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Wooldale’s less than perfect pitch

31/ 1/2007

Wooldale 1
Diggle 1

A LATE equaliser saw the home side earn what was a most unlikely point against a Diggle side that missed a number of chances.

Playing against the considerable slope in the first half, Diggle saw their goal bombarded with a succession of long balls, long throws and corners.

However, despite a couple of half-chances for Wooldale, Diggle's defence stood strong to keep the score at 0-0 at the break.

In contrast, Diggle's second-half pressure was as a result of passing football despite a less than perfect playing surface.

Having had some near misses, the visitors went ahead on the hour when Neil Rennie curled a free kick into the net.

That was the signal for the game to become a midfield slog as Diggle could and should have put the game beyond their hosts' reach as they spurned several opportunities to wrap up the three points.

In contrast, Wooldale's tackling became as pleasant as their approach to the game as Diggle looked as if they would hold on for the victory.

However, with under five minutes to play, Diggle skipper Ali Simmons saw his backpass to keeper Gareth McWatt loop over the keeper's foot, allowing a Wooldale striker to roll the ball into the empty net and secure a point for the home side.

Elsewhere, Diggle's second team beat Meltham 5-0 and the thirds drew 1-1 with Wooldale.