Toolstation NCEL Division One
Worsbrough Bridge 2-2 Yorkshire Amateur
Brad Kerr thought he had won it for Worsbrough. Kerr ran into the arms of manager Ian Shirt after scoring.
Worsbrough Bridge were seconds away from a long-awaited and priceless victory until a freak goal denied them.
Returning striker Brad Kerr thought he had made himself the hero for Worsbrough with a late strike. Luck was once again against Bridge though as a flukey ricochet off the back of Adam Shaw earned the Ammers a point.
A bizarre own goal from Carl Heard had drawn Worsbrough level with 20 minutes remaining.
The cruel ending was harsh on Worsbrough, who are clearly back on their feet on-and-off-the-field after making massive strides in the past few weeks. Sadly as there are only five games remaining, climbing out of the bottom two looks too big a task. That’s not to say a reprieve may be forthcoming for one of the league’s founder members.
The damage may have already been done after the well-publicised ground issues, but no can argue with the desire being shown by their current squad. The Bridge players gave everything and they found themselves desperately unlucky to go into interval a goal down from an Aiden Lewis effort.
Both teams had opportunities to score in an end-to-end second half. Ammers joint boss Phil Harding was disappointed his side did not take their chances to kill Worsbrough off at 1-0.
The way Worsbrough actually equalised is probably one of their only bits of luck this season. Ammers defender Heard, situated well outside the penalty area, was lucky no-one was filming as his attempted clearance flew backwards and over his own stranded goalkeeper Ben Hunter.
Hope had suddenly to Park Road after nearly 12 months away and if that couldn’t inspire Worsbrough, nothing would.
Kerr, who only returned to the club last week, became Worsbrough’s danger-man as his speed was causing the Ammers problems. His moment of glory saw his race past the Ammers back four and latch onto the ball, planting it into the top corner.
What that meant to Worsbrough was demonstrated in Kerr’s celebration as the youngster sped down the pavilion side to great applause before running into the arms of jubilant interim manager Ian Shirt by the dugout.
The wait for their first win since November appeared over. The Ammers though have goalkeeper Hunter to thank as he made a match-saving block from Jack Portman in the dying minutes.
It proved to be a big moment as the Ammers forced a succession of corners deep into injury-time. Hunter even came up for two of them. The final one had a devastating impact for Bridge as Luke Forgione’s clearance struck Ammers forward Shaw on the back and cannoned into the top corner.
The sight of several Worsbrough collapsing to the floor distraught with the finish showed how much a win would have meant to them.
Worsbrough Bridge: Berry, Gill, Whitehead, Lycett, Forgione, Wilson (Stacey 93), Shirt, Garside, Kerr, Portman, White. Subs: Keen, Gillespie, Halford.
Yorkshire Amateur: Hunter, Carl Heard, Rothel, Rose (Blakey HT), Wadsworth, Hammond (Charlesworth 76), Marsden, Thompson, Hughes, Shaw, Lewis (Craig Heard 62).
Referee: Ashley Guest
Ref Rating: 8/10
Attendance: 33