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Match report: Horbury v Old Headingley
For the third week in a row Old Headingley's players left the field visibly stunned by a late turn of events.
Horbury 1
Old Headingley 1
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It will be of some comfort to boss Richard Hamilton and his squad that despite conceding a late goal his side still left Horbury's sloping pitch with a valuable point.
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However, the lateness of the strike combined with the huge physical and mental effort that the players had invested made the disappointment all the more acute at the final whistle.
Any match taking place on a pitch with any kind of incline on it always has the potential to be a textbook game of two halves and this was to prove no exception.
Playing uphill in the first forty five minutes, Headingley opted for a safety first approach to defending, with the returning George Clark providing a confident voice between the sticks in support of his back line.
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Strikers Lenny Miller and Liam Taylor spent their time harrying defenders whilst the midfield trio of Gillick, Calvert and Finch used their energies to keep Headingley competitive in the engine room.
Playing on the right flank, Andy Hallam was the main creative outlet for the visitors in the opening half, tormenting his opposite number and providing several dangerous crosses.
From one such delivery came Headingley's only real effort on target, although a deflection took the sting out of Danny Keating's left footed strike.
At the other end, assured defending from Mark Davies, Andy Williams and aerial dominance from Callum Butcher limited Horbury to a few half chances, all of which were competently handled by Clark.
Reaching the interval with the score goalless, Headingley sensed that they would be more of an attacking force playing down the slope in the second period. However, with the ball running away from players and the unseasonably warm weather taking its toll, true clearcut chances remained at a premium.
The introduction of substitute Mike Smith for the injured Pete Gillick provided Headingley with some fresh impetus, and after chasing numerous lost causes for over an hr, striker Taylor finally got his reward when he latched onto a through ball delivered after fine crisp passing between Davies, Smith, and Adam Finch.
With defenders appealing in vain for offside, Taylor kept his composure to drill the ball home with his right foot and register his fourth goal in four first team starts.
Perhaps conscious of the fate that had befallen them in previous weeks, Headingley did not press home the advantage given to them by Taylor's goal, although they continued to defend resolutely against an increasingly frustrated Horbury team.
An enforced substitution gave the hosts fresh impetus as the introduction of a pacy left winger forced Andy Hallam onto the back foot and within minutes of his introduction the substitute had missed a glorious opportunity, heading over from inside the six yard box.
With the clock winding down, Hamilton introduced further fresh legs in the shapes of Ashley Austin and Oli Seed in the closing stages and these two almost combined to net Headingley a killer second goal, Seed's cross just fractionally too high for the unmarked Austin. With crushing inevitability, Headingley's worst fears came true in injury time as they conceded an equaliser direct from a free kick. After possession was carelessly squandered, another jinking run from Horbury's left winger was brought to an abrupt end on the edge of the visitors' penalty area, and the resultant free kick was bent into the bottom left hand corner of Clark's net to deny Old Headingley an important three points.
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Thursday 09 February 2012
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