Mooreside Colts may be joint bottom of the Get Smart Kirklees Sunday League Division I, but they lost at joint leaders Dalton only to a last-minute goal.
Dalton were well below par and hit by injuries but still managed a 3-2 success, despite their opponents deserving something from the game for their endeavours, some decent opportunities and a fair share of possession.
Dalton went 1-0 up when a Colts defender skewed his clearance across goal, to gift a chance to Jamie Taylor.
Danny Conway levelled for Colts after the break with a well-struck free-kick into the bottom corner, but Dalton made it 2-1 on 70 minutes, before Conway bagged his second for 2-2 after a long spell of pressure by the visitors.
The winner came right at the death, after a goalmouth scramble led to the ball falling to Jack Senior, who lashed home from the edge of the area in his first match for the club to make it six wins on the trot for the Standiforth-based outfit.
Colts secretary James Totty felt his side had merited at least a point with their strong performance.
Dalton, meanwhile, are hoping to have some key men back for their next two matches against Wellington A and Linthwaite.
Wellington A, who had lost their last two league games, were another side to narrowly pip lowly opposition – beating Field Head 2-1 at Reinwood Rec.
Welly were 2-0 up through Andy Hill and Marlon Adams, however Jamie Metcalfe reduced the deficit before half time.
Welly had most of the possession, but with stand-in Head keeper Ian Strudwick in fine form, especially in the second half, denying Adams in particular with good saves, there were no further goals,
Man of the match for Welly was Adams, closely followed by Stevie Perrin, who prompted many moves from midfield.
Despite Welly’s greater share of possession, Field Head could have gained a share of the spoils near the end, but the shot went narrowly wide.
In a topsy-turvy game at Dryclough Rec, home side Queen won 7-4 in an eventful game against Walkers Hounds.
Ben Burnett gave Hounds the lead with Dan Stocker adding a second.
Queen then gradually came into the game as the half wore on and Dean Wharam thumped home a 20-yard low shot that got a slight defection on its way to goal.
Queen’s Kiero Lawrence levelled the scores at 2-2 and, before half time and with chances at both ends, Queen then went ahead for the first time when an error by Chris Cornelly led to a close-range finish by Richard Hirst.
Two minutes into the second half Hounds seemed to have steadied the ship when Stocker equalised for 3-3 and, a few minutes later, a thumping 25-yard free-kick from Jimmy Meadows gave Hounds a 4-3 lead.
However, Queen’s man-of-the-match Paddy Maylett levelled the scores at 4-4 when he drove home a Wharam cross, then shortly afterwards Maylett made it 5-4 to Queen when he met a lovely chip from Wharam, which split the Hounds’ defence.
It was still end-to-end, with Stocker going narrowly wide with a close-range shot for Hounds.
But when a 25-yard shot from Queen’s Dave Brennan hit the back of the net, via a couple of deflections, for 6-4, Hounds’ confidence seemed to falter.
Rob Piercy sealed the win for Queen following a goalmouth scramble and Maylett almost got his hat trick when he hit a post shortly afterwards, when a shot from Piercy was parried by the Hounds’ keeper.
Joint leaders Linthwaite thrashed Meltham Victoria 9-0 at Royds Hall, where Tom White (3), Oliver Garejs, Bryn Jenkins (2), Craig Burns and Rhys Wharam (2) recorded.
Golcar Conservative just edged out Wellington B 3-2 at Longfield Avenue.
Goals by Golcar’s Levi Brown, Sean Maloney and Elliot Chambers outweighed strikes by Welly’s Ollie Chamberlain and Oliver McGuire.
