Ben Rhydding 3

BEN Rhydding ended their league season with that rarity - a draw, only their second in 22 league games. While the top three-placed league sides were a point apart going into the final game six sides were competing for fourth place, all within three points of each other.

Ben Rhydding could only manage one point from this game, leaving them seventh in the final league standings.

A win would have left them in fourth place overall, which would have been a fairer reflection of the season's efforts.

A season in which Ben Rhydding, particularly after Christmas, have had continual selection difficulties through retirement, unavailability and injury.

Despite these circumstances, the management team of Gavin Adair (captain), Andrew Gibson (vice-captain) and Robin Snook (manager) have held things together well, supported as they have been by a big-hearted squad of players.

Four of these have been ever-present in Warwick Smither, David Cutter, Moody Mazhar and the increasingly influential Bevan Gibbs of Whangarei, New Zealand.

The necessary additions of James Laxton, and the new 15-year-old Adam Charters to the team have proved successful ones - positive signs for next season.

Of course Ben Rhydding must start thinking of next season's campaign already, looking for new players at first team level.

Saturday's 3-3 draw at Sheffield mirrored many of Ben Rhydding's imposed frailties.

For the main, they dominated play only to squander good chances in front of goal and then concede sudden break away goals by poor defending.

At 3-1 down and with ten minutes left, the side gathered themselves for one final fling with adversity and at least salvaged a result.

And yet Sheffield should have been buried long before for Rhydding's generous nature reached new levels as first Andrew Gibson and then Moody Mazhar missed penalty strokes after excellent and goal-deserving approach play.

The injury to normal penalty taker David Sutherland for the last three league has indeed been expensive, missing three of four flicks awarded.

Mazhar did score Ben Rhydding's second goal and Bevan Gibbs was on hand to score the first and third and thus secure another Booths' Man-of -the-Match award.

If circumstances had allowed this season Bevan Gibbs, though an asset to the team as sweeper, would surely have been a greater asset at centre-forward.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.