Frickley Athletic 1 Cleethorpes Town 1

A late goal from midfielder Lewis Collins ensured the Owls returned to Lincolnshire with a deserved share of the spoils in the opening fixture of the New Year. Tyler Walton had earlier fired the hosts ahead from the penalty spot.

There were a number of injury concerns for manager Dave Smith to contemplate before he could finalise his first selection of 2019. Striker Andy Taylor was welcomed back to the squad for the first time since August. Also, on the bench were the dual registered pair of Loz McKay and Luke Aldrich, along with the returning from suspension Mark Gray. The side lined up as follows:

Goal: Theo Richardson
Defence: Tim Lowe, Paul Walker, Oli Donald, Sam Topliss
Midfield defence: Jack Richardson, Alex Flett (captain)
Midfield attack: Josh Batty, Lewis Collins, Jon Oglesby
Attack: Scott Vernon

Subs: Craig Disley, Loz McKay, Andy Taylor, Luke Aldrich, Mark Gray

The mid-table encounter got underway in pleasant Winter sunshine. However, to the naked eye, the pitch looked to be in a terrible condition, with an uneven nature. This proved to be the case as it seemed to be virtually impossible to play any flowing football.

It was not until the 18th minute that the first meaningful chance arrived. A patient build-up from Clee led to the ball finding J Richardson around 15 yards out, who made a clean connection. Unfortunately, for the visiting fans, stopper Warhurst dived low to his left to make a good save. Shortly afterwards, it was the turn of away keeper T Richardson to take a bow. The dangerous Hazel got clear and the recently signed youngster produced an outstanding stop to deny the forward.

With the clock ticking on, a nice passage of play created a chance for Oglesby but the winger’s low drive was kept out by the legs of Warhurst.

In truth, there was not a great deal for the holiday crowd to get excited about, with half chances generally the order of the day. Nevertheless, the management would have been pleased that the shape of the Owls was solid and, therefore, it came as something of a surprise when the Blues snatched the lead in the 43rd minute.

There did not appear to be any immediate danger but Walker got caught momentarily on the wrong side of Hazel. As the Owls’ defender turned, he seemed to make contact with the Frickley man, who crashed somewhat theatrically to the turf. The travelling faithful on the far side of the ground were incensed when the referee pointed to the spot. Tyler Walton dispatched the penalty into the corner.

The last action of the half was captain Flett, who had been a commanding presence in the engine room for the Owls, seeing yellow for an infringement in midfield.

HT Frickley Athletic 1 (Walton 43 pen) Cleethorpes Town 0

A pivotal moment arrived within seconds of the restart. Algar got through the inside left channel and had a clear sight of goal. The Blues’ full-back quickly pulled the trigger but could not defeat T Richardson, who was down in a flash to beat the ball away for a corner. This was a highlight of a fine display by the extremely promising ex-Manchester United youngster.

Frickley had started well after half-time and gained a succession of corners but the defence, once again excellently marshalled by the pairing of Donald and Walker, showed great composure to deal with the aerial bombardment.

On 56 minutes, it was the turn of Clee to appeal for a penalty after a suspicion of handball but it was waved away, before J Richardson became the second name into the book of the referee.

Andy Taylor was introduced just beyond the hour to replace the hard-working Scott Vernon, who had suffered an injury. The returning striker showed some nice touches and there were no noticeable ill-effects from his lengthy absence. Clee were beginning to dominate and Batty had a shooting chance with 20 to play but the normally reliable striker skied his effort.

Craig Disley came on for Jack Richardson and, in a final throw of the dice and with time running out, striker Luke Aldrich entered the fray. Defender Sam Topliss was withdrawn, with the Owls’ manager Dave Smith fully committing his troops in the hunt for the elusive equaliser.

This patient disciplined approach finally bore fruit after 85 minutes. Batty flicked the ball through and Lewis Collins showed good strength to hold off a defender. The midfielder then curled the ball beyond the onrushing Warhurst to slot home his 6th Evostik East goal of the campaign.

Delight all round for the visiting contingent and the Owls proceeded to finish the game extremely strongly. Walker went desperately close to the winner in stoppage time but Frickley held on for the draw.

FT Frickley 1 (Walton 43 pen) Cleethorpes Town 1 (Collins 85) Attendance: 233

Mixed feelings at the final whistle.

Frickley is always a difficult ground to visit and, particularly trailing so late, a draw is not to be sniffed at. However, we possibly did enough in the last 30 minutes to have won it. Having said that, the Blues could easily have gone 2-0 ahead shortly after the interval. So, all in all, I called it as a fair result.

Plenty of our fans told me afterwards that they thought it was not a penalty. Whilst I respect their view, from my angle in the Grandstand, which in fairness was long way from the incident, Paul Walker made contact. I could be wrong! I will have a word with my next-door-but-one neighbour about it when I get the chance…

Once again differing views on the man-of-the-match. Oli Donald and Alex Flett are definitely well in contention but, on balance, my vote went to Theo Richardson. His saves from Hazel and Algar swung it for me. If we had conceded a second, it could well have been curtains.

So, where does that leave us? Slap bang in mid-table is the answer, virtually equidistant between the drop zone and the last play-off place (fifth). However, we are playing well (five unbeaten) and have a chance to make up ground on two promotion contenders (Pontefract and Tadcaster) in our next outings.

We now have a few injury worries but Dave Smith told me afterwards that he has every confidence in the strength of the Clee squad.

Details:
Saturday 5th January – 3pm
Pontefract Collieries – Evostik East
Linden Club, Clee Road, Grimsby, DN32 8QL

Admission:
Adults £8, Concessions (over 65s and 16-18) £4, Under 16s £2

UP THE OWLS!