Droylsden F.C.-The bloods on the net!

FARSLEY CELTIC 1 - 1 DROYLSDEN

Blue Square North - Saturday 13 September 2008

Report by Gary Owen

Droylsden revisited the site of their only away victory last term, but this time had to be satisfied with just a point from what can only be described as an awful game.

On the positive side, the point maintains The Bloods' unbeaten start to the season, and they are now only one of two teams in the division who can boast such a statistic, but that was difficult to see in this game, which was played in pre-season weather and with pre-season tempo and commitment.

Droylsden started fairly well, with Carl Lamb forcing Curtis Aspden into a save from Neil Prince's low cross within two minutes, but that was Droylsden's only meaningful effort until their last gasp equaliser.

In the meantime, Farsley shaded matters in terms of possession, but also lacked quality when it came to finding the net, save for substitute Mark Bett's strike just after the hour mark.

Tom Penford and Amjad Iqbal both saw efforts go too high, before Rory Prendergast headed wide from Stephen Downes' cross when under pressure.

After 30 minutes, Downes himself caught Kevin Townson napping in midfield to bear down on Craig Mawson's goal, but his shot was just wide of the mark with Mawson caught flat-footed.

Just before the break, Penford charged down a clearance by Mawson, resulting in him having to save James Walshaw's hooked effort when the ball was played back into the box.

After the turn-around, Downes beat three Droylsden defenders to set-up Walshaw, but he shot high and wide. However, from a similar area of the pitch, Bett cut inside and tried his luck to beat Mawson at his near post from 18 yards to give the hosts a deserved lead.

Farsley looked to add to their lead as a Prendergast pot-shot struck Mawson's body before bouncing away to safety, but with time running out, Aaron Burns shot at Aspden's near post. The home ‘keeper spilled the ball, though, and Townson was on hand to hit the roof of the net from close range.

There was insufficient time to find a winner, which would have been somewhat of an injustice.

Everyone's entitled to an off-day from time to time, but this becomes problematic when the majority of the team on duty have one! With probably only Steve Pickford and the two centre halves showing any real commitment to the cause, perhaps Dave Pace will give an opportunity to those who didn't feature in future games if such form continues.

Nevertheless, Droylsden have not lost much ground in the league with their many draws, and even a short winning run would soon have them in the promotion places. And what better way to start with the visit of old rivals Stafford Rangers to the Butcher's Arms on Saturday, with FA Cup action commencing the week afterwards.

TEAMS

Farsley Celtic: Aspden, Downes, Stabb, Knowles, Iqbal (Jackson, 72'), Penford, James (Krief, 64'), Bentham, Walshaw, Campbell (Bett, 58'), Prendergast.

Subs. not used Speight, Santos.

Droylsden: Mawson, Brownhill, Newton (Roche, 24'), Byron, Cryan, Sorvel, Allen, Pickford, Lamb (Rouse, 69'), Prince (Burns, 53'), Townson.

Subs. not used Dugdale, Brown.

REFEREE: Mr. M. Dicicco

ATTENDANCE: 259