The season began in bright sunlight at the Scholars ground in South Staffordshire on a big flat well harassed pitch.
Right from the start Mossley were at the top of their game. They started well and got better. Within the first 25 minutes at least five good chances were created but spurned as the visitors took the game by the scruff of the neck.
Then disaster struck on 28 minutes as Mossley had a corner but presented it straight to the opposition keeper who launched it downfield and seconds later Jack Langston tapped the ball in at the end of the classic counterattack to give the home side an undeserved lead.
The visitors remained undaunted and another three chances went begging before half time.
Even the referee joined in on 43 minutes as Adam Jones had the ball in the net only to be ruled that he had fouled the overworked home keeper.
The second half continued in a similar vein with Mossley creating openings but not capitalizing from them.
Again Mossley thought they had equalized on 56 minutes when the keeper appeared to drop the ball into his own net only for it to be adjudged a foul. In the ensuing protest Jones was booked for dissent.
The game's turning point came on the hour. In a rare home attack Johnny Diba Musangu made a first class stop to deny the home side. Within seconds Mossley took advantage as Godwin Abadaki firstly missed a golden chance to equalize but almost immediately was fouled in the area. The onerous responsibility for the penalty fell to Max Leonard who went for power rather than placement and thumped the ball home.
The all action second half continued at pace and saw even more drama on 74 minutes when sadly home full back Oliver Hayward had to be carried off with a serious leg injury after a collision with the wholly blameless Mike Fish.
Mossley were now creating chances at will and in a bizarre 5 minutes Mason Duffy could have had a hat trick but was denied by the home keeper.
The breakthrough came 3 minutes from the end of normal time as a cross from the Mossley left was only partially cleared and it fell to Andy Keogh who blasted it into the net.
The referee indicated 5 extra minutes and Mossley used all three subs to consolidate their position. Still they relentlessly poured forward and from a corner one of those subs, Liam Ellis, forced the ball home with what must have been his first touch of the ball to give the scoreline a more realistic look.
All in all an excellent display from the team. As for man of the match Johnny Diba Musangu had a good game in goal, Adam Jones was the pick of a resolute defence, Mason Duffy worked hard all game but it was in the attacking midfield that the game was won.
The triumvirate of Abadaki, Fish and Keogh were magnificent all afternoon. By a whisker my nomination goes to Keogh for a great captains performance cajoling and encouraging all game and capping it with a goal.
The big question for this team is can they now add consistency to this level of performance? Well done all concerned-a great start.
Ray Moreland
