Frickley 2 Basford 2

Jacob Hazels superior posterior!

As I drove away from Bigfellas Wezziecana yesterday, to the gentle whirr of the mobility scooter & the rasping burr of the illegal off road quad bike, I couldn't help thinking that a 2-2 draw against the champions elect felt like a loss.

Having put Basford to the sword for the majority of the game, apart from 10 minutes when we went from Juventus to Fray Bentos, we had to rely on a well taken Haze goal to rescue a point, probably rueing a a mild bout of profligacy in the first half when we could have put the game to bed before the ref took the players off for their half time Rosie Lee.

Ben Algar & George Milner started for the Blues, with Duggie moving to the bench which also saw the welcome returns of Big Gav & JB.

Early chances for the Blues, Reece McGinley turned his defenders every which way before getting a shot off & then a Darker exocet was headed well by Jameel (playing his 101st league game for Frickley, forget to mention his 100th when we played Spalding midweek) but the keeper was well placed.

A Danny Burns long ball out of defence left Haze clean through with a run into the box but the young Basford keeper saved well from Jacobs effort.

On 41 minutes Frickley opened the scoring in somewhat unconventional fashion. The Basford keeper hit his defensive clearance straight at Jacobs bottom & Haze came out tops as the ball nestled in the onion bag (not you Jerry). Frickleys 100th league goal of the season, Jacobs 43rd of the season & his 66th career goal.

HALF TIME - FRICKLEY 1 BASFORD 0

At half time Chad Thomas presented Ryan McKnight with a cheque on behalf of the Supporters Club. The football club would like to thank the Supporters Club for their continued support & generosity.

Midway through the half Spen made some changes. Gav, returning after his recent injury, came on for Nicky Darker & Tom Dugdale replaced George Milner.

Basford equalised on 70 minutes, mainly through a piece of 'skill' that would have made Meadowlark Lemon (pictured) proud. The ref & the liner were probably dazzled by the late afternoon sun. Shortly afterwards the away team took the lead from a corner & it looked as though all Frickleys hard work would come to nought.

Final change in personnal as Jack Burton replaced Tyler Walton.

Blues pressed & pressed & were rewarded when a Gavin Allott throw in found Haze in the penalty box & a deft little turn & sidefoot into the bottom corner meant we achieved deserved parity with Hazes 44th goal of the season. That was pretty much the last action of what was a pretty decent game of football all told.

It was clear why Basford are top of the league, they are more than just a plastic pitch, but we gave them all the game they could handle.

266 through the gate - thank you to all the home & away fans that watched the game

WEBMASTER MOTM - usual suspects Reece & Tyler deserve a mention, the returning Ben Algar was excellent (as were the whole defence) & Haze was trouble with a capital T but the Glitterball will reside at Patterson Towers. Richie Patts was superb, he broke down attacks & set the Frickley attacks in motion. Salut!

Picture set courtesy of our good friend & advocate Onion Bag.

Next up, Carlton on Monday evening at the Wezzie. Please come in numbers & support the boys