Shane Kelsey scored Shaw Lane Aquaforce’s second goal in the 2-0 win over Parkgate
Shaw Lane Aquaforce’s quest to catch up with league leaders Worksop Town continued with a straight-forward 2-0 home win over Parkgate.
Goals early in both halves paved the way to three more points to narrow the gap on Worksop to eleven points.
There was more of a buzz around Shaw Lane following the win at Heanor Town on Saturday which ended a run of two defeats in the Toolstation NCEL Premier Division.
The one casualty from that game – goalkeeper Ben Gathercole – was injured so dual-registered Ossett Albion stopper Brett Souter, who started the season with Aquaforce, helped out.
Any tension was quickly extinguished with Grant Darley repaying Craig Elliott for his recent run in the team with an excellent low drive from 25-yards.
The midfielder’s strike was too far out of the reach of Parkgate goalkeeper Jamie Bailey – another stopper who was signed for Aquaforce in August.
That eliminated the possibility of Parkgate doing a ‘Liversedge’ on their hosts. Souter was relatively untested and Aquaforce were able to control the majority of the proceedings.
The game was put beyond Parkgate’s reach straight after the interval. Joe Thornton, who starts a three-match suspension on Saturday, played a killer pass and that sent substitute Shane Kelsey through. The experienced striker slid the ball under the on-rushing Bailey.
The second half passed without further incident and the mission to overhaul Worksop continues at Retford United on Saturday.
Shaw Lane Aquaforce: Souter, Holt, O’Brien, Foster, Cotterill, Denton (Kelsey 16), Darley (Istead 84), Thornhill, Thornton, Morris (White 75), Stohrer. Subs unused: Fox, Patterson.
Parkgate: Bailey, Wragg (Stapleford-Jones 68), Lowe, Varley, Jones, Abdulla (L Johnson 83), R Johnson, Skelton, Graham, Preece, Bond (Whittington 75). Sub unused: Langford.
Referee: Jimmy Price
Ref Rating: 8/10
Attendance: 75
Man of the match: Grant Darley (Shaw Lane Aquaforce)
Read the thoughts of Shaw Lane manager Craig Elliott and Parkgate boss Steve Adams on Friday.