Ollerton Share Derby Points with Retford!

Report by Michael Gibson

Ollerton Town and local rivals Retford United had to settle for a share of the points on Saturday afternoon with bottom-of-the-table side Retford deservedly picking up a point against Dave Winter's Ollerton side.
Gav King scored his 18th of the season to put Ollerton ahead inside the opening five minutes whilst it proved to be a bitter-sweet afternoon for Retford's Callum Littlejon who scored but was then sent off just after the hour mark.
Ollerton started on the front foot and after only three minutes, a low cross from the right by full back Tom Moody found top 'scorer Gav King who applied the simple finish.
The remainder of the opening 45 minutes were played predominantly in the Retford half but while the home side had plenty of possession, they could not find another way past James Gamble in the Retford goal.
The hosts made their next attack a minute after the goal as striker Kyle Ludlow found himself one-on-one with Gamble but the burly forward could not find the back of the net.
Ollerton's territorial advantage continued with attacker Lewis Bingham hitting one straight at Gamble after once again, Ludlow had won his aerial duel.
Ollerton had another great chance to double their lead but after beating his marker, King saw his effort easily saved.
Retford worked hard in the opening exchanges but had little to show it apart from a strike by former Ollerton player, Matty Thompson, that forced Joey McCormack into a fine save.
The home side knew they needed another goal and with 10 minutes left of the first half Ludlow, who had been Ollerton's best player up to this point, saw a his shot fly over the Retford crossbar.
Retford, who despite being bottom of the league had recently reinforced their squad with some excellent signings, started the second with a lot more spirit and intensity and look as though they intended to make a game of it. Early on, Reece Treasure saw a looping header just clip the Ollerton bar.
The equaliser came on 55 minutes when Littlejohn evaded a couple of strong challenges to dance through the Ollerton defence and fire past McCormack.
Five minutes later however and Littlejohn was sent for an early bath after being shown a straight red card for his involvement in a melee that involved several players.
Despite having half an hour to go, Ollerton could not make the extra man count and in the end, Retford had a golden opportunity to seal victory. The opportunity came for Callum Chambers in stoppage time but despite going through on goal, the substitute saw his shot go wide.
In the end, Ollerton will be disappointed they didn't make the most of their first half dominance and will feel like they should have claimed all three points when up against ten men for half an hour.