Garforth 2 Shirebrook Town 1

It was a game where quality in the final third often eluded Rob Hunter's side against the spirited and well-organised visitors, but they finally broke through in a dominant second half.

There were appeals for a penalty as early as four minutes when Sean Keyes and opponent Mark Robinson challenged for the ball inside the area, but referee Luke Watson waved play on. The first chance fell Shirebrook's way on ten minutes when Danny Williams was allowed to run into the area and bring a good save from Toby Wells. Teammate Robinson was the next to go close with a dipping 20 yard effort onto the roof of the net. Shaquille Clarke-Adams caused panic in the Brook defence shortly after when his cross was almost diverted into the net by a defender. The midfielder came even closer moments later with a powerful 20-yard free kick which struck the top of the crossbar.

The Town defence struggled to handle the visitors' pace at times, and Isaac Fisher will have been disappointed not to open the scoring on 21 mins when he found himself free on the left, but could only shoot tamely at Wells. It was the visitors' turn to rattle the woodwork two minutes later when Will Dodds' twenty-yard drive struck the post and landed safely to Wells. The resulting counter-attack almost saw Mark Ferguson in with a chance, but goalkeeper Levi Owen had spotted the danger and was quick off his line to claim. Some good play by Mark Simpson and Curtly Martin-Wyatt on 28 mins saw "Simmo" denied by Owen at the near post. Some poor Garforth defending however resulted in the opener on 31 mins. Wells was sold short by a weak back pass and his resulting clearance went straight to an opponent on the halfway line. With the keeper scrambling back to his goalline, Fisher's strike crashed off the bar, but landed to Robinson who tucked away. Robinson almost made it 2-0 five minutes before the break when he got the better of his man down the left and forced a good stop from Wells.

The start of the second half almost saw us level; Ferguson did well on the right to pick out Simpson in the box who couldn't get his foot around the ball, allowing a defender to clear. The resulting corner was played out to Payne who's looping effort was tipped over the bar. Town's passing game was improved on the last couple of weeks, but the finish was still lacking. Simpson's low shot on 54 mins was diverted wide after good play by Josh Robinson-Wilson and captain James Beaston, before Robinson-Wilson was brilliantly played in by Payne moments later, but couldn't steer his shot away from Owen. Another "Simmo" chance shortly after that saw Owen make a good stop with his feet to preserve his side's lead.

On 63 mins our manager made a double substitution; Helmo Silva and Aiden Kearsley replacing two double-barrelled duo Martin-Wyatt and Robinson-Wilson.

Owen almost gifted Town an equaliser when he slipped on Ferguson's shot on the goalline, but he recovered before the striker could pounce. Town's perseverance finally paid off however on 71 mins when we levelled the scores. Substitute Silva supplied Clarke-Adams on the right, who made a trademark run along the edge of the box to score with a curling strike into the bottom corner.

The chances continued for The Miners as they pursued a late winner. Alex Low almost grabbed a first club goal with a long-range effort narrowly off-target, then Simpson was denied by Owen when played in by Silva. With supporters bracing themselves for another thirty minutes, it arrived deep into injury time. In a crowded penalty box, Clarke-Adams forced a block at close range from Owen before squeezing home the rebound.

There was still work to do for Wells in the last kick of the game when he made a brilliant save to deny Fisher's chip.

Town had left it late against their Division 1 opponents, but a deserved win overall after a difficult few weeks. Next up is the visit of Bridlington Town this Saturday in the league (kick-off 3pm).