Clay Cross shun old pals act to extend winning run

Ryan Ordidge (right), who netted his first goal of the season to open the scoring for Clay Cross Town in their win at Dinnington Town.

Much-improved Dinnington fielded no fewer than four players who used to ply their trade for the Millers. But Clay Cross inflicted a 4-1 defeat in their first match for three weeks in the Central Midlands League’s North Division because of bad weather.

They didn’t take long to blow the cobwebs away and took a deserved lead in the 12th minute when Ryan Ordidge bagged his first goal of the season.

Further first-half goals were added by Lee Clay and Grant Mitchell to give the Millers a comfortable 3-0 advantage by the interval. And when Alex Hewitt struck a fourth with a well-taken free-kick on the hour, the contest was well and truly over.

Dinnington, who sit just below halfway in the league table, salvaged a vestige of pride when one of their former Clay Cross contingent, Nathan Jessop, made his presence felt with a consolation goal.

The victory extended the Millers’ winning sequence, which now stretches back to the end of November, to seven games. They remain seventh in the 18-team table and although they are fully 20 points behind the runaway leaders Harworth Colliery, whom they are due to meet on the last day of the campaign, they do have five matches in hand.

A more realistic propsotion might be the runners-up spot and they are only eight points behind the current second-placed club, Lincoln Moorlands Railway, with no fewer than seven matches in hand.

Clay Cross travel to play the Lincoln outfit this coming Saturday before another away fixture, at fourth-placed Staveley Miners Welfare Reserves next Thursday night. Their next home game is against mid-table Appleby Frodingham on Saturday, March 10.