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Tuesday 14th September - Frickley Athletic 1-1 Marine

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After going behind to a fifth minute penalty Frickley battled back well to earn a point when Chris Fawcus' left wing cross was diverted over the line by Marine's Paul McNally, despite goalkeeper Peter Crookes' frantic efforts to keep the ball out.

With Steve Robinson suspended for one match and Matthew Plant also missing Gary Hatto brought Chris Fawcus in at left full-back with Wayne Benn and Phil Lindley making up the central defensive partnership.

Marine started the game strongly and took the lead after just 5 minutes. Chris Fawcus' throw-in from near the corner flag was headed back by Dean Thurston to Tommy Taylor who went down inside the box under the challenge from Wayne Benn. Mike Scully stepped up to score from the spot. The Blues defence looked shaky for a while but slowly they started to assert themselves at the other end. On 12 minutes Richard Tracey fed Lee Pugh on the edge of the box who laid the ball back to Craig Fisher. Fisher played the ball in to Mark Vickerage who turned and fired in a low shot which Peter Crookes collected comfortably on the line. Shortly afterwards Vickerage skipped away from James Connolly down the left and then beat Paul McNally as he cut into the box and intelligently played the ball across goal towards the unmarked James Walker on the far post but Stephen Park did brilliantly to stretch and divert the ball away for a corner. Taylor then got away from Fawcus and Benn to collect and angled ball into the Blues box but he somehow dragged his shot across goal from 5 yards. On 20 minutes Benn's free-kick was half cleared as far as Nathan Hood whose miss-hit shot fell to Vickerage. He teed up Fisher but his rising drive from 16 yards cleared the crossbar. The Blues started to control more of the game as the half wore on and came agonisingly close to equalising on 38 minutes when Tracey's long throw found its way through to Walker at the far post but his angled shot flew inches wide of the left hand post. Almost on the stroke of half time Steve Woolford sent Vickerage clear but the pace of the ball saw it run away from him as Crookes came out.

The Blues started the second half positively and went close on 52 minutes when Vickerage sent over a cross from the left which Tracey met with a powerful header but Crookes reacted well to push the ball over the bar. Three minutes later the Blues got their reward when Fawcus and Hood combined well down the left for Fawcus to send over a good cross which Paul McNally sliced over his own line, despite Crookes' attempts to claw the ball back. Crookes then had a lucky escape when his clearance from a back-pass struck Walker but he managed to clear at the second attempt. Walker then broke clear down the left from half-way and cut into the box but his shot from a tight angle missed the goal. Marine rarely threatened the Blues' goal into the last few seconds when first Taylor broke clear but lobbed the ball over both the advancing Shackelton and the goal, and then Scully nipped in front of Shackelton to flick the ball over him but, thankfully, it cleared the crossbar as well.

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