Garforth 1 Albion Sports 1

Paul Marshall named an unchanged side to that which won 7-0 at Pickering last weekend.

In a tense encounter, there were few chances in the first half as the teams largely cancelled each other out. The first opening came ten minutes in when a neat one-two between Jay Davis and Sam Barker ended in the former hitting narrowly wide of the near post. Davis almost put us ahead on 32 mins when his wind-assisted cross-cum-shot came off the far post. The rebound came to Nash Connolly who's shot almost trickled over the goalline but a recovering George McMahon in the Albion goal managed to claim.

A couple of chances for the visitors towards the end of the half saw former Town striker Adam Priestley see a shot blocked after a defensive error, then soon after Lewis Waddington put a low cross in from the right which fizzed across the goalmouth but with no teammate to tap home. Good work by Dexter Ball supplied Barker just inside the box, but some good defending prevented him getting a shot away.

The second half initially saw both sides struggle to find any real quality going forward. Two minutes in Davis put a 25-yard effort wide after Alex Zachariou's delivery was half-cleared, then on 64 mins Harry Flatters made a good save to keep out Thomas Ponter's powerful drive after another shot was blocked by a defender. Waddington then fired over the bar after a strong run through the middle.

With Garforth struggling to retain possession, changes in personnel were made, with Jordan Emery replacing Zachariou and shortly after Charlie Marshall coming on for Connolly. Marshall had an immediate impact with a Tony Yeboah-esque half-volley rattling the crossbar and somehow falling on the wrong side of the goalline. The Lions responded to the let-off by taking the lead on 78 mins. Ponter's ball over the top was misjudged by keeper and defence, leaving substitute Robbie Fox to calmly find the empty net. The celebrations had barely died down when, three minutes later, Town were level. It was a goal that Marshall made all by himself, beating former teammate Helmo Silva on the left and unleashing an unstoppable strike across McMahon. A 38th club goal for the midfielder and a fourth game in a row where a player has come off the bench and scored. The celebrations led to an unsightly kerfuffle in front of the dugouts after the Albion one had a hole punched through it, but after speaking to his assistants referee Liam Marsh decided against any action and the match restarted.

All of that gave the game a much-needed shot in the arm and either team could've nicked a late winner. Albion's Callum Hill was almost left red-faced when sub Tabish Hussain's delivery deflecting off him in front of the goal, the ball going narrowly wide. Another delivery from the midfielder picked out Emery who's header was just beyond the far post. Down the other end, Waddington's (?) curling strike was just wide after he got on the end of (another ex-Miner) Fernando Moke's corner kick.

A good point for Paul Marshall's side against opponents yet to beaten in the league, and one which lifts us to 6th place. Another difficult game awaits on Saturday when current league leaders Silsden are the visitors (kick-off 3pm).