SECOND MINUTE

DRONFIELD TOWN 0 NOSTELL MW 1 

NCEFL DIVISION ONE AT STONELOW ROAD

9 NOVEMBER 2024 --- 3PM

DRONFIELD TOWN V NOSTELL ANTONY LEECH WIINER AS REF PHOTO BOMBS PICTURE 

Antony Leech scored the wining goal after just two minutes and then proceeded with his team mates to mount a remarkable defence against Dronfield Town's second half onslaught.  It wasn't enough to pull the visitors out of the relegation zone but it closed the gap and also gave Dronfield the worry of being just five points clear also now.  What it did do for the visitors was gelled together a team of determined efforts from back to front as they held out for the valuable three points.

SOME OF THE FINEST

I know they are here again but how can you not feature these beauties from The Jolly Friar and once again game selection I have to say it swung the selector in favour of what looked a close game in prospect at Stonelow Road.

Dronfield had a disappointing county cup home loss to Glossop N.E in midweek by five goals to nil and were looking to reset with 3 points that would take them into a comfortable mid table NCEFL Division One league position.  The visitors were also much in need of the maximum tally as they sat in the final relegation spot at this still early stage of a long season.

WINNING GOALCELEBRATIONS WITH ANTONY LEECH [5]

It was hard to believe that it had been just shy of three months since a visit to the chippy and of course Dronfield Town.  Once again though we were presented by an overcast and gloomy day and with the onset of evenings and floodlights it proved a challenging photographic day.

Dronfield seemed off the pace in the opening exchanges and indeed so it proved when a scramble close in allowed Leech the chance to stretch to roll the ball over the line despite home keeper Lewis Naylor's efforts referee Ross Steele signalled a goal. You could sense the deflation in the home side and it took them a fair while to get back in the game.

Just past the half hour mark a golden opportunity saw a trianlge of players combine Owen Lester and Sam Bebbington set up Max Rhodes who fired his effort goalwards only to find Nostell keeper Aidan Tyas fly across its path to deflect for a corner.  The resulting couple of in swinging near post corners were superbly punched away by the visitors number one.

Again Tyas got in the way of Dronfield but as the ball ended up in the back of the net referee Steele blew for a foul on the custodian.  With a minute to the break Charlie Stewart struck the post with a sharp shot and then on the stroke of time Tyas got down to block close in on his line.

The second period started worryingly when Tyas went down in pain with a knee injury after taking a goal kick with substitute with Jack Maeer taking over.

As the home side looked to muster consistent pressure it was the visitors who nearly pulled the sucker punch with Naylor having to pull off a flying save from a Eddie Tynouse long range effort. 

The pressure came and increased for Nostell as they valiantly defended throughout and when Dronfield looked like breaking through a foot or a deflection denied them more often than not through this intense rear guard action.  Goal hero Leech in defensive role denied Thomas Gladwin's close range volley, Bebbington fired narrowly off target and Rhodes placed an effort agonisingly inches wide.

UP DOWN STOP THE MANAGEMENT DRONFIELD TOWN

As the game entered the second minute of nine added minutes Ethan Flower fired in a close range effort that went straight into the grasp of Maeer.  

Time was up on Dronfield's efforts and it just remained for the referee to call full time at 5pm, a result of the Tyas injury and a collection of lapsing of time by the visitors. 

A monumental effort from Nostell who had fought tooth and nail to survive the Dronfield second half possession and collection of near misses that came along.  That said at times Dronfield lacked the pace and quality on the day to take their chances.  

THE MANAGEMENT NOSTELL MW FC

From a neutral viewpoint it was an intriguing game as it looked likely Town would equalise at the very least but it was an admirable performance from Nostell backed up by an outstanding performance from Leech in defence of his early winning goal.

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