Steve Richards' first game in charge ended with a late equaliser to deny the Blues progress at the first attempt. After a poor showing in the opening 45 minutes the Blues finally came to life in the second half and ought to have won the tie outright but for the second game in succession at late goal denied a win.

On a heavy pitch both sides struggled to get to grips with the conditions. The first effort at goal came for the Blues with Chris Hurst chesting the ball down to Craig Goodyear on the edge of the box but his low shot went wide of the left hand post. Mossley should have taken the lead with their first serious attack on 11 minutes when Martin Fox left their right winger with too much room and his cross saw an unmarked forward hit the bar from close range with the goal at his mercy. Shortly afterwards Ian Edge beat a couple of defenders down the right before swinging over a cross which just eluded Hurst but Tommy Brookes, at the back post, retrieved it and fired in an angled shot which was tipped over the bar. Mossley continued to threaten down the Blues' left with Fox being caught out of position on several occasions, some of which, with better finishing, could easily have lead to goals being conceded.

The second half saw Frickley come out fired up and take the game to Mossley. On 54 minutes Duane Beckett intercepted a back pass, advanced to the edge of the box before squaring to Goodyear whose 18 yard shot went just wide and a few minutes later Goodyear's 25 yard free-kick was tipped around the post as Frickley continued to press forward. On 64 minutes Hurst broke from midfield, fed Edge on the right who cut inside before firing just over the bar but three minutes later the Blues got their reward. JOE McAREAVEY, who had replaced Beckett only 7 minutes earlier, robbed a defender before advancing on goal, rounding Allen and steering the ball into the net. It looked as though the Blues were going to coast through as Mossley rarely looked like scoring whilst Frickley continued to create openings of their own. Edge had another run down the right before shooting low and hard from the edge of the box but Allen was equal to it before Mossley made a substitution and started to push men forward in hope of getting an equaliser. McAreavey then received the ball in the centre of the Mossley half with two defenders between him and goal and started to advance towards the area but play was stopped by the Assistant Referee signalling offside, one of several poor decisions by him throughout the game. Mossley went close with and angled shot from just outside the box which went wide on 85 minutes before they equalised two minutes later with another angled drive, this time into the corner of the net. However, there was still time for the Blues to force a couple of corners one of which saw Brendan West divert the ball goalwards from only a yard or two out but somehow it hit both a defender and the post and rolled across the goal to safety. So, we must try again on Tuesday.

Frickley Athletic : Mark Wilkinson, Hilton, Fox, Lafferty (Matt Wilkinson 50), West, Hanby, Edge, Hurst, Beckett (McAreavey 58), Goodyear, Brookes (Duffty 88). Unused subs. Bashforth & Owen.

Attendance : 371