With Norton United having secured the NWCFL title in midweek, the edge had perhaps been taken from their game. However, they still had a target of 100 points to chase.
Glossop North End 0, Norton United 1
NWCFL Premier Division
Match Report: Jonathan Haggart
Pictures: Jim Lockwood
With North End preparing for a Derbyshire Senior Cup final on Tuesday the edge had perhaps been taken from their game. However, they wanted to do the double over the champions, having won in the Potteries a month before.
As such, a game arose where neither side we completely on the money, but both were very competitive. In the end the two crucial slices of luck went the champion’s way, despite North End dominating the count of chances created. Norton keeper Dan Roberts had already ridden his luck in the 54th minute when chasing a through ball outside his area. He blasted it against Kieron Lugsden and could only watch as the ball rebounded towards his net, only to dribble wide.
Then, in the 65th minute he threw the ball down outside of his area and took a routine kick forward. The ball travelled into the North End half, bounced and skidded on the wet turf outside Greg Hall’s area and took a sprung bounce that cleared the stricken goalie’s head and settled into the net. An outrageous piece of good fortune, and this would be Norton’s only shot on target in the entire 90 minutes!
Both sides were down to ten men by the time the goal came, as on 57 minutes a clash on the left flank saw Norton’s Jon Beaumont and Glossop’s Matt Russell dismissed. Beaumont saw red for an over the top tackle, stamping down on the North End man, Russell was sent off for his reaction. That incident highlighted that the game was never anything but competitive.
North End had the better of it. In the 5th minute Dave Young swept a shot from a corner but it was cleared off the line. In the 17th Russell’s low shot from outside of the area was bound for the corner but for Roberts’ full length dive. Lugsden headed wide when it looked easier to score in the 15th minute and in the 40th Blackshaw shot just wide when he should have hit the target but both were offside in any case. In between the chances, they had the bulk of possession.
But Norton are not champions for nothing. There will have been times in their extraordinary winning run to the title – which was punctuated by that North End win – that they were under the cosh, and they showed similar resilience on Saturday. Even when North End pressed for an equaliser – Lugsden shot over the bar, Kay curled a shot wide and Byrne’s low shot was saved by Roberts – they stood firm, and the togetherness in their squad was apparent at the final whistle.
North End have had plenty of that too this season. In the end it wasn’t this game that cost them a shot at the title, it was the start they made, where too many points were dropped as the new squad and manager bedded in. They will hope, indeed expect, to make a brighter start in 2014/15.
First though, they’ll want to win that cup.
Glossop North End: Hall, Byrne, Russell, Kelvin Lugsden, Adams, Young, Kay, Kieran Lugsden, Kilheeney (Richardson), Riley (Kay), Hare, Blackshaw (Podmore).
Attendance: 245
