After battling back from going a goal down 18 minutes into the second half Frickley were denied anything from the game when the referee, Mr Mellor of Derby, amazingly denied Ian Edge the clearest penalty claim there ever could be on 81 minutes when he was hacked down from behind 10 yards from goal as he shaped to shoot. Just to rub salt into the wound, just minutes later the home side snatched an unlikely victory following a free-kick on the left which the Frickley defence failed to clear, allowing the ball to be bundle in from close range.

With Graham Lewis not fit enough to play following his return on loan from Northwich just one change was made to the side which started at Whitby on Tuesday, with Phil Brown coming into midfield in place of Nev Roach with Ian Edge partnering Leroy Chambers up front. Gary Duffty and Duane Beckett were fit enough for places on the bench.

On a muddy and bumpy pitch both sides struggled to play any decent football in a scrappy first half. Frickley had more of the chances during the half, although both sides had spells on top but neither appeared to want to commit many men forward for fear of conceding at the other end. Edge had the first attempt for Frickley on 9 minutes when he shot wide from 20 yards after Lee Stratford's cross was cleared straight to him and three minutes later Chris Hilton picked the ball up on half way before pushing it past the full-back and having a low 18 yards shot well saved. However, Leek's first chance, on 15 minutes, ought to have seen them take the lead. Robinson picked the ball up on the right and rode several challenges before dragging his shot wide from just inside the box. Frickley came on string just before the break with Brown being brought down on the edge of the box as he made space to get in a shot. From the resulting free-kick Steve Price's shot had the power taken out of it by the wall before the ball was scrambled clear and then on 41 minutes a good crossfield ball from Edge found Hilton charging into the box. He just managed to get there before the covering defender but didn't manage to get too much power into his shot and the keeper managed to block his shot with his hand as he dived to his right.

The start of the second half saw Chris Hurst meet a corner with a looping header which looked to have gone in but it dropped agonisingly over the bar. The home side then forced a bit of pressure with a shot being blazed over from 10 yards when more should have been made of the chance. Then on 63 minutes Leek took the lead. Substitute Whittaker, though looking offside, ran on to a through ball, and held off the challenge of Dean Jones before beating Mark Wilkinson from the edge of the box. Frickley drew level on 77 minutes when Price sent over a cross from the right which HURST meet with a powerful header at the near post to leave the keeper clutching thin air. Then, on 81 minutes came the incident which ultimately decided the outcome of the game as Edge broke clear into the box only to be felled from behind. Two minute later the home side took the lead when Robinson bundled the ball in from close range following a free-kick on the left which the Frickley defence made a complete hash of defending. In a last desperate attempt to salvage something from the game Matthew Wilkinson replaced Edge up front and he almost made a name for himself in injury time as he threw himself at a flick on by Hurst but his header went inched over the bar. Finally, to make matters worse, Mark Ogley was stretchered off in the last minute which left Frickley playing injury time with only ten men as all three subs had already been used.

Frickley Athletic : Mark Wilkinson, Hilton (Duffty 63), Stratford, Jones, Ogley, Brown, Gregory (Beckett 67), Price, Chambers, Hurst, Edge (Matt Wilkinson 87).

Attendance : 213