Wind Ruins Game As Ollerton Slip To Emley Defeat

Ollerton Town tasted defeat for the first time in fours games after being edged out 2-1 by AFC Emley in a game which arguably could’ve been called off due to the extreme winds.
Both teams really struggled to adapt to the extreme wind conditions early on and the opening 10 minutes showed how bizarre it was that the game had actually been played. Neither team was able to keep possession, any attempted through balls were took by the wind and it was an accomplishment to keep a throw in on the pitch.
Even early on in the half Ollerton had some success with long balls over the top of the Emley defence but it was still quite hard to judge the weight of the balls due to the persistence of the windy conditions. Ollerton’s first real chance came from a long ball towards Gav King which was eventually laid off on the edge of the box to Lewis Bingham but his effort was deflected wide and out for a corner.
As the game went on Emley seemed to adapt to the extreme weather conditions and seemed to be finding their way in behind Ollerton’s high defence far too easily, but in this instance the conditions seemed to benefit Ollerton as it was quite challenging to play any high balls which would actually stay on the pitch.
Ollerton continued to look like the stronger team and could’ve broke the deadlock when a well worked free kick fell to Jordan Buckham who was given too much space by Emley’s defence but his low shot which had left keeper Max Dearnley rooted to the spot was the wrong side of the post.
Ollerton’s success from the long ball continued throughout the rest of the half as a fantastic pass from makeshift centre half Kyle Ludlow found King who struck a low effort straight through Dearnley to give Ollerton a more than deserved lead at the break. Emley looked to have more possession throughout the half but Ollerton were the far more efficient team in terms of creating chances.
Emley were almost able to get what would’ve been a slightly undeserved equaliser when Thabiso Magida fizzed a ball across goal but Finn Donovan wasn’t able to make any kind of meaningful contact with the fast paced cross.
Both teams started the second half off in quite a positive manner but Ollerton were looking more vulnerable defensively. In the 53rd minute Emley found what felt like an inevitable equaliser but Ollerton will have been very disappointed with the manor in which the goal was conceded. Ollerton failed to clear the initial ball from the corner and a deflected effort from Alex Slack found its way past Ryan Brooks. The timing and nature of the goal really seemed to deflate Ollerton after such a hard earned first half lead.
Ollerton did look to tighten up defensively after the Emley equaliser and looked to be closing down the Emley offence far more effectively but the conditions in which the game was played had further negative effects in the game. In the 64th minute, Lewis Dickinson’s long range effort left Ollerton keeper Brooks rooted to the spot and completed Emley’s quick fire comeback.
After Emley has successfully completed their quick fire turnaround, Ollerton proceeded to pile on the pressure and looked like the team who were most likely to score in the closing stages of the game.
Ollerton pushed players forward and had a degree of success with the long ball over the top of the Emley defence but were almost finished off on an Emley counter but substitute Jonny Bullivant couldn’t quite find the target.
Ollerton continued to pressurise the Emley defence and many thought that they had equalised in the 88th minute as Ludlow’s looping effort from Buckham’s free kick looked to have beaten Dearnley but it was expertly kept out thanks to a moment of magic by Emley’s Thabiso Magida.
That proved to be Ollerton's chance to salvage something from the game and they left West Yorkshire disappointed and with nothing to show from a strong first half performance. Though the conditions were terrible, Emley adapted to them better, especially in the second half.