N C East Premier Div                          Sat. 4 Dec 2004

GLAPWELL                                                     1  v   GLASSHOUGHTON WELFARE                           1                                  

FOR THE SECOND TIME WITHIN THE SPACE OF A FORTNIGHT WELFARE PLAYED THE MAJORITY OF THE GAME WITH ONLY TEN MEN BUT IN AN EVENLY FOUGHT CONTEST COULD ONCE AGAIN HAVE GAINED FULL POINTS WITH MORE CLINICAL FINISHING.

The hosts began the brighter, quickly putting their stamp on the game, Steve McGinty going close before Jamie Morgan hit a rising unstoppable shot from the edge of the area to put the hosts in to a fourth minute lead.  The same player then skimmed the top of Karl Codd’s crossbar before Welfare, again taking time to settle, gradually came in to the game and being denied a leveller when Lee Parker was judged narrowly offside.  Welfare continued to press and got reward when a perfect knock in from John Haigh was volleyed home sweetly by Mark Newton operating on the left for the injured Martin Woolford.  In what was now building up to a cracking end to end encounter with Glapwell’s Walker and Jones forcing good saves from Codd and at the other end Newton again testing custodian Jim Lindley and Andy Seed failing to beat the keeper in a one to one situation, the game was suddenly marred by the very harsh dismissal of Welfare’s Jason Bradley, the striker expressing in somewhat colourful language disgust at himself for fouling an opponent, unfortunately the referee deeming that the expletives had been directed at his decision and the red card was produced, giving Welfare a mountain to climb after half an hour of play. 

Welfare regrouped and held out until the interval but from the restart with a good Glapwell side using the extra space well it only appeared a matter of time before the extra man paid dividends.  Welfare however dug in to their resources, with Darren Beech covering every inch of ground in a splendid midfield role, and were still able to open up the home defence.  In an effort to shore up further and still look for the chance of a winner, Shaun Constable came on in midfield to replace winger Andy Seed, and Danny King came on as a straight swap for Lee Parker, and although Welfare were forced to defend in depth with both Wayne Noteman and John Haigh clearing off the goal line, half chances were still being carved out by Welfare and in the closing minutes Remo Nessa was put clear but again failed to beat the keeper, and a valiant Welfare to a man had to settle for what in the circumstances was a valuable and extremely well earned share of the points, 1-1 being Welfare’s third successive the score line.            

Team: Karl Codd, John Haigh, Wayne Noteman, Paul Mattison, Alex Hanson, Darren Leech, Andy Seed (Shaun Constable), Jason Bradley, Lee Parker (Danny King), Remo Nessa, Mark Newton,