Star hit back for derby draw

It was all Midgley in the first half of the Halifax AFL Premier Division game at Mytholmroyd and their young side built an unlikely 3-0 lead.

Star were strangely subdued and Midgley’s quick raids down the flanks yielded a brace for Tony Standring before Rob Stansfield lobbed ‘keeper Brendan Barclay from long range.

Home player-boss Chris Garbutt demanded a bigger effort at the interval. He had to go in goal in the early stages of the second half, due to an injury to Barclay.

He was relieved to have little to do while the player who came on, Chad Godfrey, certainly had an impact.

Godfrey set up Lewis Cockroft for Star’s opener and then scored from Cockroft’s cross.

The equaliser came with seven minutes left when Patrick Thomas’s long throw evaded several players and George Oliver scored at the back post.

Star might then have won it. Cockroft went through one-on-one with the keeper and then a stretching Godfrey sent a shot over the bar.

Shelf FC’s match at home to Sowerby Bridge was postponed after a car containing visiting players was involved in an accident close to the ground.

That enabled Ryburn United to go three points clear at the top with a 4-2 home win over Calder ‘76.

Ryburn strode into a 3-0 interval lead, with visiting boss Rob Kenworthy hugely frustrated by his side’s tame effort, and although Calder improved after the break the damage had been done.

Calder, again lacking Rick Topham up front, might have taken the lead when Nathan Dempsey and Steve Jones combined well but Ash Raynor saved and Ryburn went down the other end and scored from a corner with the help of two small deflections.

The visitors looked vulnerable, particularly down their right, and the home side deservedly scored twice more before the break.

A collision which left Karl Wooliscroft with a cut lip fired up the visitors and Nathan Dempsey got one back from the edge of the box, via a post.

Ryburn went 4-1 up with a peach of a header from a corner but Steve Hope flicked on a long throw from Sam Cartwright and Dempsey headed his second past home boss Craig Walker, who had replaced the injured Raynor in goal.

Greetland made it six wins on the bounce with a 4-1 win over Sowerby United.

Sowerby were thwarted by some fine one on one saves by Kyle Hancock before Adie Ford struck twice against the run of play in the space of five minutes.

Ford pounced from Ben Cole’s header and doubled the lead from the spot after Aaron Dorward’s excellent run into the box ended in a foul.

Connor Ashworth replied as the visitors finished the half strongly.

Greetland bossed the second half and added to their tally through Scott McHale and Ford.

The introduction of Tom Wall, Jack Dighton and Danny Dorward gave Greetland more of an attacking edge. McHale raced away and his cross cum shot was deflected past the stranded Sowerby keeper.

Dave Walker and Charlie Cliffe then set up Ford to slide the ball under the onrushing keeper.

Danny Dorward’s shot deflected onto the bar late on.