Rossington Main 0 v Penistone Church 4 - NCEL Div 1

Saturday 6th February 2016 - 3PM Kick Off
Toolstation NCEL Division 1
at Oxford Street
Rossington Main (0) 0
Penistone Church (2) 4
Danny Barlow 22
Danny Howes 38
Lewis Dickinson 59
Oliver Fearon 70
Admission £4. Attendance 140

Upon arrival at 'Rosso' I went into their nicely appointed clubhouse for a warm, before exposing myself to the elements again, for the third time in just a minuscule amount of stoppage time over 22 hours.
BY heck I will hit my target figure of 125 games this season if it kills me.
A good number of vociferous supporters had made their way across from Penistone and it was a real shame for the host club that Doncaster Rovers away game at Scunthorpe hadn't been called off a bit sooner, allowing some of the 'Donny' fans with the opportunity to get to Rossington (or Harworth for their 2pm kick off).

Only three games in the NCEL survived pitch inspections today, namely: Tadcaster's 1-0 win in the Premier Division up at Bridlington Town (with their goal coming in the 95th minute of 'Taddy Time'), Shirebook Town's 5-2 home win against Winterton Rangers in Division One and this one at Oxford Street, that Rossington must've wished hadn't gone ahead either, given how it all went pear shaped for them as Penistone cruised to a comfortable 4-0 win, which saw them finish the afternoon in 7th place.

Penistone showed their intentions early on, when Danny Barlow, playing his last game for the visitors before he relocates to Australia, went for goal with a free kick that could have gone anywhere in the strong wind that was blowing across the pitch, but in the event it nestled harmlessly in Simon Dye's hands. Local goalkeeping legend Richard Watson was inexplicably only on the bench for Rossington today ;-)
At the other end, Liam Wright cued up a chance for his player manager Lee Holmes, but he scuffed his shot and failed to trouble Adam Rhodes.

Rossington's left back Brad Billam ventured forward and picked out Holmes with a cross, but he was fouled twenty yards from goal. Being a leader among men, Holmes took responsibility for the dead ball himself and the people with their fingers on the purse strings at Oxford Street breathed a sigh of relief that they've erected netting behind the goal at that end to prevent stray balls vanishing into the adjacent woodland coppice.
Jason Stokes showed his marker some quick feet and set up his gaffer with yet another strike on goal and this time he shot only narrowly wide.

Penistone took the lead with a stylishly worked goal, when Barlow, Ollie Fearon, Ash Ellis and then Barlow again, surged through the Main defence with a great passage of play, before the former (and the latter) placed the ball past Dye to register a goal to sign off with before he departs to Antipodean climes.
Within two minutes 'Church' were almost two goals to the good, but Danny Joynes hit his effort straight at Dye.
Stokes free kick was cleared for a corner, which the linesman gave as a goal kick but was over ruled by the referee. Billam took the kick and struck the ball low and hard across the face of the Penistone goal, but nobody managed to get even the slightest touch to it, which was all it needed and the visitors cleared their lines.

Fearon and Barlow combined out on the right flank and crossed to Joynes who had ghosted in on the blind side of his marker, but Dye denied the 'Church' number 11 with a blocking save.
Penistone began to turn the screw on their hosts as half time approached and were rewarded with another goal for their efforts, when Danny Howes converted Joynes cross.
For purposes of clarification, I checked the line ups I had jotted down and in case you were wondering, not all of Penistone's players are actually called Danny.
HT: Rossington Main 0 v Penistone Church 2

Dye saved well from Barlow right at the end of the second half as it became obvious that Rossington were going to have to make a serious fist of getting back into this game, before it slipped away from them.
Holmes took control of the ball as it bounced up in front of him on the edge of the area, juggled it over two challenges and crashed a shot narrowly over the bar.
The Main came even closer, when Stokes held the ball up well 18 yards from goal and slipped it into the path of Jordan Hatton, who beat Rhodes but skimmed the bar with his effort from level with the penalty spot. When your luck's out...

Three members of the crowd spot Nora Batty in the distance

Straight from the goal kick, Penistone counter attacked at pace, or 'did a Leicester City' as it's being called nowadays, Barlow knocked the ball out wide to Fearon who crossed it first time and Lewis Dickinson nudged the ball past Dye from close range.
Joynes was a whisker away from getting on the end of Dickinson's cross as the visitors threatened to run riot.
Rossington had created chances, but were now being punished for not finishing them off, as Ian Richards side took control of the second half.
Barlow's angled corner towards the edge of the Rossington area found Fearon in space and as Dye ran from the line to fill in a space where a defender should have been, he could only claw at the ball as the Penistone centre forward 'dinked' it over him, in the 70th minute.

Some oft the Main fans retired to the clubhouse and a few more sneaked out early, figuring that this game was now a done deal.

In the closing stages, the 'Church' almost added two more goals to their tally, when substitute Andy Ling smashed a thundering shot just over Dye's crossbar from 15 yards... and Barlow sent Dickinson through with a defence splitting pass, but having taken the ball round Dye he found the angle was too tight to squeak the ball past the left hand upright and over the line.

Rossington will want to forget about today ASAP, lord knows they were a team of triers today, but nothing came off for them. Penistone thoroughly deserved this win however and impressed me no end with their fast passing game, movement and clinical finishing.

FT: Rossington Main 0 v Penistone Church 4

Good luck 'Down Under' Danny Barlow... and good luck trying to replace him Ian Richards.