Ollerton Lose on Opening Day

Words and photo by Nigel Owen.

Ollerton Town faced a tough test on the opening day of the season with a trip north to Wakefield and the much fancied Nostell Miners Welfare.

A new look Ollerton side contained Ben Partridge, Lewis Murr and Levi Owen, all making their debuts, but was also missing influential skipper Sam Stretton and fellow midfielder Sean Dickinson.

Nostell took no time in showing why many fancy them for a promotion spot this season, pressing the visitors from the kick off and taking a deserved lead in the eighth minute, when new signing Callum Ward finished in some style after good build up play.

The home side continued to force the pace, with Owen twice saving for the visitors before Ben Teasdale doubled Nostell’s lead in the 18th minute, slotting the ball into the net from inside the area.

Ollerton were desperately trying to get a foothold in the game, and got their chance in the 23rd minute when Ben Partridge was upended in the area. Lewis Bingham stepped up to calmly convert the penalty and halve the deficit.

Any thoughts of an Ollerton equaliser were quickly dispelled however as Nostell responded immediately. In the 26th minute, Billy Mole played in Richard Collier one-on-one with Levi Owen. The Ollerton ‘keeper pushed the ball, away as Collier tried to take it round him and although Collier was first to the loose ball, his shot was cleared off the line by Liam Cooper.

Ollerton could only withstand the pressure for four minutes however as on the half hour mark, Nostell did get their third goal, with Jack Cowgill getting above everyone in the Ollerton box to power home a header to make it 3-1, a scoreline the hosts took back to the dressing room at half time.

Whatever, the Ollerton coaching staff said at half time certainly had some effect, with the visitors looking a much better side during the second period.

After a pretty even opening fifteen minutes, Ollerton began to get on top, creating three good chances but missing the target on each occasion.

The scoreline stayed the same until the 85th minute, when visitors did finally find the net for a second time. Left back Lewis Murr picked up the ball in midfield, and drove forward before hitting a shot into the bottom corner to register a debut goal and give his side a lifeline.

Despite their efforts, Town couldn’t find an equaliser and the home side put the game beyond their reach in the third minute of added time. A through ball looked to have played in substitute Danny Edwards and once Owen's attempted clearance rebounded off the forward, the Nostell player was able to play the ball into the empty net to secure the points.

Nostell will be happy to have secured the points, and will feel that they deserved the win for their first half performance.

Ollerton, despite the disappointment of defeat, will be happy to have matched the hosts in the second half and will feel that with a little more composure in front of goal, they might have returned home with a point for their efforts after the break.