A scintillating second half display from Dronfield Town saw them come from behind to beat Nostell Miners Welfare in their latest Northern Counties East League Division One fixture. Town took the lead through Sam Bebbington but found themselves in deficit at the interval through two Harley Blankley strikes. Dan White’s header from a corner restored parity and a first goal of the season for Arran Bovill one minute from time saw all three points remain in North Derbyshire. Dronfield stay in ninth position despite the win but are now just four points off the playoff positions as attentions switch to the NCEL Cup in the coming midweek.
The opening twenty minutes saw both sides trying to get a foothold in the game. In the sixth minute, Dronfield striker Nick Benson showed great persistence in winning the ball to deliver a cross from the right that Nostell keeper Aaron England urgently smothered.
England did the same with a Callum Mawbey free kick from distance on 10 minutes but wasn’t tested further as Benson volleyed over with his favourite left peg shortly after.
The lead did come Dronfield’s way on 22 minutes however. Benson fed Callum Riley, who delivered an accurate left wing cross that England could only tip in the direction of Sam Bebbington, who headed home for his 11th goal of the season.
Nostell, in sixth at the start of the day, got back on level terms on 29 minutes. A free kick some 20 yards from goal was struck low by Harley Blankley past the dive of Lewis Naylor into the bottom corner to make it 1-1.
Dronfield lost their impetus as Nostell capitalised with another quick strike. The 35th minute saw Blankley take advantage once again as he skipped through several half challenges in the Town defence before slotting low past Naylor to give his side a 2-1 advantage.
Nostell ended the half on a high, Nicholas Lalousis’ right wing delivery just evading the outstretched boot of tall striker Harvey Booth as the interval came.
The second half was a riot of entertainment for the onlooking crowd. Dronfield began by pressurising the Nostell defence – a Connor Chapell shot over the bar being the end result.
At the other end, another Lalousis break and cross resulted in a crucial sliding block from Bebbington as the action became fast and frantic.
Town tied the match up once more in the 55th minute. Chapell’s inswinging corner to the back post was met powerfully by the head of Dan White for his sixth of the campaign with the scoreline at 2-2.
Both sides went to their bench for fresh legs, such was the intensity of the shift put in by the teams.
Two efforts within a minute could have sealed the game for Dronfield. Max Rhodes’ delivery was sidefooted narrowly wide by substitute Mark Fereday and just seconds after, Cam Knight’s ball to Rhodes saw the young front man fail to connect as cleanly as he would have liked.
Nostell weren’t done either. A rising shot from Booth just cleared the crossbar on 69 minutes and Blankley almost claimed his hat-trick as his turn and snapshot was tipped over the bar by Naylor.
The 74th minute saw Fereday pass up a gilt-edged chance by shooting straight at England in the Nostell goal after Rhodes break down the left, at which point it looked like the game was destined to end in a draw.
The heart that Dronfield had shown in a gutsy second 45 minutes took them to all three points however. One minute from the end of regulation time, another of Chapell’s testing corners was met by Arran Bovill, whose close range header put Town back in front at 3-2.
An astonishing nine minutes of added time led to several heart-in-mouth moments but the relief and joy at the final whistle was palpable as all three points resided in S18.
Town have to negotiate an NCEL Cup second round tie at Premier Division Maltby Main on Wednesday evening before travelling to Retford United next Saturday in their next league encounter.
Dronfield Town: Naylor, Riley, Mawbey, Hatton, Bovill, White, Chapell, Pearson, Rhodes, Benson, Bebbington. Subs: Staniland, Gladwin, Lindores, Fereday, Knight.
Nostell MW: England, Atkinson, Craig, Penny-Larter, Bull, Street, Parker, Walker, Booth, Blankley, Lalousis. Subs: Haigh, Ndombasi, Drovi, Benton, Ormsby.
Attendance: 201
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