Brighouse Town

0

Glossop North End

0

HT: 0 - 0

Brighouse Town 0, Glossop North End 0

This result will come as no surprise to observers. Two tough teams went head to head at the Dual Seal Stadium, both with strong defences, and a shut out could reasonably have been predicted. However, it was still an entertaining game for the 285 watching, which included another terrific turn out from the North End faithful.

The game started brightly with both teams looking to steal an early goal. In the 3rd minute Andy Smart took a shot from the edge of the area, but his side-foot half-volley was pushed wide by Brighouse keeper Paul Hagreen. At the other end Ernest Boafo jinked past a couple before being upended at the corner of the box and from the free kick the ball dropped to Leon Henry after bouncing off Greg Hall’s chest. Henry lashed a shot goalwards but Hall recovered to pull off a terrific block.

There was a succession of half chances between the sides, not clear cut, before the best chance of the half fell to Matt Russell on 39 minutes. Eddie Moran put in a deep cross and Russell did everything right from short range, heading downwards as per the textbook, but Hagreen did brilliantly to push the ball around the post. The crowd were waiting for the net to ripple.

The second half was scrappy at first, Boafo’s hooked shot over his shoulder the closest effort, although Hall plucked it out of the air. Brighouse largely held sway possession wise in the first 20 minutes of the half without creating too much.

However, halfway through the period a spell of Hillman pressure was signaled when Andy Fitzgerald swung in a deep cross that suddenly looked as though it would dip over the keeper’s head and under the bar, however Hagreen tipped it over the bar. A succession of corners followed, none of which could open up a shot on goal.

However, on 73 minutes Jamie Rainford engineered a delicious cross across the face of goal that Astley Mulholland missed at the near post and Tom Bailey couldn’t quite muscle past the defender at the far post to net. Shortly afterwards Rainford made room for himself to shoot from the corner of the box, but Hagreen got down well to save.

With 10 minutes to go a deflected cross fell to an unmarked Boafo 12 yards out, but he shanked his chance wide; meanwhile another Fitzgerald cross turned into danger, but this time just drifted over the angle of the net.

A goalless draw had pretty much been settled on as the game turned into injury time, but substitute Ashley Stott lost the ball in a dangerous area giving Boafo a shot from the edge of the area, but he put it wide.

As a result of dropping two points – although it felt like a point won – North End are no longer top of the division. They are however, the only unbeaten team in the league. It had been Brighouse that had ended the other unbeaten run of Spennymoor earlier that week, which is why this felt like a good result.