Harrogate Railway denied by half-time abandonment when 3-0 up against Ossett Town

Harrogate Railway were left cursing their luck after their local derby with Ossett Town was abandoned at half time with The Rail 3-0 up.
By Ed White
Published 28th Nov 2015, 19:04 BST
Harrogate Railway's Dan Barrett scored and was sent-off in the abandoned clash (Photo: Caught Light Photography)Harrogate Railway's Dan Barrett scored and was sent-off in the abandoned clash (Photo: Caught Light Photography)
Harrogate Railway's Dan Barrett scored and was sent-off in the abandoned clash (Photo: Caught Light Photography)

George Mason’s first minute opener was added to by Lawrance Hunter’s penalty before Dan Barrett was shown a straight red card for violent conduct in a bad tempered affair.Jack Stockdill’s header then gave the ten men of Railway a sizeable advantage at the break before referee David Storrie deemed the Station View pitch too boggy to start the second half, despite Railway having returned to the pitch.Lee Ashforth made four changes from Railway’s last outing a fortnight ago; recalling Tom Goodwin, Will Peers, Dan Barrett and George Mason to the starting line-up.The hosts got off to the best possible start when Barrett broke down the right hand side and poked into the path of Mason to finish at the near post.Hunter’s corners were causing problems within the Ossett backline and almost presented Dan Thirkell with a chance at the far post moments before another corner lead to Nathaniel Pells pulling back for Ryan Sharrocks who shot just over.Railway were then awarded a spot kick after 13 minutes when Will Peers was brought down by Simon Rogers as he took the ball in his stride yards inside the penalty area.Hunter stepped up and calmly side-footed into the top left corner to give Railway a two goal advantage.The rampant hosts were then dealt a blow, however as striker Barrett was given a straight red card for what the referee described as a slap to the face.Despite their numerical disadvantage, Railway were still on top as Stockdill forced a good save low to his left from Ossett’s debutant goalkeeper Chris Barrow to push the strike out for a corner.Barrow couldn’t prevent Stockdill getting on the score-sheet from the resulting set piece, however, as the young midfielder glanced Hunter’s corner in at the near post.Ossett started to fight back but were denied by a crucial Pells headed clearance before Ross Shelton made insufficient contact with a back post header to trouble Tom Goodwin.With ten minutes to go until half time, the true rivalry between the two clubs began to show in unsavoury scenes as Shelton and Stockdill reacted angrily to a challenge prompting players squaring up to each other and Louis Horne carded, along with Shelton and Stockdill, for his reaction.Despite the torrential rain having eased off by the half time whistle, Storrie and his assistants carried out a pitch inspection during the break and decided the pitch had become unplayable, despite Railway players being ready for the re-start.Harrogate Railway: Goodwin, Parkes, Hunter, Pells, Horne, Thirkell, Sharrocks, Peers, Barrett, Stockdill, MasonSubs not used: Ibrahimi, Brown, Dhesi, Day, WoodGoals: Mason 1, Hunter 13, Stockdill 25Booked: Stockdill, HorneSent off: BarrettOssett Town: Barrow, Fishley, Merris, Jeff, Rogers, Shelton, Rupere, Ackroyd, Lyn, Mangham, BrownSubs not used: Monfredi, Simpson, Moor, Fogarty, HamiltonBooked: SheltonReferee: D. Storrie