Ollerton Bounce Back To Claim Second Win

Ollerton Town got their second league win of the season, claiming their first clean sheet of the campaign in the process, after a 2-0 win over Eccleshill United on Tuesday night.
Following a run of seven defeats in a row, Ollerton had picked up some form last week, drawing away at Campion and then winning at Nostell. On Saturday however, they went down 1-0 to Yorkshire Amateur in what was a disappointing result given the chances Ollerton had on the day. Despite that disappointment, Ollerton rallied on Tuesday night and caused somewhat of an upset by defeating their visitors from Bradford.
Eccleshill came into the game just outside the play-off positions whilst Ollerton remained in the bottom two, despite their recent improvement in form. The two sides had already met in the league earlier this season, when Eccleshill came down from 2-0 down to win 4-2 in a game which could've end 6-6 on a different day.
The contrast in form showed in the early stages of Tuesday's game. Marcus Edwards had two good chances to put the visitors ahead, dragging a first-time shot wide before then going through on goal, only to see the chance snuffed out at the last minute by the impressive Alex Sennett.
After failing to take several good opportunities on Saturday against Yorkshire Amateur, Ollerton may well have felt it was only fair that Eccleshill continued to waste their chances. A diving header by Adam Turner failed to find the target before an audacious, back-heeled volley by Alex Cusack flew over the Ollerton goal.
In the first half, Ollerton were mainly restricted to half chances but they did manage to find the back of the net shortly before the break. A Kyle Clarkson shot from the edge of the area found it's way into the bottom corner for what would've been his first goal since returning to the club but after referee Justin Carpenter signalled for a goal, he was then over-ruled by his linesman who claimed an Ollerton player was in an offside position and restricting the view of Eccleshill 'keeper, Joe Stead.
With neither side able to break the deadlock before the interval, it was all still to play for in the second half and thankfully for Ollerton, it was they who started the brighter.
After putting Eccleshill under some strong pressure, Ollerton finally opened the scoring on the hour mark. Lewis Bingham picked up the ball just outside the area and found the space to play through Josh Bowkett, and Bowkett's first time shot across goal found the corner of the net for his sixth goal of the season.
Ollerton seemed to have the visitors rocking at this stage and they could've doubled their lead two minutes later. The ball fell kindly for Bowkett but from a tight angle, his shot found the side netting.
Dave Winter's side did manage to grab a second minutes later however. Left back Brandon Shaw was given time and space, and from twenty-five yards out, he curled a terrific effort into the top corner leaving Stead with no chance.
Eccleshill will have been encouraged by what happened in the reverse fixture as they looked for a way back into the game. Their best chance came with around ten minutes left on the clock. A ball in from the left was headed back across goal towards a team-mate but with the goal gaping, the Eccleshill player could only head the ball wide of the goal.
Ollerton felt that they should've been award a penalty and a chance to wrap up the game. Lewis Bingham appeared to be fouled in the area by a defender but the linesman dubiously claimed the incident took place just outside the area. From the resulting freekick, Kyle Clarkson forced Stead into a good save.
Ben Bowring saw a decent opportunity saved after charging through on goal late on, but in the end the goals from Bowkett and Shaw were enough to give Ollerton the win.
Not only will Ollerton be delighted with the three points that took them out of the bottom two, but it will have been extra pleasing to get the first clean sheet of the season. The Town will be hoping for more of the same in the coming weeks as they look to continue their improvement in form and steady climb up the league table.