Armthorpe Welfare 1-1 AFC Emley

Spoils shared in feisty encounter

AFC Emley and Armthorpe Welfare ended up with a share of the spoils in a feisty but enjoyable encounter at Church road, Although Emley will feel they should have come away with all 3 points after dominating large parts of the game and creating numerous chances.

The game kicked of with a speculative effort from the halfway line which Armthorpe 'keeper Ward gathered safely, the midfield battle lines were soon drawn, with Josh Ingham and Gregg Porter manning the trenches for Emley, some good,hair, fair challenges were in evidence early on, With Emley using Finn Donovan and Matty Waller on the wings to test the Armthorpe defence.
Both teams tested each other's 'keepers, the goalies proved to be up to the challenge, but then after a failed attack was foiled by an offside flag, Emley finally broke through on 5 minutes with a beauty, hard work in Midfield saw the ball played to Finn Donovan whose run and perfectly timed, defence splitting pass found Lewis Dickinson on the right of the box, who steadied himself before walloping a ferocious shot into the roof of the net, even the obligatory dog seemed to appreciate it.
Armthorpe hit back with some good attacking of their own, Emley 'keeper George Clarke pulling off a brilliant save from an equally brilliant shot to keep Emley in front. Lewis Dickinson then had a terrific chance to make it 2-0 for the visitors but managed to put his shot the wrong side of the post, and Tabby Magida also had a decent chance but found the side netting instead.
Josh Ingham was the victim of a less than fair challenge right on half time which ended up with a yellow to the Armthorpe man.

Half time: Armthorpe 0-1 AFC Emley

The home side started the 2nd half the brightest, with Emley's full backs being kept busy, and yet the battle was still raging in midfield, a couple of half breaks came for Emley came to nothing, before Armthorpe found the Equaliser, a bullet header found it's way past Clarke and the scores were level.
Armthorpe were on top now and Emley needed some last ditch defending and another couple of cracking saves from Clarke to keep them in it.
Finn Donovan was replaced by Joe Jackson after a fairly hefty challenge left him crumpled in a heap on the ground, Jackson was straight into the action as his runs were causing problems for the Armthorpe defence, who were now resorting to desperate measures to stop Emley's marauding attacks, Jackson was the victim of a particularly nasty challenge from behind which somehow went unpunished, much to the bewilderment of the Emley supporters, the industrial challenges from both sides were becoming more frequent now, but the game still flowed from end to end.
Aaron Joseph replaced Gregg Porter in midfield,and he was soon putting himself about, then,after another unsavoury challenge, the referee had had enough and a second yellow card was met with a red and Emley sensed their opportunity to win it, Jordan Townend's free kick was heading for the bottom corner until the 'keeper made a great save, the resulting corner saw the ball headed over the bar after a scramble.
So a hard fought point for Emley but they will feel they could have taken all 3, especially after the chances they created for themselves.
Full time: Armthorpe (Hogg '53) 1-1 AFC Emley (Dickinson '5)
Attendance: 82
The Hepworth Honda man of the match was Tabby Magida.
AFC Emley Team: Clarke, Magida, Starkey,Ingham, Stafford, Hughes, Donovan,Porter, Dickinson, Townend, Waller; Subs used: Jackson for Donovan, Joseph for Porter (unused)Slack, Bullivant, Thomas.