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Match report: Old Headingley v East End Park
Old Headingley proved a point against East End Park in their latest league encounter.
Old Headingley 1
East End Park 1
Prolific centre halves are difficult to come by.
Prolific centre halves that rescue points for their teams with unstoppable twenty yard volleys from impossible angles are practically unheard of.
With one swing of his left boot in the closing stages of their clash with East End Park, Old Headingley's Callum Butcher registered his third strike in as many home games and earned himself the unlikely status of 'in-form goal machine', equalising and earning a point for his side in a match in which they were at times dominant but struggled to translate that superiority into clear cut chances.
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Earlier in the season Headingley had only been denied victory away at East End Park by a questionable late penalty decision and entered this fixture full of confidence after three successive league victories. Manager Rich Hamilton made just one change to his starting lineup, trading experience for experience in bringing in Paul Kempton for Oli Seed in attack.
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However, seeking a quick start from his team, Hamilton was disappointed as the visitors took an early and entirely avoidable lead.
Normally assured 'keeper Leigh Fearn had already seen a tame effort squirm through his grasp and narrowly wide for a corner when minutes later he was again left exposed by a defence struggling to cope with the movement of the opposing forwards.
The initial effort on goal was only palmed away by Fearn and with the static defence appealing for offside, the ball fell kindly eight yards out to a striker who had the simple task of finishing into an unguarded net.
As had been the case on so many occasions previously, losing a goal prompted Old Headingley into action and was the catalyst for them dominating the remainder of the half.
Despite earning numerous set pieces in dangerous areas, the home side were unable to call the visiting 'keeper into action more serious than claiming crossed balls. An audacious bending effort from the outside of Steve Beck's left foot spun inches past the angle of post and 'bar and skipper Andy Williams was unable to make decisive contact with a crossed ball six yards out, but other than these scares Old Headingley were restricted to pot shots from distance.
Commendable though their desire to shoot was, too often the home side were found lacking in accuracy and went into the interval still a goal behind.
The second period was a more even affair, with Old Headingley if anything more on the back foot and struggling to get their wide players and forwards into the contest. Playing against a blustery wind, Leigh Fearn was unable to get the ball forward with any real effect via his goal kicks and so it was left to Tyers, Harrington and Beck in midfield to try and provide the service to Kempton and his attacking partner Andy Hallam.
The game could have been beyond the home side on two occasions, as first a header was put over the bar from point blank range and then a clear run on goal from a possibly offside midfielder seemed for all the world certain to end in a goal, only for Fearn to use all of his experience to deflect a lofted effort wide for a corner.
With clear chances at a premium, it took a strike of stunning quality to earn Headingley the point which their first half play merited. A throw in on the left hand side appeared to have come to nothing yet an extra effort to reach a ball being shepherded out of play ended with a cross which a defender could only head straight up in the air.
Arriving right on cue was Butcher to unleash a first time effort from the angle of the left hand angle of the penalty area which flew into the top right hand corner past a stunned and helpless goalkeeper.
Both teams had their chances to win the game in the closing ten minutes.
Firstly Old Headingley's marking was found wanting from a free kick and they were lucky to escape when a free header in front of an exposed Fearn was put criminally over.
Then at the other end, after a couple of quick counter attacks from them had led to nothing, Headingley were again on the unfortunate end of a late penalty decision as substitute Dave Gillespie seemed clearly to be brought down when he beat a lunging centre half to a loose ball, only for the referee to wave away the appeals.
A share of the spoils for both teams in a game in which both will have felt they could legitimately claim to have been the side more deserving of victory.
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Thursday 09 February 2012
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