November To Remember For Ollerton After Bilsthorpe Win!

Ollerton Town head into the Christmas period in the best possible shape after a great November saw them win all four of their fixtures, scoring fifteen goals and conceding none in the process. The last of those fixtures came on Saturday when they took on Bilsthorpe FC with goals from Jamie Charlton, Callam Atkinson and Craig Stanton seeing Ollerton to victory.
It was a Bilsthorpe side that featured seven former Ollerton players and with the resignation of Thoresby from the league at the start of the season, this is as close as Ollerton get now to a local derby so both sides were determined to secure the bragging rights.
The first ten minutes was a tense affair with Ollerton looking to put Bilsthorpe under some pressure but lacking the clinical edge required to make the breakthrough.
Ollerton welcomed back Kyle Ludlow who had been absent recently through injury and when the opener arrived after fifteen minutes, he played a crucial role. Ludlow broke clear on the right hand side and after seeing a shot across goal clip the outside of the post, Jamie Charlton picked up the ball and slotted the ball past Joe Hankey in the Bilsthorpe goal.
Charlton thought he had scored his and his side's second a few minutes later but he was left frustrated after falling victim to the linesman's flag and the Bilsthorpe offside trap.
Ollerton kept up their pressure on the Bilsthorpe goal and before half time, they had two good chances to extend their lead. The first of these chances fell to Ludlow who was slipped through on goal by Craig Stanton before seeing his attempted lob held well by Hankey. Later in the half it was the turn of Kyle Clarkson who was put through one-on-one with Hankey but fired straight at the grateful goalkeeper.
Callam Atkinson was the star of Ollerton's last fixture as he scored four in their 6-0 victory over Dinnington Town and Atkinson was at it again shortly after the hour mark to double his side's lead. On 61 minutes he saw a goal ruled out for offside but only three minutes later he got his goal, receiving a Stanton pass in the area and remaining calm to slot past Hankey.
A second goal made Ollerton's position a lot more comfortable and as a result they seemed to drop off in the latter stages of the game which allowed Bilsthorpe to apply some pressure on Ollerton's defence which in truth didn't result in any real chances.
In truth Ollerton had the best chance of that period. Jamie Charlton did really well to get clear of Bilsthorpe's Wayne O'Hare and get to the byline but instead of pulling the ball back for Ludlow to tap the ball home, Charlton decided to try and beat Hankey on his own but the Bilsthorpe stopper was equal to the effort.
With the clock running down, Ollerton grabbed a third as Bilsthorpe were reduced to ten men. A cross into the area fell for Craig Stanton and the referee judged that his shot was blocked by the hands of Lee Bowler who had denied a clear goalscoring opportunity in the process. After Bowler was shown a straight red, Stanton saw his penalty tipped onto the post by Hankey but reacted well to tap in the rebound to seal the victory for his side.
The Bilsthorpe Twitter account after the game claimed that though Ollerton deserved to win, the scoreline flattered Ollerton somewhat. Despite not turning out their best performance, Ollerton certainly looked like they warranted a comfortable victory and could have scored more if they were a bit more clinical in the first half.
Despite the success of November, December is a new month and with tough tests to come, Ollerton Manager Dave Winter will be hoping his side can remain focused and look to pick up some more valuable wins as 2015 draws to a close.