Toolstation NCEL Premier Division
Hemsworth Miners Welfare 3-3 Hall Road Rangers
Matty Crane scored a late equaliser in stoppage time for Hall Road Rangers
Matty Crane scored a 97th minute equaliser for Hall Road Rangers in the dramatic contest
It cued pandemonium and Dave Ricardo and his bench ran down the side-lines to celebrate snatching a point which had looked like it had slipped away.
The opportunity to equalise at such a late stage was only made possible by a three-minute delay. Once play restarted, Hall Road dramatically grabbed their equaliser.
It could be argued that Hall Road will look back on the draw as two points lost, based on the first half. The visitors had a whole catalogue of chances in the first half, whilst being dominant. Only Conner Harman was able to convert one of them.
The missed opportunities were bound to come back to haunt them. Richard Collier’s long range blast which cannoned back off the post was the first warning shot.
The turning point for Hemsworth was the introduction of dual-registered Ossett Albion winger Brad Dockerty. He caused problems for Hall Road from the moment he set foot on the field. It was his low cross which opened the door for Billy Law to equalise.
Parity was only in place for two minutes as Hall Road regained the lead from a corner. Danny Norton claimed the goal, but it did look suspiciously like an own goal.
Dockerty weaved his magic to draw Hemsworth level again. Several Hall Road defenders backed off him, creating room for him to curl a beautiful effort into Phil Dobson’s far left top corner.
Lively midfielder Sam Jones was the man who had appeared to have won it for Hemsworth when no-one from Hall Road tracked his fine run.
That fired Hemsworth to the top of the table, until Crane had the final word.
The Teams
Hemsworth Miners Welfare: Rusling, Viggars, Schofield, Hayton, Danville (captain), Steers, Connolly, Jones, Law, Ovington, Collier. Subs: Wilson, Dockerty, Henderson, Briggs, Perks.
Hall Road Rangers: Dobson, Bruce, Binns, Belcher, Griffin, Piercy, Harman, Norton, Owen, Spinks, Bennett. Subs: Snsu, Bannister, Tennant, Whittingham, Crane.