Match report: Matlock Town 2-1 Skelmersdale Utd

A magnificent performance earned the hosts a deserved win against second-placed Skelmersdale, despite having to play the final hour with ten men.

Shaun Tuton, who had earlier given Matlock the lead, was sent off after a tackle on Peter Wylie which was innocuous and probably worthy of a yellow card at the very worst.

The response from Matlock was first class, as was the winner from Danny Holland with 16 minutes left, and the majority of the 367 crowd went home happy having witnessed an epic Matlock performance.

Matlock twice might have scored before Tuton gave them a 22nd minute lead. Holland produced a fine curling lob from 20 yards which narrowly cleared the crossbar, then Tuton broke through and goalkeeper Zac Hibbert was quickly off his line to block his shot.

The Holland/Tuton combination bore fruit when Holland neatly touched on a punt from Jon Kennedy and Tuton rattled a firmly-struck 25 yarder on the run past Hibbert for a deserved Matlock lead.

The sending off briefly changed the complexion of the game. Predictably Skelmersdale poured forward and when on 34 minutes Dean Astbury turned Oscar Radford to fire in a low diagonal shot, it looked as if the match might go Skelmersdale’s way. Astbury had another chance shortly before the interval but saw his shot deflected past Kennedy’s left hand post.

Matlock came out after the break with all guns blazing and the Lancashire side created little.

The closest the visitors came was on 64 minutes when Joe Leesley’s header back to Kennedy rebounded off a post and into the grateful keeper’s hands.

Micky Harcourt’s free-kick was just too high two minutes after the restart and a minute after Leesley fired narrowly past the far post after an enterprising break down the left.

On 72 minutes Harcourt headed a shade too high from a corner, but two minutes later came a goal of the highest quality from Holland, who turned on a low ball from Leesley to strike a rising shot beyond the diving Hibbert into the roof of the net.

It might have been 3-1 late on when Harcourt’s pass fed sub Daryll Thomas who could only fire weakly at Hibbert, the final whistle soon sounding to confirm the fine victory.

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Matlock: 1 Jon Kennedy 2 Micky Harcourt 3 Joe Leesley 4 Martin Foster (James Ashmore) 5 David Haggerty 6 Oscar Radford 7 Liam Needham 8 Adam Yates 9 Danny Holland (Corey Gregory 85) 10 Shaun Tuton 11 Lavell White (Daryll Thomas 61) Unused subs: Alex Bradshaw, Matty Leese

Skelmersdale: 1 Zac Hibbert 2 Peter Wylie (Adam Morning 81) 3 Shaun Holden 4 Tom Hardwick 5 Alan Burton 6 Ashley Dunn 7 Sean Miller (Lewis Field 66) 8 Neil Prince 9 Dean Astbury 10 Mark Jackson (Chris Simm 61) 11 Tom Ince Unused subs: Dan Greene, Jonah O’Reilly Ref: M Donohue

Att: 367 Best Gladiator: Danny Holland