For the second Saturday in succession, The Hillmen were left regretting their failure to net a second goal having got on top with a goal. The equaliser wasn’t as late as the 95th minute Skelmersdale goal from last week, but it was equally as frustrating for the defence.
Lancaster City 1, Glossop North End 1
Saturday 19th September 2015
Evo-Stik Northern First Division
It had always looked as this would be a tight match. Both teams had solid & experienced spines to their team that would ask and give no quarter. It proved to be as much in the first half, when the action was confined mainly to outside either 18 yard box.
There were only two efforts on target in the first 40 minutes, a looping header for each side, both comfortably dealt with by the goalkeepers. The best chance of the half fell to Kieran Lugsden, when neat interplay from the left gave him an opportunity to curl a shot from 18 yards, but he put his shot just the wrong side of the post.
Greg Hall proved he was switched on as the half came to a close as a low and curling free kick to his near post bounced about a metre in front of the Glossop keeper. That made it difficult for Hall, but he did well to turn the ball around the post.
The second half started with both sides seeming to have a greater sense of purpose, having taken 45 minutes to work each other out. In the 48th minute Ashley Stott had a glorious chance to open the scoring when picking up Lugsden’s flick on from Eddie Moran’s pass. He was at the edge of the area with the advancing keeper to beat, but in two minds whether to put his shot under or over the keeper, and ended up tamely chipping it into his grateful arms.
At the other end Lancaster looked dangerous when breaking and Ryan Winder carved out an opportunity for Aaron Taylor, bursting into the box and whilst he rippled the net, it was the outside of the side netting.
However, the deadlock was broken in the 52nd minute. Michael Bowler played Astley Mulholland in down the right side. He advanced diagonally on goal, with either a shot or cross looking possible. His pass across the face looked to have evaded everyone, but at the far post Tom Bailey stretched his left leg to divert the ball back across goal and into the net.
Glossop North End pressed, and Dave Young headed over an effort from a corner that probably should have hit the target and Bailey swivelled a shot over the bar having picked it up 10 yards out with his back to goal. Young also had a snap chance to convert when a corner was allowed to bounce at short range, but he couldn’t react quickly enough.
The leveller came in the 80th minute. Lancaster won a corner on the right and captain Neil Marshall rose highest to head goalwards. The ball was heading for the top corner but for Matt Russell’s on-the-line intervention, but Lancaster reacted quickest to the loose ball, and Joe Whittington poked the ball goalwards, with Matty Poole applying the finishing touch near the line.
Both sides pressed for the winner, Young again having a chance, this one deflected over the bar by a sliding defender, whilst Ben Brooks was played over the top, but his first touch wasn’t quite right and it allowed the keeper to smother the ball.
It had been a solid Hillmen performance. They are month into the Evo-Stik First Division season and sitting 2nd in the league and unbeaten it’s fair to say that they do not look out of place. With some tough road trips to come in the coming weeks, their credentials will be tested further.
| Name | GLS | AST | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | — | ||
| 2 | — | ||
| 3 | — | ||
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| 5 | — | ||
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| 7 | — | ||
| 8 | — | ||
| 9 | 1 | ||
| 10 | — | ||
| 11 | — |
| Name | GLS | AST | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | — | ||
| 13 | — |
