turl, who in turn fed Ryan Poskitt to his right. Poskitt fired a fierce shot towards the front post, and was denied by the fingertips of Wilson, whose touch diverted the shot onto the near post and away. Broadbent then released Leon Guest with a perfectly weighted pass behind the right back. Guest slid a teasing ball across the face of goal, but it evaded any touch that would have diverted it goalwards.

With the lead a slender single goal at the interval, Teversal started on the front foot on the re-start, enjoying the bulk of both possession and territory in the opening minutes of the half, until Leon Guet released pressure on the Ponte goal with a driving run that released Poskitt, whose cross was too deep for the Colls strikers to convert.

Disaster struck just before the hour, when the Ponte skipper collapsed with a hamstring strain, and was replaced by young Jack Hill, taking his place alongside the excellent Jonny Forsyth in the heart of the Colls defence. Hill was called upon within seconds of his introduction, making a fine headed clearance from a cross from Gary Atkins.

Dobbs made his third excellent save of the match when Mark Robinson headed goalwards following a fine cross from Atkins, who had been set up by a searching cross-field pass from Cockerill. With pressure growing on the Ponte defence, Will Turl almost released the pressure valve with a powerful thirty-yard drive that was too hot for Wilson to handle, although the ‘keeper did well to deny Paul Haigh from the follow-up.

Haigh missed another opportunity when heading wide from a Twibey cross, while at the other end Jonny Forsyth cleared a near-post cross from Cockerill. Teversal won a series of corners, and seemed to believe that they could score from any one of them, with Dobbs again saving from Robinson.

Turl had a perfect opportunity to double his sides’ lead as the game entered its final quarter, beating his man before racing clear on goal, only to put his effort into the side netting.

The game became end-to-end as the hosts chased an equaliser while the visitors sought to wrap up the tie on the counter-attack. With Mark Claremont’s introduction adding width on the left to compliment the fine work of Poskitt and Twibey on the right, Pontefract sought to attack through wide areas, while Teversal sought to profit from crosses and set-pieces into the box. Ironically – given the fact that Teversal had threatened to score from corners throughout the game – when the goal came, it resulted from a Pontefract corner. When Wilson spilled the ball from a Luke Smith corner, Paul Haigh pounced, and crashed home his second goal in two weeks.

As the match reached injury time, James Wilcock put the final gloss on the Pontefract performance, latching onto a long ball before sliding home a confident finish. 

With a fine result marred by the injury to their skipper, Pontefract’s celebrations were muted. But, with 13 points gained from a possible 15 in the last five league games, the form of the team has turned around – it had taken the team double the number of games to amass their previous 13 points – and they now have momentum on their side. Whether it will be enough to catch Yorkshire Amateurs – 8 points clear despite having played three games more – or hold off the challenge of a host of teams within a few points of the Colls – remains to be seen. The next promise excitement, twists and turns aplenty!

Pontefract Collieries:

Sam Dobbs, Dean Twibey, Luke Smith, Nicky Handley (capt) (repl. Jack Hill, 59), Johnny Forsyth, Paul Haigh. Ryan Poskitt, Andy Broadbent, Duncan Bray (repl. James Wilcock, 86), Will Turl, Leon Guest (repl. Mark Claremont, 73)

Subs not used:  Lee Kelsey

Goal: Duncan Bray (21), Paul Haigh (89), James Wilcock (90)

Bookings: Will Turl