Grantham Town’s draw at Ossett United keeps them up
Northern Premier League East
Ossett United 0
Grantham Town 0
By Graham Cowell
Grantham Town made sure of their place in the Northern Premier League for next season with a goalless draw at Ossett United on Saturday.
“A point was the minimum the Gingerbreads needed to stave off any last minute concerns about falling back into the play-off places. Grantham’s fourth consecutive clean sheet ensured the right result.
“We knew things were in our hands for once,” said Gingerbreads manager Matt Chatfield.
“The last three games had put us in that position; we knew we only needed a draw and I think that showed a bit today.
“We were dominant for the first half, we hit the post and had a couple of chances.
“We had a lot of possession, and the second half was about making sure we didn’t concede, and we’ve done that brilliantly.”
From the first whistle, Grantham were the dominant team in the game, but struggled to create clear-cut chances against a well-organised Ossett defence.
The Gingerbreads forced a corner after eight minutes and although Ossett seemed to have cleared the danger, Damien McCrory picked up the loose ball and played in Joe Stacey. Nathan Tyson powerfully met his cross, but he missed the target.
Ossett threatened occasionally in the first half but found the Grantham defence in a mean mood. Nathan Curtis got the ball in a dangerous position just before the quarter of an hour mark, but Jake Wright closed him down and denied a shooting chance.
Grantham’s goal radar continued to be off beam as McCrory delivered a free kick that saw Ashton Hall rise almost unchallenged but, similar to Tyson earlier, he headed wide.
Greg Smith was next to pass up a scoring opportunity as the half hour approached. From a great position, he hit the post when he should have hit the back of the net.
The profligacy in front of goal almost haunted Grantham a minute later. Ossett won their first corner of the game and Curtis got a good header in. It was goalbound, but Matt Tootle was on the line to keep the Gingerbreads goal intact.
Smith had another chance to open the scoring later in the half as Grantham continued to run the game. This time Smith was on target, but Dan Montgomery made a good save to deny him.
Two minutes before the break, Montgomery was a grateful spectator as Hall once again got to a corner ahead of the defence. However, again his header was off target.
The second half saw the home side come into the game more. The introduction of James Walshaw gave them a more dangerous look, but they still could not get past a Grantham defence that was determined to protect the point they needed to stay out of the bottom four.
A couple of early corners after the break were the extent of Grantham’s attacking efforts in the second half.
Ossett had better possession but for most of the half could not get into the Gingerbreads penalty area. When they did deliver a good through-ball on 70 minutes, Dan Haystead was quickly off his line to snuff out the danger.
Smith showed his qualities as a defender as the game drew to a close, ensuring that Walshaw could not create a shooting chance.
With a draw enough to ensure both sides stay at the same level of football, the game meandered to a goalless conclusion with neither goalkeeper seriously tested.