Late, late show for The Ambers

With Lee Hill and Jake Currie joining Steve Istead on the injury list, there was a change in formation for The Ambers as Athersley Recreation visited The King of Soho Stadium, buoyed by their recent performances against Bridlington and Maltby.
The Ambers started brightly with Alec Denton fizzing one narrowly wide after two minutes following a misplaced Rec pass but the brightness quickly faded when the visitors took an early lead out of nowhere. Skipper White picked up the ball in the centre circle and with no Ambers player engaging him, strode forward before unleashing a dipping, swerving strike which flew past Phil Barnes in the Ambers goal.
The goal certainly knocked The Ambers confidence and their play became very disjointed as they struggled to make an impact on a hard working Athersley side who grew in confidence as the half went on. Garside went close with a header before Barnes made an excellent reflex save with his foot following a deflected cross which was goalbound.
Eventually Handsworth began to find their feet again and Brad Nicholson, by now playing in a more advanced role, forced a diving save from Morton in the visiting net before placing a header just wide from a Johno Williams delivery. On the stroke of half time, Danny Buttle raced down the left wing from the half way line to the goal line before sending over a teasing cross which was met by the head of Denton, but unfortunately, the powerful attempt went just the wrong side of the post, thus ending a well below par first half from The Ambers.
The second half began with a prolonged spell of Handsworth pressure but the nearest they came to testing Morton was when Nicholson cleverly picked out Lee Cooksey on the right of the box but the centre back was crowded out before getting a shot off, and as frustration grew, Jas Colliver made his first changes, Hemmingway and Fearon replacing Rigby and Froggatt.
The pressure continued to build and crosses rained into the Athersley box on a regular basis but to no avail as the visitors stood resolute. Nicholson again went close with a header from a Williams free kick, whilst at the other end, Rec provided a reminder of how dangerous they are going forward when a diving header by Garside flashed narrowly wide from a Wordsworth cross.
The last throw of the dice for the home side came on 82 minutes when Denton was replaced by Jamie Green after another hardworking stint and The Ambers continued to build the pressure. Hemmingway saw an excellent 20 yard volley fly just too high before Cooksey glanced an effort on to the post and it looked like it might just be one of those days.
However, with just three minutes remaining, Green and Hemmingway combined well on the right and when the ball was played in, Cooksey was on hand to smash the ball home from close range to level things up. For the second time in three days, Rec had conceded at the death and for them, things went from bad to worse as the clock ticked over the 90 minute mark. Buttle raced down the left and his clipped cross to the front post was headed home by the onrushing Williams to claim the three points for The Ambers.
As the whistle blew for full time, The Ambers had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, and rather than dwell on the negatives of a below par first half, credit should be given for a dominant second period where the team’s patience finally paid off.