MARRIOTT WORLDIE AS PILSLEY STAY TOP

PILSLEY COMMUNITY 3 FURNESS VALE RES 0

HOPE VALLEY LEAGUE A DIVISION AT RUPERT ST

25 FEBRUARY 2023 --- 2PM

EDGE OF THE BOX PILSLEY CLEARANCE V FURNESS VALE

A wonderful strike just past the hour mark from Shane Marriott broke the deadlock in this tightest of games and it was only an injury time brace from Curtis Sharples that broke the determination of a Furness Vale side who were in this fixture right in the proceeding ninety minutes.

SOME EARLY MIDFIELD ACTION FEATURING RHYS WALLHEAD

The usual walk to the familiar 'ridge' would find an increasingly cold afternoon, why I should be surprised by this I know not after enough visits for football and cricket to know that it is very rarely warm up here.  Visitors Furness Vale would be a tough test after a large win the previous weekend against Hathersage and just one defeat so far this season they would be a stern challenge for the home sides title aspirations.

CAPTAIN WALLHEAD CLEARS

After a collection of weekends away from local sport it was good to be back and with a little time to pop this blog on I will keep the time weary report to a minimum from what was a wonderfully challenging encounter.

REFEREE WHITE ISSUES THE FIRST BOOKING OF THE DAY

The opening exchanges were all in the visitors favour that was until John Donaldson tried a thirty yard effort forcing the Vale keeper into an excellent save from the corner the same player got in a header that flew off target.  Furness Vale came straight back at it and Lewis Shuker fired over from a good position.  

The game was developing into a right ding dong of an affair as we went into the second half with Donaldson in the thick of it again forcing the visiting keeper into a save at the foot of his post,  Shuker was again the threat for Vale with an excellent save from the Pilsley keeper.  

WALLHEAD BRINGS THE BALL AWAY FOR PILSLEY

Home captain Rhys Wallhead forced the visiting keeper into an excellent save before it was the turn of his opposite number to deny the visitors and then on 65 minutes a moment to light up any game.

Used as a second half substitute the always influential Marriott tested his abilities after 64 minutes from forty yards out and as the ball sailed towards the visitors goal it was heading close towards the target with a little loss of altitude at the last minute it rippled into the top left hand corner of the net with unsurprisingly the Vale keeper rooted to the spot.  A goal typical of the Pilsley number fourteen but illuminating this tough game and providing the breakthrough that looked so hard to come by.

SHANE MARRIOTT GETS WIDE ACCLAIM FOR THAT GOAL

Vale redoubled their attacking efforts but Pilsley were the equal to it with a tremendous defensive display to deny the High Peak visitors.  Matt Parnham had the chance to wrap the game up but he unusually fired his point blank header over with ten minutes to go.

As the game entered injury time two late goals from fellow sub Sharples wrapped it up first Richard Marshall saw his back post header parried by the Vale keeper but he hooked the ball back towards goal from a horizontal position and Sharples fired the ball home from all of a yard out.  The pick of the two was from a superb Parnham cross field ball to Sharples who took the ball on into the visitors penalty box and he jinked past the defender to fire home to give Pilsley a comfortable goal advantage.

A comfortable score line but this was anything but and Vale would feel hard done by the final outcome in a game they gave so much to and one that definitely needed that 'worldie' to put Pilsley in the box seat.

A great advert for The Hope Valley League yet again. 

GAZ LEWIN AND REFEREE DARYLL WHITE DISCUSS A FOUL