A game that had an end of season air to it unexpectedly burst into life in the 32nd minute when a box to box run by Clive Moyo-Modise ended with the South African under-21 international being tripped just outside the penalty area.

The resulting free-kick was fired low towards goal by Danny Dignan and, as the ball passed through a wall of defenders, it took a slight deflection that was enough to wrong foot Wakefield keeper Andy Woods and put Mossley ahead.

And it got even better nine minutes later when the lead was doubled. Again it was another set-piece that was the catalyst for the goal but this time it was Woods himself who did the damage.

Despite being at distance so far from goal that Wakefield only formed a token wall, Dignan struck a powerful effort that had the goalkeeper scrambling across his line before it hammered back off the upright. Moyo-Modise picked up the rebound and though his shot wasn't great, Woods recovered to make a good stop. At least that was how it initially appeared.

But as the outfield players began to start making their way back up the pitch, the keeper fumbled the save while prone on the ground and through a series of contortions pulled in an attempt to reclaim it, he somehow managed to punch the ball into his own net.

The hopes of a perfect half however were dashed in stoppage time when Leon Henry was shown a straight red card for retaliating to a challenge that should have been as equally deserving of a dismissal.

Any worries that it may have had an adverse effect on the visitors were quashed almost immediately after the restart. Despite the patched up nature of Mossley's team (for example, only one of the back four was playing their regular position) and the disadvantage in numbers, the Lilywhites controlled the second period. And they did it without abandoning the attacking football they'd ended the previous half playing.

In fact, with a bit more luck and composure in front of goal the result would have been put beyond doubt long before the final whistle. Even when the home side began throwing men forward in a desperate attempt to get back into the game, Mossley remained calm and composed and limited the Yorkshire side to just the one real opportunity; one which was bundled over an open net by James Dudgeon with quarter of an hour remaining.

After a sequence of admittedly not so glorious results and performances, this was a pleasant, and more than welcome, reminder that the Mossley who impressed many earlier in the season with their style of football is still there. And it's this Mossley that many will hope finishes the season too.

Report by SJNR

pics by Aaron Flanagan