Words by Martin Eastwood – Pictures by Mark Parsons
Emley returned from second-placed Garforth Town on Saturday with a valuable point after a 2-2 draw, which was a bruising, hard fought game with some late controversy.
Both sides had early chances but it was Garforth who took the lead in the 23rd minute. A quick switch to the right caught Emley out and Samuel Leach drilled home a well-placed low shot.
Emley equalised on the 31st minute when the ball found itself at the feet of Lewis Whitham who took a couple of touches before shooting into the bottom corner.
The Pewits now had their tails up and took the lead just before half-time. After seeing a shot blocked and then teasing the Garforth defence, Whitham – on loan from Liversedge – chipped over a perfect cross and the ball was met in his stride by the left foot of Max Tweddle who steered it past the keeper. Emley went into the break leading 2-1.
The second half was predominantly a battle and not always very pretty and Emley held out until the 75th minute when a quick break from defence resulted in Hass Gorji scoring from close range to make it 2-2.
The game ended in controversy, when it looked like Gorji had snatched a winner for Garforth. Although he appeared to be offside when the ball was played through, the flag stayed down. Garforth claimed it came off an Emley player and Emley protested vehemently.
After a couple of minutes the referee consulted with his assistant and then disallowed the goal for offside.
It’s Staveley at home next Saturday for the Pewits as they look to continue to climb up the NCEL Premier Division table.
