Clayton satisfied after Matlock earn a point on the road
Adam Clayton felt Matlock Town deserved the point gained at Pontefract Collieries on Saturday as the Gladiators finally returned to league action.
The 1-1 draw was Matlock’s first league game since November 22 thanks to two postponements in a row, their only other game having been the Derbyshire Senior Cup defeat at Glossop on December 2 where only a handful of first team players got minutes.
One of those players, Jake Thompson, scored an 84th minute equaliser to secure Matlock’s point at the weekend, and Clayton said afterwards that it was deserved even though he was disappointed with the performance of the match officials.
He said: “I think it’s a good point if we can then back it up with a home win next weekend.
"Pontefract are a good side who are chasing the play-offs and they put it on you from every opportunity with the amount of corners, free-kicks, long throws – if the ball is anywhere in your half it’s coming into your box.
"So in a battling sense I’m really proud of the players in terms of their work ethic and fighting for each other. Was our quality there on the ball? It wasn’t where we want it to be or where it has been for large periods, but my team did more than enough to win that game if had been officiated correctly.
"There were some big decisions that halted our momentum that we were building. I felt their goal was offside, and then the assistant flagged for a kick that he’d seen one of their players commit and yet it was only a yellow card because apparently a kick off the ball isn’t violent conduct.”
Matlock now hope to put three points in their Christmas stocking on Saturday when Lincoln United visit the Proctor Cars Stadium – match which is free entry to all spectators who have secured a ticket in advance.
United are now managed by ex-Matlock player Billy Heath, who recently left Alfreton Town after several years in charge.