Eagles close to major shock (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Eagles close to major shock

11:26am Sunday 4th January 2009 in Sport By Ian Whiting

Arnold Town 1, Eccleshill United 0

The only surprise as high-flying Arnold Town hosted Eccleshill United was the late change of venue, although the Eagles did come close to pulling off a major shock by taking something from the game.

Basement outfit Eccleshill had claimed just three points from their previous 19 Kool Sport Northern Counties East League fixtures but they almost added another from their 20th outing.

Arnold had to move the game to a ground at nearby Worksop but they managed to bag the win that lifted them to third place in the Premier Division table, just three points off top spot.

The home side banked their maximum with a Martin Carruthers goal nine minutes from time.

Eagles secretary and spokesman Mark Holstead said: “Ray Price has now been in charge for long enough to have settled the side down.

“He has brought bodies in and we are starting to be competitive on the field. To have pushed a side like Arnold, who were fourth, that close augurs well for our derby match at Thackley on Tuesday night.

“The derby games are always unpredictable and always very special occasions. We know how good Thackley are and we know we are not up there with them at the moment but a win there could really be a sign of better times to come for us in 2009.”