H & D LEAGUE: Celtic boss aiming to remain on top

Knaresborough Celtic boss Brian Davey has urged his players to keep hold of pole position after they edged ahead in the Harrogate & District Football League Premier Division title race.
Knaresborough Celtic manager Brian DaveyKnaresborough Celtic manager Brian Davey
Knaresborough Celtic manager Brian Davey

The men from Thistle Hill took over at the top of the table thanks to a 3-2 success at Bedale Town on Saturday.

And with former leaders Kirk Deighton Reserves out of action, maximum points from their game in hand saw the Celts leapfrog their rivals, moving a point clear at the summit.

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“I believe that this is the first time in the club’s history that we have been top of the Premier Division table, so now it’s up to us to make sure that we stay there,” Davey said.

“We’ve got some hard games to come against Kirk Deighton and Beckwithshaw, who are both very good sides, but I’m confident that if we can get results from those games then we can finish as champions.”

Ross Hodgson netted the only goal of the first period to put Bedale in the ascendancy after 17 minutes, and the home side took their advantage into the interval.

Matt Adamson drew Celtic level after 66 minutes, but the visitors hit back straight away as Hodgson helped himself to a second goal.

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Still behind with 10 minutes to play, Davey threw on all three of his substitutes, and the move paid dividend as Edmore Murau immediately restored parity.

George Tyreman then snatched all three points for the high-flyers when he notched in the dying minutes.

“There wasn’t much between the two sides, but once again we’ve shown great desire to keep going all the way to the end and win the game late on,” Davey added.

Kirkby Malzeard’s miserable season continued as they suffered their 10th defeat in as many games when they went down 3-1 at Beckwithshaw Saints in the top flight’s only other fixture.

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A Tom Hixon strike was the only consolation for a Kirkby team who remain rooted to the bottom of the table.

In Division One, Bardsey fought back from 3-1 down at half-time to triumph over Addingham in a 10-goal thriller at Keswick Lane.

Craig Duerden fired Addingham ahead early on, and Isaac Parkinson doubled the lead five minutes before the break.

Sean Dunwell netted for Bardsey 60 seconds later to halve the deficit, but Steve Hunt restored the visitors’ two-goal cushion almost immediately.

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An own goal scored three minutes after the re-start put Addingham 4-1 up and seemingly in complete control, but the home side had other ideas.

Dunwell’s second of the afternoon made it 4-2 after 51 minutes, and soon afterwards Steven Burgess struck to close the gap further.

Patrick Furlong levelled things up in the 67th minute before substitute Joel Deacey put Bardsey ahead for the first time in the game 10 minutes later.

Furlong then found the net again to round off a stunning comeback victory at 6-4 in the closing stages.

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Liam Cooke hit a hat-trick as Thirsk Falcons continued their charge towards the first division title with a 7-2 success at Dalton Athletic.

Joining Cooke on the scoresheet were Gareth Barber, Josh Boynton, Ben Calvert and Callum Manson.

Chris James and Duncan Padget were on target for Athletic.

Beckwithshaw Saints Reserves boosted their chances of beating the drop when they recorded just their second league victory of the campaign, winning 3-2 on the road at Hampsthwaite FC.

James Ford, Greg Harrison and substitute Dave Chalmers were the men to register for the Saints.

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