Toolstation NCEL Division One
Penistone Church 4-5 Selby Town
- Danny Norton scored the 97th minute winner for Selby Town after play-offs chasing Penistone came from 4-1 down to draw level with ten minutes to go.
- Selby actually scored their opener after just six seconds after Chris Jackson incredibly found the net from his own half.
- Referee Andrew Price’s comical display threatened to ruin the league clash. Price caused a four minute delay after leaving the field because of a problem with his whistle, stalling Penistone’s attempts to recover.
- Church chief Ian Richards slammed Price’s performance, but said his side’s defending cost them the game.
Chris Jackson scored after just six seconds for Selby Town in the 5-4 win at Penistone
Where do you start with a pulsating match that almost had everything? Chris Jackson’s unbelievable goal from his own half after just six seconds was headline grabbing on its own merit. Striker Jackson, playing as a makeshift right-back, fired the starting pistol for a goal-fest, littered with a few moments that were fit for a performance by Michael McIntyre at the Sheffield Arena.
Penistone may look back at this night as a deadly moment if they do not reach the play-offs as their defensive frailties were a major factor in Selby’s victory. Quite how Jackson managed to beat Penistone goalkeeper Adam Rhodes from over 60 yards after a few seconds, only the former Ossett Albion stopper knows.
Rhodes was briefly redeemed in the 19th minute by Selby goalkeeper Ciaran Gibson, who spilled a straightforward take – allowing Ollie Fearon to tap home.
Penistone then collapsed as Dave Ricardo’s Selby hit three goals in the space of 13 minutes to take a commanding lead. Their captain Brent Leister, the former Leeds United junior, gave Rhodes not a hope of stopping his long range bullet for the second goal. Will Ramsay got the third with a back-post finish from a corner before new signing Luke Thompson sprinted away down the right wing to score.
In windy conditions and both sides failing to defend properly, anything was possible, including a Penistone comeback. Ashley Ellis ensured the fight-back was on at half-time with a low drive close to the interval.
What happened next should never happen in junior football, never mind at a serious level of semi-professional football. Penistone, enjoying a positive start to the second half, were disrupted by none other than the referee Andrew Price – arguably Selby’s best player at this point as he curtailed Penistone’s momentum.
Proceedings were brought to a frustrating half as Price and one of his assistants became involved in a discussion. To the players, management teams and crowd’s amazement, Price then sprinted off, like a man doing a runner, towards his changing rooms. The official discovered the door was locked and started ‘flapping his arms like a bird’ as no-one offered assistance. He did eventually gain entry and it soon became evident that a whistle problem was the cause of the four-minute delay. Quite why at least one of his assistants did not have a spare one in their pocket is a good question?
Further stoppages were caused when Selby were prevented from making a substitution because of some offending cycling shorts. Price’s Britain Got’s Talent audition as a comedian eventually ended and both teams provided the crowd with a blood and thunder final 20 minute.
Selby, guilty themselves of poor defending, handed Ellis a straight-forward goal to bring Church back from the dead. The equaliser was now inevitable and Selby were at sixes and sevens as Danny Joynes crossed for Lewis Dickinson to slide the ball home from inches out.
Although the referee cannot be blamed for any of the goals, he was at fault for the length of added time – seven minutes in total. Both teams were hammering their opposing defence’s door down in the final moments, played at full throttle.
Danny Barlow went close for the hosts and Selby even had a disallowed goal from corner. But, there was time for a very last gasp goal – Norton, the hero for Selby with a low drive.
A fitting end to a game that was gripping from the start for the right and the wrong reasons.
Penistone Church manager Ian Richards:
Selby Town manager Dave Ricardo:
Penistone Church: Rhodes, Lee (Dickinson 71), Young, Ellis, Whitehead, Lovell, Howes (captain), Fearon, Kenworthy, Barlow, Joynes. Subs unused: Moore, Ring, Riley, Jones.
Selby Town: Gibson, Jackson, Binns, Leister (captain), Mortimer, Ramsay, N Thompson, Norton, L Thompson (Muirhead 83), Perks (Ward 66), Bunch. Sub unused: Cooper.
Referee: Andrew Price
Ref Rating: 4/10
Attendance: 56
Man of the match: Danny Norton (Selby Town)