Mossley's long wait for an away win continued on Saturday as the Lilyhwites were held to a 1-1 draw at Dunston but the Lilywhites extended their unbeaten run to five games with an energetic performance.
A neatly laid out UTS ground greeted the Lilywhites in Dunston with a distant view of the stands at St James's Park.
A bright breezy day saw Mossley start at an uncharacteristically high tempo.iIn the very first minute Halfacre broke down the right and shot narrowly wide.
Mossley continued in similar vein and were rewarded in the 13th minute. A free kick 20 yards out saw Ben Halfacre bury a hard low shot under the three man defensive wall and past the home keeper.
Mossley had their tails up and poured attack after attack on the Dunston goal. Halfacre nearly grabbed a second and Szymon Czubik, surely having his best game in a Mossley shirt, causing chaos down the right wing.
The home side could not get going and any attempt to attack was suffocated by a tenacious Mossley midfield with Keogh and Lees prominent throughout.
After half time the inevitable tide turned and a more balanced game ensued. The breeze had turned to a strong wind and this pushed Mossley back. The back four to a man were magnificent and behind them Liam Lovell must get a mention for his excellent starting positions resulting in a number of timely interventions on the edge of his box.
The pressure was ramped up by the home side and after a concerted period of attacks they equalised in the 78th minute. A corner from the right was headed powerfully home by Craig Scott who was Dunstons best player on the day.
The wonderful vocal Mossley support readied themselves for a siege on the Mossley goal but it never came and Mossley finished the game strongly.
Right at the end the two substitutes combined to nearly win it. Uchegbulam crossed from the right but it was just too long for Fitzgerald to head home.
So it ended as the strong wind turned into a gale and the Mossley supporters who would have been happy with a point before kick off were a little disappointed at not having taken all three.
It was an excellent effervescent display by the team and at least eight of them were contenders for man of the match.In the end my choice was Kell O'Brien, magnificent throughout.
Report by Ray Moreland
