Mossley's new era got off to a disappointing start on the outskirts of rain sodden Leeds, but the eventual result was overshadowed by a horrific injury sustained by Lilywhites right back Mike Jefferson.

Three minutes before the interval the former Ashton United defender came out of a challenge second best as he attempted to thwart a Garforth attack, leaving him lying on the pitch with a suspected broken leg; the wait for an ambulance necessitating a lengthy stoppage of almost an hour to the game.

There is a question as to whether the match should have been abandoned there and then (if it was the floodlights that had held up the match for a similar period of time it almost certainly would have been) but as the majority of other fixtures up and down the country drew to a close, the game restarted and quickly devolved into something of a farce.

Despite their being three minutes of the half left before the unfortunate stoppage (as well as a considerable amount of time to be added on for treatment Paul Garvey had received earlier in the match following an awful tackle deemed only worthy of a yellow), the referee announced that they'd play only two minutes before starting the second period. The majority of these two minutes were then unbelievably taken up with Town making a substitution, for which no extra time was added, before the half was brought to a close.

By this point though Mossley were already a goal in arrears.

Things had started brightly for the visitors but apart from a few efforts from distance the Miner's nervous looking keeper Karl Spratt remained sadly under worked. On the quarter of an hour mark the home side suddenly clicked and Mossley were put on the back foot. Ashley Connor diverted a shot destined for the bottom corner of the goal off for a corner and David Wallace cleared off the line as the pressure increased on Mossley's back line.

That pressure eventually paid off in the 35th minute when a soft penalty was conceded and Duncan Williams put the home side ahead from the spot.

The second half was a pretty even affair in terms of possession but like the early spell in the previous half, Mossley's inability to convert it into chances was to prove to be their undoing. A few shots brushed wide of the post and Mossley's height at corners caused a few problems but in truth there was nothing that really tested Spratt.

It was the home side that continued to look the most likely to score and Ashley Connor produced a fine full length save to stop Garforth from doubling their lead. Double it they did though in the 75th minute when a long ball from the back coupled with Garforth's speedy forward line allowed Muddell to head home from close range and virtually seal the game.

To Mossley's enormous credit though that their heads didn't drop and as the clock ticked over into the 90th minute they were rewarded with a deserved consolation. A cross from the left found its way to the yellow booted feet of substitute Joel Bryce and he curled a perfectly executed shot around a motionless Spratt to halve the deficit.

Last season began with a one goal defeat in similar conditions (i.e. new league, the kind of weather that would have had Noah rounding up the animals) to Ilkeston, but this time around the signs are more encouraging. Whilst the positives may have been balanced out by the negatives, which is to be expected from a team playing their first competitive match together, there was enough evidence on display to suggest that this season won't follow the last into the annals of Mossley's 'Campaign's Best Forgotten'.
As for Garforth, for a club whose mantra is Brazilian football, their style of play bore little resemblance to any I've ever seen from the South American side.

When they make their two visits to Seel Park later in the season it might be wise to warn residents in Micklehurst of the dangers of being hit by a Garforth clearance. Watching players trying to kick the ball as far as they could out of the ground at every possible opportunity was one of the most ridiculous things I've seen at a football game in quite some time. Along with their constant appealing for fouls and offsides and their 'hands-on' approach to challenging anyone for the ball they're not going to win many friends. In fact you can't help but feel they're getting Brazil mixed up with Wimbledon circa the late 80's. Somebody really should tell them that
Dennis Wise was not the embodiment of samba football.

Anyhow, one down - forty one (plus cup matches) to go and as I would have said had we won – one result does not a season make.

SJNR