HALL GREEN.......2

Otley TOWN......2

OTLEY Town grabbed a point in the most dramatic fashion with an equalising goal deep into time added on for the home side's time wasting after they had gone ahead with a penalty 15 minutes from the end.

This was a key game between the two sides battling for the runners-up spot in Division One of the West Riding County Amateur League. However, with news coming through that the league leaders Stump Cross had been beaten there is still an outside chance of catching them.

Town have to play them twice and Hall Green once but beware Dudley Hill, they are the form team having quietly caught the leading trio and have an easier run in so they cannot be discounted yet.

All in all the end of the season is looking as though it will be quite exciting.

At Hall Green both sides had early chances with Town's best effort coming when Lee Grice set up Ross Barron but the latter was just wide.

Town took the lead on the quarter hour when Carl Kernick spotted the home 'keeper off his line but his shot from 35 yards hit the bar. James Firth was quickest to react as everybody else seemed to think the ball was going out of play and having recovered the lost cause his cross fell for Grice who made no mistake.

The lead did not last long as what could only be described as schoolboy defending allowed the home side to equalise less than a minute later.

The nature of the game then calmed down a little with neither side creating much before Grice went close from a corner but this was a rare clearcut chance as both sides suddenly seemed to get a little nervy and reluctant to take risks.

Joe Lunn provided another half chance for Grice just before the break which saw the sides level pegging.

In the second-half Town opened up and Gareth Reynolds and Grice combined for Firth to put pressure on the young home 'keeper but without success.

Firth, who along with Grice, worked tirelessly up front, then set up Tom Dixon to cross but Barron could not direct his header. Lunn struck his shot well but just over from a corner and when Town launched the ball from defdence Firth's pace took him clear but his shot from an awkward angle went just wide.

Then disaster struck. Unfortunately for young central defender Paul North a quick run by the Green attacker saw North take his legs from under him and the penalty was given.

However, the lead they got from the penalty spot was undeserved. The Hall Green 'keeper was the busier of the two with Andy Pickering never stretched in the Town goal.

Town clawed their way back and Lunn was just wide and then he was denied by a magnificent near post save as he ghosted in from a corner.

It was Lunn who finally gave Town the outcome they deserved when he ran deep into the home defence and smashed a cross into the six yard box. It hit a defender and ricocheted into the net.

Lucky? Yes. Deserved? Definitely.

Town now enter the final stage of the season starting with a visit to Rawdon Old Boys on Saturday. They will be hoping for a better outcome than their earlier meeting when former Town player Chris Farnell earned Rawdon a point.

Town follow the game against the Old Boys with a visit to Lower Hopton on April 22, a home game with Stump Cross on April 29, a trip to Stump Cross on May 6, a trip to Heckmondwike on May 8 and a trip to Dudley Hill on May 13.

In addition they will meet Dudley Hill in the League Cup semi-final at Manningham Mills on Monday, May 1, kicking-off at 6.30 pm.

Cullingworth..........1

Otley U-9s 'B'.........2

On a damp, drizzly morning, the 'B' team finally notched up a win for the first time in several weeks. Both teams had chances, in an often-thrilling match, which could have gone either way. Matthew McGlinchey, who combined well with Murray Simm throughout in attack, came close early on for Otley, but fired wide. Cullingworth too had their fair share of the ball, causing Adam Walker and the impish Andrew Kendall some tricky moments in defence. Then a misunderstanding in their own area, between Jimmy Garner Currie and 'keeper Chris Baker, presented the home side with a gift for the opening goal.

Undeterred, Otley came back strongly and a great move, starting with an intelligent ball out of defence by Garner Currie, found McGlinchey on the left. He beat his man and carved an opening in front of goal for Simm, who buried the chance gleefully.

In the second-half both teams had further chances to win the game. In particular, McGlinchey was unfortunate not to get his name on the scoresheet on more than a couple of occasions. For their part, Cullingworth missed two good opportunities in front of goal and it was only good defensive work and sound goalkeeping that kept the home side at bay.

In midfield, Jack Wood and Louis Christoforou were prompting many of the visitor's attacks. Indeed, Otley always looked dangerous on the break. And it was from one of these moves that the stylish Wood turned on a sixpence in the box to lash home the winner of an upright.

The Under-9s 'A' team play their fixture against Idle Saints on Wednesday evening at Otley Town, kick-off 6.30pm.

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