Mossley had enough chances to win several games when confronted by basement strugglers Wakefield at Seel Park on Saturday but a disastrous final five minutes saw the Bears come away with an unlikely point and leave the Lilywhites management, players and fans feeling like the game had been lost.

Mossley were on top from the off and Lewis Nightingale might have had a hat-trick in the opening ten minutes as his pace and movement opened up a brittle looking Wakefield defence.

The Lilywhites front two of Richard Bennett and Wayne Welbeck were leading Wakefield a merry dance and it was no surprise when the home side took the lead on 16 minutes when Matthew Wilkinson crossed from deep on the right and big man Bennett met the ball to crash into the roof of the net from close range.

Wakefield had barely offered and threat up to this point but found themselves level just two minutes later. Wakefield centre forward Robert Bordman received a pass some 35 yards from the Mossley goal and hit a terrific first time dipping shot that gave Russ Saunders in the Mossley goal no chance.

Mossley, unfazed by the setback, returned immediately to the attack and retook the lead just three minutes later. Richard Bennett skipping past keeper Neil Bennett only to be upended for a clear penalty. The Bears keeper being lucky to escape with only a yellow card before Tom Pratt calmly slotted home the spot kick.

More chance came and went for the Lilywhites as the Wakefield goal led a charmed life up to the interval.
The second half however was a different matter as Mossley failed to make their first half dominance tell and the chances started to dry up.

Wakefield for their part worked hard but lacked any real quality in attack bar the strong and clever Robert Boardman who looked an increasingly frustrated figure.

Over the remainder of the game Mossley lost three players through injury with Nightingale (shoulder), Charlie Anderson (foot) and then Welbeck (thigh) but the real drama of the game came in the final five minutes. Substitute Dougie Carroll, a 79th minute replacement for Welbeck, was caught in an innocuous looking tangle with a Wakefield player and the referee brandished a blatantly extremely harsh straight red card when Carroll looked no more guilty than his opponent to see the Lilywhites reduced to ten men.

Wakefield sensed their chance and with the game ticking into the 90th minute a harmless looki9ng cross from Mossley’s tight somehow eluded several Mossley defenders and Wakefield substitute James Coupland forced the ball home from close range for a shock equaliser.

The drama still wasn’t finished as with the game well into stoppage time Tom Pratt broke clear on the left and crossed to Dean Warburton who, with Bennett, was faced with a one on one with the Bears keeper but he somehow delayed his decision whether to shoot or pass sideways for a tap in and in the end did neither and the chance and Mossley’s hopes of a victory had gone.

Report by Wizard