Saturday 29th October 2005
@ Brewery Field, Spennymoor

Mossley
1. Lee Bracey
2. Andy Thackeray
3. Steve Sheil
4. Paul Challinor
5. Danny Meadowcroft (c)
6. Melford Knight
7. Joe Shaw
8. Nehru McKenzie
9. Leon Mike
10. Rhodri Giggs
11. Adam Morning
subs
12. Joel Pilkington
(for Morning)
14. Jordan Goodeve
(for Challinor)
15. Christian Cooke
(for McKenzie)

Scorers:
Mossley
Sheil (72)
Pilkington (74)

Bishop Auckland
1. Mohan
2. Coulthard
3. C.Robson
4. Crager
5. Allen
6. Oliver
7. Fox
8. Campbell
9. Sheeran
10. D.Robson
11. Newby
subs
12. Collins
(for Coulthard)
14. Jackson
(for Campbell)
15. ?
(not used)

Scorers:
Bishop Auckland
Campbell (35)

On a day when the clocks went back an hour Mossley turned them back two weeks to the Shepshed game - coming from behind to win the game with a blistering spell of football twenty minutes from time.

The home side were the first team to threaten the scoreline when in the ninth minute Lee Bracey was forced to make a point blank save following a header from a corner.  Sixty seconds later it was the Bishop Auckland keeper Mohan's turn to receive the plaudits when he pushed Leon Mike's dipping shot from the edge of the box over the bar.  Just after the quarter of an hour mark a quick break by Mossley caught the Bishop's defence at sixes and sevens but the final ball into the box seemed to catch Melford Knight by surprise and he could only watch as the ball ricocheted off his standing leg and past the post.  Not only it was it Mossley's best chance of the half but their last one as well.

Using the slope of the pitch and their, at times, excellent off the ball running Bishop Auckland started to take control of the game.  Again Lee Bracey came to Mossley's rescue, diving full length to stop an angled drive from Mark Sheeran nestling in the bottom corner of the net.  Ten minutes from the interval though the Mossley number one was finally beaten.  When a Mossley attack broke down in the final third of the field the home side quickly countered.  Their advance down the left drew the Mossley defence and, in doing so, allowed two players to move unmarked to the back post where Paul Campbell got ahead of his team mate to put the ball into the back of the net.  With seconds remaining in the half the lead was almost doubled.  A thundering shot from the edge of the box following a corner appeared to be destined for the corner of the net until it was deflected wide by a Bishop Auckland player who couldn't get out of the way quick enough.

It was Mossley who were the first side out of the blocks following the restart.  Only minutes in to the second period Adam Morning embarked on a tremendous run which took him from his own half to the edge of the Bishop Auckland area.  After doing the difficult part in beating his markers and keeping close control of the ball as it pinged off the horrendous surface at a variety of ridiculous angles, he sliced his shot with and the ball rolled (well as much as a ball could roll on that pitch) harmlessly wide.

Mossley's bright opening to the half appeared to have been a false dawn as the game descended into a drab affair: a turgid, midfield slog only notable for it's wayward passing and lack of creativity from either side.  With twenty minutes to go though Mossley forced Bishop Auckland into conceding a corner which Joe Shaw delivered from the left.  Leon Mike failed to connect properly with the cross and the ball appeared to be heading off for a goal kick before Steven Sheil ghosted in and stabbed the ball into the net from a matter of inches to put Mossley back in the game.

The celebrations that greeted the equalizer were surpassed just two minutes later when substitute Joel Pilkington found himself the furthest Mossley player forward and on the end of an inch perfect through ball.  As he took his shot from the edge of the area the ball bobbled and the chance looked as though it may have gone.  Fortunately the mis-hit shot also appeared to have caught out the keeper and the hand he got to the ball only succeeded in giving it the extra bit of momentum it needed to evade the covering defender and cross the line.  Within a matter of minutes Mossley were a different team.  They looked sharper, their passing was more varied and for the first time in the afternoon they looked like they were enjoying themselves.

Rhodri Giggs' near post header from a corner somehow hit the post, the crossbar and rolled across the face of the goal as Mossley pressed in search of the goal that would almost certainly wrap up the three points.  Jordan Goodeve had an effort ruled out for offside by an assistant referee's flag and Giggs was once again denied, this time by a superb stop from Mohan.  At the other end of the pitch Mossley's defence were standing firm against Bishop's increasingly frantic efforts to grab an equalizer, only allowing them shots from distance.  The final whistle was not only met with a sigh of relief from the traveling support (making up over a third of the total gate) but loud appreciation as well for the players who got three points out of a game that at one stage appeared lost.