Josh Greening scored a dramatic equaliser for Tadcaster
Josh Greening scored a stunning last minute equaliser as Tadcaster Albion from back from 2-0 down at Clipstone.
It was Taddy who had the first strike at goal after just four minutes as Adam Baker cut inside from the right and tried his luck but his effort sailed over.
However just two minutes later, Clipstone took the lead. The Cobras who have impressed in this early stage of the season accumulating ten points in five games before today which is superb for a newly promoted side. The goal came from the right hand side as full-back Brad Jones floated a cross into the box which crept over Andy Milne’s head and Henry Sibenge was quickest to react as he directed goal wards and ended up squeezing it past Gary Stevens in the Albion goal.
Credit has to go to the home side who played some terrific stuff in the first half causing Taddy problems and this was clearer as they doubled their lead in the 22nd minute giving the Brewers something to really think about. A free-kick from the left-hand side was originally cleared however it was then headed back over the Taddy defence where three black and white shirts were stood to tap home which Adam Somes did in the end scramble it home.
Taddy were having to dig incredibly deep to get a foothold in the game however The Cobras were not relenting and came close ten minutes later as James Ashmore struck a bullet from 30 yards which Stevens impressively managed to palm away.
The Brewers were struggling to create any sort of chances as the home side were organised and composed at the back but Taddy did finally put a neat move together in the 36th minute as Greening spreaded the play to Paddy Miller who curled one down the corridor which was nervously sliced up and over the crossbar by a Cobra defender.
Approaching half-time with the hosts two goals to the good up there was to be one big chance for both sides before the break.
Firstly for Taddy as a Jordan Armstrong cross was headed only as far as Adam Baker who volleyed wildly over from close range. Three minutes later and the home side had a golden chance to put daylight between the two teams as a diagonal ball from Jones agonisingly floated over Armstrong’s head and James Ashmore just had Stevens to beat from close range but a brilliant save by the Tad goalkeeper kept the Brewers in it.
Taddy came close to pulling one back just seven minutes into the second half as a slip at left full-back by Jordan Hodder allowed Armstrong to nip in and exploit the gap left behind. The 21 year old then looked up and rolled a ball towards the six-yard box where Jimmy Beadle arrived and powerfully side-footed towards the target which squirmed under goalkeeper Steve Hernandez and out for a corner.
It was completely one-way traffic in the second half as The Brewers put in wave after wave of attacks and just three minutes later Tom Claisse came close as he saw a cross cleared out to him on the edge of the area but his impressive volley was well caught by Hernandez.
Some bad news interrupted The Brewers’ increasing pressure however as midfield maestro Ormsby pulled up with a hamstring problem and immediately signalled to the bench.
Tadcaster may have been dominating the match but with twenty minutes to go it was still 2-0 to The Cobras as Matt Heath glanced a header just wide from Greening’s cross.
It was not to be 2-0 for much longer though as George Conway, who came on for the injured Ormsby did it again didn’t he. Miller’s cross to the back post was brilliantly met by Conway who caught it sweet as a nut as it smashed into the back of the net to give The Brewers hope.
Clipstone were dropping deeper and deeper inviting more and more pressure onto themselves and just moments later it really should have been a level game as Adam Baker’s corner was met by a superb spin and free run by Beadle who stretched and poked just over the crossbar.
The Cobras were not interested in attacking in the second half, they were purely defending their lead and rightly so but Taddy had a huge penalty appeal waved away with time running out. Claisse, who also had an impressive game in midfield, drifted a free-kick onto the penalty spot to which goalkeeper Hernandez came a long way off his line, missed the ball and clattered Beadle but nothing was awarded other than a goal kick.
The Brewers were getting incredibly closer by the minute and with two minutes left of normal time the Taddy faithful did in fact think it was 2-2. Baker lofted the ball high towards the back post towards Heath who guided it into the mixer which then dropped to Claisse who placed his shot just the wrong side of the post.
With a matter of seconds left until the full-time whistle a moment of magic saw Tadcaster snatch a point. Greening slowed everything down, brought the ball down with his chest 15 yards into the Clipstone half, advanced forward and took it past one black and white shirt, did a lovely step-over to fool and beat another black and white shirt to then smash an absolute rocket of a shot with his weaker right-foot into the back of the net.
Tadcaster Albion: Stevens, Armstrong, Miller, Milne, Heath, Claisse, Baker, Ormsby (Conway 57), Black (Clayton 67), Beadle, Greening. Subs unused: Wrigglesworth, Beestin & Woodhead.
Thanks to Jay Taylor for this report.