THE DAY MOSSLEY WON THE NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE TITLE . . . . . . IN THE LAKE DISTRICT

ITS TITLE JOY FOR MOSSLEY

Thursday 8th May 1980

Netherfield 0 Mossley 0

Mossley gave themselves a great Wembley boost by retaining the Northern Premier League title last night.

But they kept their fans in nail-biting suspense until the last kick of their goalless draw at Netherfield which gave them the point they needed to pip Witton Albion.

Afterwards, hundreds of jubilant Mossley fans besieged the players tunnel and they refused to leave until manager Bob Murphy and his team had taken a bow.

Murphy said, “It’s been a fantastic season, and our defense must take much of the credit. We’ve gone 32 games without defeat, and in the last 23 matches we’ve conceded only 13 goals.

In the past, the spotlight has always been on our forwards, and we’ve never been noted for our defence. But this time, they must take a pat on the back”.

Mossley had enough chances to win easily last night. For the first hour, the Netherfield goal was rarely out of danger.

Man of the Match John Salter, who missed nothing in the air at the back, had a header kicked off the line and a minute later hit the bar with a long range shot. But as the minutes ticked away and a goal failed to materialize, nerves began to fray. For the last ten minutes as Netherfield counter-attacked, Mossley’s defence was stretched almost to breaking point.

The relief was almost tangible when the final whistle went. Kevin Gorman was so delighted he grabbed the ball drop kicked it over his own goal before being swamped by jubilant fans.

After playing three games a week for the past month, Mossley now have an eight day break before taking on Dagenham next Saturday in the FA Trophy Final at Wembley.

Mossley team: John Fitton, Dave Mobley, Dave Vaughan, Phil Wilson, John Salter, Jimmy O’Connor, Ian Smith, Dave Moore, Leo Skeete, Kevin Gorman, Kevan Keelan. Sub: Vinny Garmory.

Report by the late Doug Peacock (Manchester Evening News)