Ollerton One Step Closer After Harworth Win!

Ollerton Town took a massive step towards possible promotion from the Central Midlands North Division after a 2-1 win away at Harworth Colliery.
When this fixture was postponed late last year and re-arranged for the 'business end' of the season, it was always ear marked as a potentially crucial game with both sides having applied for promotion. Going into the game, it proved to be just that as the two sides were level on points with Ollerton having a game in hand over Harworth in fourth.
The two sides were in contrasting form however with Ollerton having won four in a row whilst Harworth's once, comfortable points lead over Ollerton had been wiped away after a run of only one win in their last four.
With such huge importance placed on the game, form was always going to mean very little and the opening of the game proved just that as Harworth took a 3rd minute lead thanks to a brilliant strike by Josh Davis. These sort of high pressure games, can sometimes be decided by a moment of quality and Davis produced such a moment with the games first meaningful attack. The ball sat up kindly for him on the edge of the area and he hit a sweet half volley which flew past Simon Smith in the Ollerton goal.
Eventually Ollerton began to build some momentum and pressure of their own, and they nearly scored a wonderful equaliser. A long ball upfield was brought down brilliantly by Kyle Ludlow and from around 35 yards out, he spun and hit a terrific volley which forced Steven Wibberley into a top-class save.
Ludlow was involved in Ollerton's next attack. Tom Cooke's long throw was flicked on by Ludlow at the near post and after no Ollerton players were following in, Harworth managed to clear the ball from under the bar.
Ollerton's pressure was growing more and more with a goal looking inevitable. It arrived just past the half hour mark thanks to Lewis Bingham. Tom Cooke did brilliantly down the right wing and his ball to the far post found Bingham who slid the ball into the back of the goal.
Bingham could and maybe should have added to his tally during the remainder of the first half, as he failed to convert two good opportunities whilst Ollerton nearly undid their good work, after a defensive mix up allowed Blake Freeman through one-on-one but thankfully Smith saved well.
With the second half underway, Ollerton were still having the better of the play and could have gone ahead a few minutes in. A corner from the right found Paul Burgess but he headed over a golden chance from a few yards out.
Ollerton kept pushing for a winner and came agonisingly close just past the hour mark. Danny Wiltshire did brilliantly to make space in the area and his shot cruelly struck the upright. Kyle Ludlow blasted the rebound towards goal but Wibberley somehow managed to keep the ball out.
As game neared it's close, Ollerton were still without the goal their performance deserved. A draw would still have left them in a strong position but given the quality of their performance, it would have been harsh not to have left Harworth with all three points.
Thankfully, with six minutes left on the clock, they found a way through. Latching onto a pass by Jamie Charlton, Ben Bowring controlled the ball on his chest before running on and firing a shot past Wibberley and into the corner of the goal.
The goal sparked wild celebrations from the Ollerton players, management and fans and with Harworth dejected, Ollerton were able to hold on to secure the crucial victory.The win was Ollerton's fifth in a row and, ground grading pending, Ollerton know that if they can just secure two more, they'll have achieved what that they set out for at the start of the campaign.