Derby stalemate (From Gazette Series)

Derby stalemate

Gloucestershire Northern Senior League Division One Kingswood 1 Sharpness 1

KINGSWOOD and Sharpness finished locked together after an fine derby encounter.

The game was full of commitment and passion throughout and two excellent goals were scored.

Kingswood, still smarting from the way they lost their Reg Davis Cup semi final last weekend, came out of the blocks and shook Sharpness with the quality and determination of their play.

The home side should have gone ahead as early as the third minute but Ian Gosling failed to get adequate power on his knock over the goalkeeper.

Adam Harber could not take a couple of half chances and Gavin Dibden had a free-kick turned over the bar. The game was more even thereafter and Sharpness punished their hosts for not taking their chances. Dave Nash smashed a superb shot in from the edge of the box past debutant goalkeeper Chris Shaw after 35 minutes.

The play was very even during the second half with both defences generally dealing with opposing attacks, although both keepers had to make the occasional save.

The final 15 minutes saw the pendulum swing Kingswood's way as they again took the game to Sharpness. From an excellent move down the left, the ball fell to Gavin Dibden in almost the exact spot that Nash had scored from and his strike matched that of the Sharpness player to tie the game at 1-1.

The last ten minutes saw renewed efforts by the visitors and Kingswood dug in with Mike Rodman a tower of strength at the heart of their defence.

The unfortunate dismissal of a visiting defender put the pressure back onto his team but a draw was probably a fair result.