An 83rd minute winner from Arran Bovill gave Dronfield Town all three points in their latest fixture away at Retford FC. Dronfield, in their fourth consecutive away game, dominated the encounter for long periods without finding the goal their endeavours deserved. Bovill’s late strike, which seemed to take an eternity to nestle in the back of the net, gave Town their just rewards for a second period where the ball rarely left their host’s half. Dronfield retain eighth place in the Northern Counties East League Division One as a result, 12 points off the playoffs and 5 behind Horbury Town in seventh, who are the visitors to the HE Barnes Stadium on Tuesday evening.
The opening 25 minutes of the game was largely uneventful. Retford’s George Slack placed a header straight into the grateful hands of Lewis Naylor on 13 minutes but that was the sole point of note.
The game sprung into life when after Max Rhodes had appeared to be fouled, Retford moved forward through Haydn Goddard, whose shot from the left rattled the post, the ball eventually nestling in Naylor’s gloves.
Town’s first real chance came three minutes later and almost broke the deadlock. Sam Bebbington’s long throw from the right was flicked on by Callum Mawbey – Max Rhodes’ close range attempt just going past the post.
Dronfield did have the ball in the net on the half hour mark. With Town applying pressure, Bebbington stabbed home from close range after a scramble only to see the linesman raise his flag.
Dronfield continued to trouble Retford with their set pieces. Another scramble from a Connor Chapell corner saw Bebbington head over the bar as the first half drew to a close without a goal.
The second half saw the visitors camped in the Retford half for lengthy spells, which led to a plethora of chances. Five minutes after the restart, good persistence down the right flank from Cameron Knight saw him feed Max Rhodes, whose turn and shot was pushed out of play for a corner by Retford keeper Levi Owen.
Arran Bovill, given attacking midfield duties on the day, was influential in a couple of chances just after the hour mark. He headed narrowly over from another testing Chapell corner on 65 minutes and was inches away with his head from a Knight delivery three minutes after.
The Retford goal led a charmed life on 72 minutes when Bebbington struck the far post, the ball rolling agonisingly across the goalmouth with Kenan McKenzie-Grey unable to get the final touch on his return to his former club.
Max Rhodes blasted over moving into the final ten minutes just as it felt that Dronfield were not going to get the goal that their dominance had deserved.
However, they finally found the back of the net seven minutes from time. Mawbey’s long ball forward was flicked on by Rhodes. Arran Bovill controlled the ball and shot goalwards with his left foot. Bovill perhaps didn’t hit the ball as cleanly as he would have liked but it did enough to go beyond the outstretched arm of Owen and put Town in front.
The game was marked by some bone-crunching challenges as Retford’s Slack and Dronfield’s McKenzie-Grey went into the book during the final five minutes and despite the hosts throwing caution to the wind in added time, it was Town who held out for the win.
Dronfield have collected seven points in a four game stretch on the road and finally return home on Tuesday evening. Seventh-placed Horbury Town are the visitors to the HE Barnes Stadium, five points ahead of their eighth-placed hosts having won their last four games straight. Kick off is 7.45pm.
Retford FC: Owen, Geeves, Goddard, Rodgers, Slack, Marsden, Sennett-Nielsen, Thompson, Frost, Robinson, Johnson. Subs: Loftus, Wonham, Wankiewicz, Jarosz, Casburn, Cowan.
Dronfield Town: Naylor, Wright, Stewart, Knight, Riley, Mawbey, Chapell, Bovill, Rhodes, Bebbington, McKenzie-Grey. Subs: Gladwin, Hatton, Lindores, Mike Fereday, White.
Attendance: 129
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