Steeton 3 Halifax Irish 1

DESPITE a strong start and some impressive individual performances, it wasn’t until Lee Reilly’s 86th-minute goal that Steeton looked certain of victory.

There were three changes to the side that lost 5-0 to Ovenden West Riding the previous week, with Sam Rooke, Lee Reilly and Michael Rhodes coming in for Aaron Hollindrake and the injured duo of Graham Holmes and Joe Mason.

Steeton could have taken an early lead when Reilly found Mark McGee in the box and the season’s leading appearance maker had his shot blocked by a defender.

At the other end, keeper Josh Brooksbank was down well to his left to save a powerful low shot.

Strong midfield play by Tim Hird and Jack Richmond then saw the latter release a shot that looked to be going wide before Andy Holden flicked it goalwards and the visitors’ keeper did well to hold on to the ball at the second attempt.

Steeton kept the pressure up, with Josh Huntley justifying his second first-team start by harrying opponents and chasing the ball. One such chase of what looked a lost cause saw him cross to Reilly, who flicked the ball narrowly over the bar.

Just a minute later, Huntley delivered another good cross and this time McGee forced a good save from the keeper.

On the half-hour mark Steeton took a deserved lead when Reilly did well to control a long ball on the edge of the six-yard box. A shot looked the obvious option but he showed good awareness to cut the ball back to Holden, whose effort to the far corner beat the keeper.

The goal seemed to spur Halifax Irish on and, just two minutes later, a cross from the right was headed past Brooksbank to make it 1-1.

The visitors would have gone into the break 2-1 up were it not for Sam Rooke’s last-ditch block with Brooksbank beaten.

The Steeton keeper pulled off a fantastic save to push over a curling Irish effort early in the second half.

Steeton made their first change in the 63rd minute when Joe Park replaced McGee and he was quickly in the action when he set up Reilly with a shot that was well saved.

In the 70th minute, a tactical switch saw Rooke moved from centre back to centre forward and, with ten minutes to play, the move paid off.

His initial header struck the post and his shot on the rebound left him celebrating and everyone else confused. With a Halifax Irish defender holding the ball, and their players claiming the ball hadn’t crossed the line, referee Colin Woods awarded the goal.

Irish responded and it needed another fine save from Brooksbank and strong blocks from Rooke and Michael Rhodes to preserve the lead.

The Chevrons sealed the points on the counter-attack when Reilly stole the ball in midfield, rounded a defender and drove a powerful shot beyond the keeper.

Boss Roy Mason said: “It was not our best performance, but I felt the scoreline reflected the game. Had we taken our early chances, it could have been settled a lot earlier.”

Steeton: Brooksbank, Rhodes, McNulty, Barnes, Rooke, Richmond, Holden, Hird, Reilly, Huntley (Speed), McGee (Park).