Dronfield Town secured their berth in the Northern Counties East League Division One for another season with a last gasp equaliser against relegation-threatened Shirebrook Town. Shirebrook went into the game potentially needing to win their last two games and now must gain victory at Worsbrough Bridge and rely on results elsewhere to decide their future. Dronfield complete their season with games against Athersley Rec, Swallownest and Parkgate safe in the knowledge that they will be performing at step six once again in 2023-24.
The recent wet weather impacted the pitch at Langwith Road and it was clear that passing football would be difficult to achieve on an uneven surface. That, allied with the fact that both sides needed a positive result, meant that a tense opening fifteen minutes played out.
Dronfield, who gave a debut to recent signing Joe Hardstaff at right back, managed the first real chance on 18 minutes. Henry Adams won the ball and fed Mark Fereday out on the right. The ball eventually fell to Joe Pearson but he couldn’t quite get over his volley and the shot was comfortably saved by Shirebrook’s Levi Owen.
Shirebrook’s best endeavours came from three free kicks deep on the right, none of which resulted in anything that truly troubled the Dronfield defence.
Two attempts for either side concluded the first half. On 44 minutes, Adams once again broke from midfield for Dronfield, passing wide to Mark Fereday, whose first time shot comfortably cleared the bar.
On the stroke of half time, Shirebrook’s Matthew Thompson came up with a half volley that was saved at a convenient height by Dronfield stopper Lewis Naylor.
Shirebrook brought on the imposing Sam Foulds after the break, in the knowledge that they would have to try and force a win.
Their increased positivity saw Oliver Grady’s 20 yarder saved by Naylor four minutes after the restart and despite attacking in numbers, it took until the 67th minute to see Jake Squires shot clear the bar as the ball bobbled off the surface.
Squires went closer on 76 minutes, when he cut in from the right and his left footed strike was acrobatically tipped away to his right by Naylor.
The hosts got the breakthrough two minutes later. A ball into the box wasn’t cleared by Dronfield and in the scramble, it was Nathan Murr who forced the ball into the net from a couple of yards out to give Shirebrook a 1-0 lead.
Dronfield rang the changes, bringing on James Lindores, Matt Crowe and Regan Rooke for Hardstaff, Fereday and Knight as Shirebrook failed to capitalise on their late lead.
Substitute Rooke was to have a dramatic impact on the result. Three minutes into added time, Mike Fereday’s ball into the Shirebrook box resulted in Joe Pearson thundering the ball against the bar. Rooke was first to the follow up, rifling the ball through the crowd of players and into the net to secure a point for the men from S18.
The result puts Dronfield on 40 points for the season, unassailable by the bottom three of Shirebrook, Swallownest and Athersley Rec, and therefore ensures step six football for another season.
Dronfield travel to Athersley on Tuesday, play host to Swallownest on Saturday and finish their season on April 11th away at Parkgate, themselves still not assured of beating the drop.
Shirebrook Town: Owen, Geeves, Dando, Thompson, Slack, Henshaw, Lumley, Nathan Murr, Squires, Grady, Lewis Murr. Subs: Tansley, Jessop, Sykes-Tobin, Foulds, Czerwak.
Dronfield Town: Naylor, Hardstaff, Bebbington, Mike Fereday, Riley, Gladwin, Adams, Knight, Mark Fereday, Cameron Hill, Pearson. Subs: Lester, Lindores, Stuart Hill, Rooke, Crowe.
Attendance: 105
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