Simon Harrison scored twice in Handsworth’s victory over tenants Worksop Town
Simon Harrison scored twice as Handsworth Parramore beat their tenants Worksop Town 3-2 in the derby clash at Sandy Lane.
Handsworth actually surrendered a 2-0 lead in the potentially decisive Toolstation NCEL Premier Division clash
A first minute yellow card for Handsworth’s Sam Denton got the proceedings off to a feisty start, and Mitch Husbands then stayed down for almost four minutes after clashing with Denton.
From the re-start, an awful back pass from Jordan Cooke left his keeper in no man’s land, allowing the alert Wells to nip in and slot home after rounding Jon Kennedy. It was the perfect start for The Ambers who looked by far the liveliest side in the opening exchanges.
Five minutes later, the best move of the match resulted in The Ambers doubling their lead. Ben Starosta played a one-two with Colin Marrison and when the right back burst into the area, he pulled the ball back for Simon Harrison to finish neatly into the corner.
Handsworth were well on top and a deep corner caused havoc in the Worksop box before a Richard Adams strike was deflected wide. From the resultant corner, Marrison’s clever flick at the near post beat Kennedy but just cleared the bar.
The Ambers’ pressing game was forcing The Tigers backwards and whilst the hosts were happy to play the ball around at the back, they were not causing Handsworth any problems at the other end of the field.
On the half hour, Danny Buttle was starting to see more of the ball and from one cross, Marrison should have done better when he fired over from inside the box, before another cross was met by Harrison who headed against the bar.
This latest close call finally woke Worksop up and they started to build the pressure, resulting in their first goal attempt on 40 minutes when Andy Ofosu’s shot was held by Archie Sneath.
Steve Woolley then had a shot well saved at the near post before Ofosu halved the arrears when his shot was deflected over Sneath to make it 2-1, a disappointing end to the half for the dominant Ambers.
Both sides attached from the off in the second half, Luke Fletcher rescuing Handsworth with a great sliding tackle on the edge of his own box which released Buttle down the left, and when the cross came in, it was unbelievably, Fletcher on the end of it but his shot was blocked.
Town then won a free kick just in The Ambers half, and when it was floated in, Lawrence rose at the far post to head across to an unmarked Husbands who levelled the scores with a good finish.
The Ambers though, were far from finished, and a couple of Denton free kicks followed before the same player headed against the far post with Kennedy beaten. The ball was recycled by Steve Warne and when it was crossed into the box, Harrison’s quick feet earned him enough space to fire home the winner.
Wells, who had run himself into the ground, brought a good save from Kennedy before the keeper spilled a Harrison free kick but The Ambers were unable to capitalise. As the game moved into the last ten minutes, a good Town moved resulted in Ofosu striking the post before a Julian Lawrence slip let in the tiring Wells but he could not find the finishing touch and was soon replaced by Jon Froggatt.
Worksop’s last chance fell to Woolley whose shot was easily held by Sneath, and with Gareth Griffiths coming on to bolster the defence in place of the excellent Harrison, The Ambers were able to weather the storm and deservedly claim the three points to close the gap at the top of the table.
Handsworth Parramore: Sneath, Starosta, Cullingworth, Fletcher, Denton, Adams, S. Harrison (Griffiths 90), Warne, Marrison, Wells (Froggatt 86), Buttle. Subs unused: Wright, Tootle, Ratcliffe.
Thanks to Ian Robinson for this report.