Ossett Albion.............1
Curzon Ashton..........1
A DUBIOUS penalty with fewer than 20 minutes left denied Curzon maximum points from an occasionally feisty game that they probably shaded over the 90 minutes.
There was little to choose in the opening exchanges with the home side having the first hsot on goal when David Carnell saved Shane Kelsey’s 25-yard free kick.
It was Curzon who opened the scoring on 23 minutes with a goal fashioned from an unlikely source.
Adam Jones cast aside his defensive duties to fire in a speculative shot from 30 yards out, striking the sole of the boot of an Albion player to win his side a corner.
Phil Edghill twice saw his attempted crosses cleared, only for the ball to reach Chris Curley whose cross to the far post saw Mike Norton steer a header past Neil Bennett.
Glyn Barker headed David Birch’s free kick against Bennett’s left-hand post on the half-hour, two minutes before Curzon should have doubled their lead.
Having worked hard to retan possession down the left, Barker’s saw his cross eventually fall to the unmarked Edghill 10 yards from goal.
Rather than hit the ball on the run, the midfielder opted for another touch which he knocked too far forward, enabling Bennett to gain control.
The scores could have been levelled on 38 minutes as the ball moved round the Curzon 18 yard area like a pinball.
With Carnell off his line, and Michael Senior in possession on the left, his shot from the angle was cleared by Jones a couple of yards off the line.
A careless headed clearance by Matthew Russell put his side in trouble and Carnell had to be alert to turn David Syers’ effort away.
With the first 45 minutes almost completed, it was Norton once again troubling Albion in the air, only to see his effort bounce just wide.
It was Carnell’s turn to be in the action after Andrew Catton got the better of Birch, but the visiting keeper got his positioning spot on to palm his shot clear.
At the other end, Curzon looked to increase their lead as Russell’s header lacked the power to trouble Bennett and Norton beat the offside trap, only for his shot to be deflected out for a corner.
Another chance went begging for the visitors on 71 minutes as Barker was through with just Bennett to beat and his shot, although beating the keeper, struck the bottom of the left-hand post.
The danger was quickly cleared the scores were level within four minutes.
Kelsey, who had dramatically hit the ground in the first half with no player within a couple of yards of him to earn a free kick, made his way into the Curzon 18-yard area, and with debutant Jordan Goodeve and Birch in close attendance, once again fell to earth.
With the assistant referee having a clear view of proceedings, he kept his flag firmly by his side, only for referee Mr Atkin to decide that a foul had been committed and he awarded the spot kick.
Kelsey brushed himself down and drove the ball firmly past Carnell to earn his side a point.
Attendance: 147
Graham Shuttleworth
