West Yorkshire League Division One: Featherstone 2 Oxenhope Rec 1

OXENHOPE produced a lacklustre performance at Featherstone, never being able to find any rhythm and not being helped by a rock-hard pitch.

The home side started the brighter and kept it up for most of the first half as Oxenhope were reduced to breakaways.

Featherstone took the lad on the half-hour after a long ball through the Oxenhope defence. Defenders called in vain for offside and the home striker drove his shot beyond keeper Ricky Driver.

Featherstone continued to exert the pressure with Luke and Dan Scott at the centre of the Oxenhope back four working tirelessly to head the ball clear.

The visitors' best chances came towards the end of the first period. Good link-up play between James Bailey, Lee Reilly and Tom Marshall saw a Scott Nelson finish go narrowly the wrong side of the post.

A solo effort from Reilly was blocked by the keeper and an Oxenhope corner came out to Ben White but his strike from distance went just wide.

Featherstone were soon back on the attack after the break with Luke Scott having to hook the ball off the line.

On the hour Marshall produced a clever jinking run down the left which resulted in a corner. Bailey swung in a well-flighted cross which Nelson rose above the home defence to head in for the equaliser.

Oxenhope started to play with confidence but on 75 minutes all their efforts were undone when they failed to defend a corner and the Featherstone striker headed in unchallenged.

The visitors rallied and produced several good chances to equalise. Reilly started a move, Bailey took the ball on and drove it across the face of goal but Nelson could not get on the end of it. Then another attack set up by Bailey saw a Marshall strike but it was too close to the keeper.

This Saturday Oxenhope have a difficult fixture at title favourites Hall Green (2.30pm).

Oxenhope: Driver, Ward (Bentham), Williamson, Scott L, Scott D, White, Makinson, Bailey, Reilly, Nelson, Marshall.

* Oxenhope Reserves produced another stirring performance in gaining a second consecutive victory when they defeated Hartshead Reserves 3-2 at home in Alliance One. They had to battle against a more physical side but produced an outstanding second-half performance with goals from Macaulay Smith, Matty Hardy and Luke Brooksbank.

On Saturday the reserves travel to Leeds Modernians (2.30pm).