After taking the lead on 17 minutes the Blues let Leek back into the game in first half injury time before the visitors scored again almost immediately after the break and added a third three minutes from time as the Blues finished with ten men for the second consecutive match. The win sees Leek move four points clear of the Blues and, crucially, they still have two games in hand.

With Phil Brown adding to Frickley's injury problems by only being fit enough for a place on the bench, Steve Richards changed things around a little by recalling Gary Duffty up front to play alongside Leroy Chambers with Graham Lewis moving to a wider role. Dean Jones had failed a pre-match fitness test and Steve Price is expected to be missing for a further 2 to 3 weeks.

In a reasonably even start Poland hit a 20 yarder over the bar whilst at the other end Bentley was forced to react quickly to collect a flick on by Lewis before Chambers could reach it. Callan and Poland then combined well on the edge of the box to set up MacPherson whose low, sidefooted shot from 18 yards was turned round the post by Andy Carney in the 14th minute as Leek started to look dangerous. Then, on 17 minutes, Lewis forced a corner on the left which ANDY GREGORY took and Bentley could only help it into the top right hand corner of the net to give the Blues the lead. Bentley then did well to foil Duffty after the ball was headed down to him before in the 35th minute Lewis caused problems for the Leek defence 25 yards out before the ball was knocked out to Lee Stratford on the overlap and he hit a thunderous 20 yard shot which was brilliantly parried by Bentley but unfortunately the loose ball dropped conveniently to a Leek defender to clear. A few minutes later Gregory sent Chris Hilton clear down the right from where he saw his cross met by Chris Hurst but his effort was blocked. Both Chambers and Duffty had stabs at turning goalwards but Bentley managed to collect. Then, two minutes into first half injury time, Leek were awarded a corner on the right. The ball was swung over and only partly cleared to Doherty whose shot bounced through a crowded penalty area and past the stranded Carney to level the scores.

Just two minutes after the break things got even worse as Leek's Hobby was completely unmarked as he met a corner from the left to direct the ball into the top right hand corner, giving Carney no chance. The visitors seemed to grow in confidence from then on as the Blues struggled to get back into the game. Gregory put a 25 yard free-kick over the bar on 49 minutes but leek's substitute Bott ought to have made it 3-1 just a minute after coming on when in the 62nd minute he was left completely on his own just 6 yards out as a cross came over from the left but, fortunately, he directed his header straight at Carney. On 65 minutes Duffty forced Bentley to race out of his goal to clear a back pass as he almost nicked the ball off him and then Hilton and Gregory combined well down the right but Bentley collected Hilton's cross off Chambers' head. Frickley were struggling to create and good chances but on 86th minute had a strong claim for a penalty waved away when Lewis was held down as he tried to reach a knock down by Hurst. The loose ball fell to Chambers but his angled shot went wildly wide. This was to prove costly as Leek broke away, Poland rounded Carney and was about to shoot into an open goal when Matt Wilkinson brought him down. The referee immediately pointed to the spot and produced the red card for Wilkinson, who could have little argument about the decision but Poland, who had reacted by throwing the ball at Wilkinson surprisingly received no caution. Sandeman stepped up to score from the spot and put the result beyond doubt.

The win was probably no more than Leek deserved as they continually outfought Frickley in a game which the Blues desperately needed to win. Too many players were found wanting on the day and now the hard work of gaining ground will have to start all over again if we are to preserve our Premier Division status.

Frickley Athletic : Carney, Hilton, Matt. Wilkinson, Duffty (Beckett 69), Ogley, Hanby, Lewis, Gregory, Chambers, Hurst, Stratford. Unused subs. Smith, Brown.

Leek Town : Bentley, Sandeman, McDermott, Beeby, Hawtin, Rose, MacPherson (Bott 61), Hobby, Poland (Beech 90), Doherty, Callan (Williams 83).

Attendance : 231