Following a near month long lay-off caused by three postponements and one highly contentious match abandonment, you wouldn't have been surprised if Mossley had exhibited some rustiness on their return to action in the President's Cup at a rain lashed Victory Park.

There was little of it, if any, in evidence though as the Lilywhites continued from where they'd left off at Woodley three and a half weeks earlier with a measured performance that extended their winning streak and eased them comfortably into the next round of the competition.

That said the match did get off to the worst possible start for the visitors. It was barely two minutes old when Roger Sharrock fired a hopeful looking cross into the box from the left wing, and whether its trajectory was altered by the swirling wind or Andy Robertson simply misjudged its flight, there was a moment of stunned silence as the ball unexpectedly dropped under the bar to give the Magpies the lead.

Mossley responded to the early set back with the type of attacking football that has been the cornerstone of their better results this season. However it wasn't until the 37th minute that they finally found an end product to compliment the build-up play. It came through the boot of Danny Self who punished keeper Peter Collinge's fumbled attempts at dealing with Danny Egan's close range header by blasting the loose ball into the net for the equaliser.

The break for half-time failed to disrupt the momentum the Lilywhites had built up prior to its arrival. Ten minutes into the second period and following a concerted spell of pressure in which Danny's Egan and Dignan had gone close to edging their side in front, Mossley registered the goal that would win them the game. Once again it was a close range effort but this time it was Dignan who applied the finishing touch, stabbing the ball home after Graham Kay's header from a left wing corner had crashed back off the crossbar.

The margin of victory could have been greater had the visitors not fluffed a couple of opportunities as the game slowly drifted towards its conclusion, but following their prolonged, weather enforced absence from the football pitch over the last few weeks, this was exactly the result and performance Mossley needed to blow off the cobwebs before they head into the tough Christmas schedule.

report by SJNR

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