A battling point on the road at playoff-seeking South Leeds was a very pleasing outcome for Dronfield Town on their return to action. A fairly turgid first half played out with the sides tied at the break through South Leeds’ James Law and Max Rhodes reply almost on the whistle. The second half provided a much greater spectacle with Law getting South Leeds’ second, before Town skipper Lewis Naylor pulled off an excellent penalty stop. James Lindores levelled the scores but South Leeds took the lead once more through substitute Jamal Stewart. Dronfield kept up their workrate however and took a deserved point through Rhodes’ second of the game six minutes from time. The point keeps Town in 17th place in the NCEL Division One table ahead of a Tuesday night return to Leeds when they take on bottom side Yorkshire Amateur.
Neither side really got to grips with the big pitch at the South Leeds Stadium in the opening stages. Arran Bovill headed wide from Connor Chapell’s free kick in the early moments as Lewis Naylor saved from South Leeds’ James Law’s toe poke up the other end.
South Leeds stopper Paul Diamond was called upon on 19 minutes when Owen Lester’s through ball to Matty Ord resulted in a useful save on the angle.
A rare moment of quality saw South Leeds take the lead. A long ball forward just short of the half hour mark was well-controlled by top-scorer James Law. He turned inside Arran Bovill and fired home from close range to put the hosts one ahead.
Neither side got a grip on the contest despite the goal but Dronfield ended the half with two big chances. On 42 minutes, the ball dropped to Arran Bovill from a corner but he blazed his shot over the bar. Town did get on level terms however right on the stroke of half time.
Ord’s cross from the left was glanced home by the head of leading scorer Max Rhodes to send the teams in level at the break.
The second half was an altogether more incident-filled affair. It took just seven minutes after the restart for South Leeds to regain the lead. Daniel Billington-Boateng’s cross-come-shot from the right was deflected into the goal off the leg of Law for his second of the game.
The game could have taken a turn for the worse on 56 minutes but Town skipper Lewis Naylor came to his side’s rescue. Dronfield’s Tom Gladwin received a yellow card and from the resulting free kick, the ball was crossed into the area. The referee spotted an alleged infringement in the box and pointed to the spot. Naylor pulled off an excellent stop to his left hand side to prevent Law from getting his hat-trick.
Almost immediately, Town got back on level terms. As the ball went up the other end, James Lindores showed commitment to force the ball past Diamond from 8 yards out and make it 2-2.
Lindores caused panic in the South Leeds defence on 74 minutes. He was hauled down by substitute Owen Murphy, who appeared to be the last man. The referee took the safe option and awarded a yellow card instead of the expected red as the resulting free kick came to nothing.
South Leeds ran their entire bench and regained the lead shortly after. Jacob Bradley put Jamal Stewart in the clear and he lifted his finish over the oncoming Lewis Naylor to put the home side up by 3-2.
Dronfield made an impact substitution of their own as they secured a thoroughly-deserved point. Mark Fereday, with his first touch of the ball, controlled it well and fed Owen Lester, making the 100th appearance of his Dronfield career. He in turn found Max Rhodes, who blasted the ball home with his unfamiliar left foot for his sixteenth of the season and to gain a point for his side with the score at 3-3.
Town, who also had Connor Chapell and Charlie Stewart making their 150th starts for the club, saw out a tense final few minutes and will look to build on the fighting display in the games to come, starting on Tuesday evening when they head to bottom team Yorkshire Amateur.
South Leeds: Diamond, Sandro Mendes, Harling, McKendry, Jacob, Telford, Billington-Boateng, Kaba, Law, Coltman, Agu. Subs: Bradley, Law, Bingham, Murphy, Stewart.
Dronfield Town: Naylor, Riley, Stewart, Lester, Gladwin, Bovill, Chapell, Thorpe, Rhodes, Lindores, Ord. Subs: Noble, Siddons, Flower, Wright, Fereday.
Attendance: 146
Comentários