A six goal thriller played out at the HE Barnes Stadium as the spoils were shared between Dronfield Town and Brigg Town. The immaculate playing surface aided and abetted some super football that belied the step six level of the game. Brigg’s Ras Diamond cancelled out Max Rhodes’ opener as Dronfield twice came from behind through Dan White and James Lindores to secure a point after Martin Pembleton and then Peter Winn had given the visitors the lead. Dronfield climb to tenth as a result ahead of a trip to Barnsley side Athersley Recreation at the weekend.
Dronfield began brightly, keen to put an uncharacteristic 4-0 defeat at Glasshoughton on Saturday behind them. Nick Benson brought out a fine stop from Brigg keeper Lewis Hill on 6 minutes and hosts took the lead a minute later.
The unfortunate Hill slipped allowing Max Rhodes to tap into the empty goal to give Dronfield a 1-0 lead.
The lead was short-lived. Eleven minutes saw Town unable to clear their lines and as the ball fell to the pacy Ras Diamond, he slotted home in plenty of space to put Brigg on level terms.
The same player in the same location had a different outcome on 20 minutes when he fired over the bar and the end-to-end nature of the contest was illustrated a minute after when Benson sidefooted wide after a fine Owen Lester square ball from the right flank.
The half hour mark saw Dan White unleash a piledriver that went wide after the big defender had gone up for a corner and on 34 minutes, Sam Bebbington forced the ball home from a teasing Charlie Stewart corner, only for the referee to spot an infringement.
Brigg’s Jack Boswell fired over after a free kick from the visitors had broken down and it was Dronfield’s Callum Mawbey who had the last real chance of the half, holding off his man as his left footed strike curled past the far post.
Even in the second half, the action was relentless. On 54 minutes, a long ball forward by White put Rhodes in the clear but the young forward scuffed his shot as Brigg breathed a sigh of relief.
Failure to capitalise cost Dronfield however as the visitors took the lead three minutes after. Martin Pembleton was allowed to carry the ball towards the edge of the area and his shot squirmed under Lewis Naylor to put the North Lincolnshire outfit in front by 1-2.
Naylor made amends with an outstanding point blank stop moments later and on 64 minutes it was Dronfield’s turn to level the game.
Charlie Stewart’s away swinging corner was met by the head of Dan White, whose header looped up into the net to make it 2-2.
Again, a defensive lapse cost Dronfield however. A pinpoint free kick out on the left from Pembleton was met by a firm header from Peter Winn as Brigg restored their advantage.
The substitution of Mark Fereday for Owen Lester proved to be vital in securing a point for Dronfield. The striker put in a pacy run down the right wing and squared the ball into the Brigg box to cause problems. It eventually fell to James Lindores, who rifled home excellently as Town came from behind for a second time at 3-3.
All three points could have gone the way of the Derbyshire side in the dying embers of the contest. A minute from time, Callum Mawbey’s goalbound shot was pushed round the post by Hill and 3 minutes into added time, Sam Bebbington blasted wide from a decent position on the right.
While conceding 7 goals in the last two games will be a concern for Dronfield, the performance was a vast improvement from their first defeat in nine last weekend. Town will look to build on that when they travel to 20th placed Athersley Recreation on Saturday.
Dronfield Town: Naylor, Riley, Staniland, Stewart, Bovill, White, Mawbey, Lester, Rhodes, Bebbington, Benson. Subs: Knight, Hudson, Lindores, Fereday, Townsend.
Brigg Town: Hill, Petronzio, Cross, Boswell, Winn, McCarron, Diamond, Pembleton, Agnew, Hutchinson, Robinson. Subs: Waud, Fisher, Ellis, Vasquez.
Attendance: 93
Comments