by Peter Scherer (Photos: Steve IFinger)
Mickleover left Hyde Utd with a hard-earned point on his return to the Northern Premier League.
Starting line-up: 1-Yusuf Mersin 2-Jake Bennett 3-Ryan Wilson 4-Curtis Weston 5-George Taft 6-Charlie Hickingbottom 7-Dylan Edwards 8-Will Atkinson 9-Fin Ryder 10-Stuart Beavon 11-Brandon Webster. Substitutes: Andy Dales, Brandon Ferron, Luke Cox, Callum Moore, Dylan Scott.
Our hosts finished sixth in the league last season and soon began to put the Mickleover defence under pressure. A long throw-in from Ditchfield after 10 minutes was headed on by Hall before a Redshaw header was well saved by Mersin in the Mickleover goal.
Just a minute later, Mersin were the heroes again, with a great save from Quadri’s long-range shot as the pressure continued, with Quadri’s 15th The shot from the last minute went just wide.
Beavon was shown a yellow card for a foul after 20 minutes, but a minute later Sports’ defence was breached when Redshaw’s shot was initially blocked but headed back to him. At the second attempt he buried the ball with a precise volley into the bottom corner to make it 0-1.
Webster was shown a yellow card alongside Beavon after 25 minutes for a last-minute foul, but Sports then tested goalkeeper Hiddleston with a header from Hickingbottom following a corner.
But the home side continued to have the upper hand as Mersin parried a shot from Redshaw following a Scanlon free kick.
Taft received Mickleover’s third yellow card, but Heath’s subsequent free kick went wide and Sports ended the first half with Atkinson’s shot narrowly missing, leaving the score 1-0 at full-time.
“We were a bit too open and the communication left a lot to be desired. But we made a tactical change after 30 minutes that limited their passing ability even more,” said sports manager Gareth Holmes.
Mickleover made one change for the second half, with Dales coming on for Ryder before Cox replaced Taft six minutes into the second half.
Hyde had another chance after 52 minutes when Heath narrowly missed a cross from Quadri.
But the second half was more positive for Mickleover: Dales made an immediate impact when he burst down the wing in the 52nd minute, but his shot went just wide.
Hickingbottom headed just wide again in the 58th minute following a corner from Wilson, before Bennett was also cautioned by the referee for a foul in the closing stages.
But another attack from Sports finally paid off after 68 minutes when Edwards was brought down in the box. He stepped up to take the penalty, which Hiddleston initially saved before using his quick reaction to convert the rebound to make it 1-1 in the 69th minute.
Wilson also came close when he hit the bar with a free-kick, but the goalkeeper was caught off guard, but in the final 20 minutes it was Mickleover who applied pressure and Dales tested Hiddleston again in the 81st minute, after a one-two with Beavon, and forced the home team’s goalkeeper to make a diving save.
Ferron had also come on for Webster, but Bunn then shot wide for Hyde before setting up Ditchfield, who also shot over, just before the referee signalled four minutes of added time.
Just before the final whistle, Mickleover almost took all three points, but Beavon managed to get around the goalkeeper, but Hiddleston was able to win the ball back with a remarkable defensive effort and so the score remained 1-1 and a valuable point went to him.
“It was a positive point away from home against a team that almost made the play-offs last season. I was really pleased with the way the players responded to our half-time talk after a disappointing first half, so there are a lot of positives to take with me into the visit of Ilkeston on Tuesday,” concluded Holmes.
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