Knaresborough Town's draw with Tadcaster Albion a 'fair' result, says Simon Parkes

Tadcaster Albion midfielder Sam Kitchen is felled by Knaresborough Town's Ben Parkes. Pictures: Gerard Binks

Sam Cook struck in stoppage-time to earn Boro a share of the spoils, cancelling out Jordan Hines’ first-half opener in Saturday’s NCEL Premier Division derby clash at Manse Lane.

And although they left it late, Parkes insisted that his team did deserve to take something away from the game.

"I’d say that a draw was fair,” he reflected. “I am sure that, quite naturally, Tadcaster will feel hard done to with conceding so late because when you’re leading with 90 minutes on the clock, you’re expecting to go on and win the game.

Knaresborough's James Beaston climbs highest to win a header during Saturday's NCEL Premier Division clash at Manse Lane.

“But, I don’t think that either team really did enough to deserve all three points over the course of the full afternoon.

"I think that if you look at the 90 minutes and how it played out, it lacked any real quality. We were very fatigued, we had quite a lot of injuries to contend with and a lot of lads playing out of position – and I think that Tadcaster were in a similar position.

"They were certainly missing a few key men, so neither of us had our strongest 11 out and it showed. It was a kick-and-hope game of football at times and there was very little in it for long periods.

"I think the fact that neither goalkeeper had all that much to do in terms of shots on target tells its own story. There wasn’t much quality in the final third and the match probably lacked the kind of venom that you would normally expect from a derby.”

Tadcaster Albion captain Dan Thirkell flies into a challenge against his old club.

Albion took the lead on 14 minutes when Hines slid in to convert Josh Hardcastle’s fine cross and they held on to that advantage until stoppage-time when Cook headed home from a corner.

And Brewers boss Mick O’Connell was understandably frustrated that his team could not hold out for victory.

"I’m really disappointed to draw the game in that manner,” he said.

"We have got to be more switched on and manage it better than that and defend better than that. Overall, I’ll take a point away from home, but I am disappointed that we’ve dropped points.

“I thought that we dominated pretty much every aspect, we created numerous chances and should have killed the game off, but, on the plus side, we are six unbeaten.”

Saturday’s result lifted Knaresborough to ninth in the NCEL Premier Division standings with four matches left to play this term.

Tadcaster sit three places and six points worse off in 12th spot. They entertain Rossington Main this Saturday (3pm), while Boro visit Barton Town (3pm).