Toolstation NCEL Premier Division
Garforth Town 2-1 Pontefract Collieries
Garforth Town goalkeeper Pete Lawrie enjoyed the performance of his life in his side’s 2-1 win over Pontefract
Best mates Pete Lawrie and Calum Ward were the heroes as Garforth Town produced a Herculean effort to defeat free-scoring promotion candidates Pontefract Collieries.
Goalkeeper Lawrie was the real star turn as the ‘performance of his life’ and almost one-man show prevented the Colls from winning the local derby. He was magnificent in a match that saw the Colls create enough chances to win ten games, never mind one, especially in the first half.
Garforth had to really dig deep as Eli Hey’s penalty gave Ponte an early second half lead. But instead of folding, ex-Colls striker Mark Simpson equalised before Ward struck the winner in the frenetic encounter – condemning Pontefract to only their third league loss of the season.
How much the victory meant to Garforth, who were on a five match winless run, showed when assistant manager Mark Smitheringale punched the air several times once as the final whistle sounded.
The home side clearly rode their luck. Craig Parry’s Pontefract dominated the first half proceedings. Chance after chance flowed, but Lawrie held his ground during the sustained assaults. Shots from the likes of Hey and Mikey Dunn were saved, while there were lucky escapes when Colls players could not get toes on the end of rebounds and dangerous crosses.
The deadlock was finally broken in the early exchanges of the second half. A handball saw Pontefract awarded a penalty and Hey slotted home with power – giving the visitors a deserved lead.
History from this season shows that the Colls have regularly gone on and taken their opponents apart. On this occasion, Garforth refused to buckle and showed the kind of the character that was the hallmark of the era under Steve Nichol, the club’s most successful manager, at the turn of the decade.
Eli Hey, with Pontefract Collieries manager Craig Parry (left) and Craig Rouse (right), broke the deadlock
Garforth Town prodigal son Mark Simpson, pictured in a Pontefract Collieries shirt in 2014, scored against his former side
Their response was rapid. A sweeping counter attack was rounded off by prodigal son Simpson, whose turn and finish from 12 yards was exquisite.
The touch of Simpson opened up the contest and both teams really went for broke. Pontefract continued to laid siege to Garforth’s goal, but Lawrie was either catching, punching or saving everything thrown at him. The Miners were relying on the counter-attack and they almost scored a second goal after the equaliser. Superb passing led to Mitch Hamilton being able to get a shot away. Colls stopper Ryan Musselwhite made the save, but the ball fell to Simpson. Uncharacteristically, the striker put it over the crossbar, despite the open goal.
Undeterred, Garforth ploughed on and Ward’s thunderbolt free kick, turned away by a brilliant Musselwhite save, showed that they were going for the win rather than settling for a point.
There was then desperate defending at the other end as a succession of superbly corners played havoc for Garforth. Although Lawrie was by far the key man, it was still a team effort as defenders such as Luke McCrum and Jack Lazenby were prepared to put their bodies on the line to stop the visitors.
Another counter-attack saw Garforth land the fatal blow, with 20 minutes remaining. Ward, whose season has been stop-start because of injury, used brute force to surge into the box. He drew Musselwhite out before lifting the ball over the committed goalkeeper and into the net – cueing pandemonium.
Led by captain marvel James Beaston, Garforth dug deep to hang onto their precious victory. There were last-ditch tackles, blocks and several saves from Lawrie. Over the 90 minutes, Pontefract could not have done much more.
The rematch next Saturday is now all set to be another humdinger. The first instalment was a credit to the league. Full of entertainment and endeavour, it showed that when teams behave themselves, the NCEL is an excellent standard of football.
The Teams
Garforth Town: Lawrie, Kearsley, Kitson, Beaston (captain), McCrum, Lazenby, Hamilton, Coupland, Ward, Simpson, Hunter. Subs: Donogue, Shelton, Dacre, Lingard.
Pontefract Collieries: Musselwhite, Greenhough, Jeffs, Brown, Williams, Clarke, Redford, Scargill, Hey, Reece, Dunn. Subs: Whitehouse, Cromack, Cotton, Seed.
Who Was In Charge
David Jones (10/10)
NLY said back in August after a match at Stocksbridge that Mr Jones “showed shades of being a good referee”. In his latest assessment, he was excellent. He let the game flow as best as he could and handled contentious and care and attention.
How Many Were There
137
Man of the Match
Pete Lawrie (Garforth Town)
Lawrie enjoyed the best goalkeeping display at Garforth Town since then-Liversedge stopper Sam Dobbs did his one-man blockade act to deny the Miners in December 2014.