Match Details
Albion Sports 1-1 Silsden AFC
NCEL Premier Division
Thursday 30th March
The Citadel
Match Report
In a game of two halves at The Citadel last night, Bradford district rivals Albion Sports and a young Silsden side shared the points with a 1-1 draw.
A Cobbydaler’s team featuring five players from their West Yorkshire League side, had the better chances in the first 45 minutes, taking the lead through Jack Normanton’s sensational chip.
Albion came out strong after the break however, with former Silsden striker Robbie Fox squaring to Hass Gorji to level the scores for the Lions.
The match started brightly for the visitors, a neat passing move allowed Luke Brooksbank to get a shot away inside the box but it was well blocked for a corner.
Ellis Hudson would be the next to go close for Silsden on 23 minutes, his powerful header from a corner flying wide of Albion keeper George McMahon’s post.
Those two continued to look lively, McMahon denying Brooksbank with a good low stop before Hudson curled a left-footed strike wide.
A moment of brilliance from Cobbydaler’s striker Normanton broke the deadlock.
Picking the ball up around 30 yards from goal, he drove forward and into the penalty area before lifting a perfectly-weighted lob over the keeper’s head and into the far corner.
The Lions fought back in the second half, putting the Silsden defence under pressure and forcing a number of blocks.
That pressure would tell on 65 minutes when a long ball found Fox racing in behind and he unselfishly squared to Gorji who made no mistake from close range.
Albion might have had a second were it not for a brilliant stop from Hagie Damba in the Silsden goal, showing quick reactions to deny the attacker at point blank range then smothering the ball before the hosts could poke home from the ensuing scramble.
Young midfielder Joe Snowden was inches away from a debut winner late on for the visitors when his rasping effort from distance dropped agonisingly wide of the post.
The 1-1 draw a fair result in the end with both sides now looking at a quick turnarounds ahead of their games on Saturday.
Silsden head to South Yorkshire to take on Maltby Main, the game kicks off at the usual time of 3pm.
