Garforth travelled once more to Lancashire, and returned with three points after an entertaining tussle with table toppers Mossley. Four well taken goals sealed the points for Town, who were thoroughly dominant over extremely capable opposition.
The visiting Yorkshiremen almost claimed the ascendancy early when a speculative through ball from prodigal son Milton Turner caused unease in the Mossley defence, leaving captain Brett Renshaw with the opportunity to steal in and clatter the goalkeeper. Unfortunately the ball rolled clear, but it served as an early signal of intent.
Mossley won a corner, and the resulting effort was cleared to Greg Kelly who burst up the left wing and almost scored at the climax of a mazy run. After three hellacious minutes, the home side were quickly realising they had a game on their hands.
Still in the first five minutes of the game, Duncan Williams and Greg linked up well down the left in a move that led to the ball falling kindly for Milton to try his luck with a ferocious drive from twenty yards. Mossley numero uno Liam Higginbotham did well to deny Town a lead.
Mossley managed to stifle Town in the following ten minutes, despite Brett coming close with a blasted effort after a neat Cruyff turn. Finally though, Garforth struck true on 26 minutes when a Renshaw clash allowed Oliver Hotchkiss to burst forwards and lure in a challenge. Oliver managed to release the ball in time, and Nathan Kamara was on hand to slide the ball low to Higginbotham’s left, and give Garforth a deserved lead.
Another incisive Town move saw Renshaw released to smash the ball home, but the linesman’s flag put paid to celebrations. Soon after, a speculative through ball saw Mossley man Mike Fish lob Gavin Phillis to regain an undeserved parity for the home side in the dying stages of the first half. Justly though, the Almighty Father proved his existence when a throw in led to Brett finding the left corner of the Mossley net with a cool finish.
Five minutes into the second period, substitute Andy Rowan latched onto a lifted ball and powered home a shot back across hapless Higginbotham from outside the area. The finish with aplomb effectively sank Mossley, who were being well outplayed. Rowan would leave the field soon after, job done!
With half an hour to go, Mossley made a game of it with a surprise goal from distance. Town would respond mere minutes later, when a Lee Connor clearance helped sink his old club, as it found Greg Kelly who beat his man for pace before sliding a finish under poor Higginbotham to put the fixture beyond doubt at 4-2.
With the points all but sealed, Garforth players took turns to attempt to find the score sheet. Kamara tried to add to his tally with a determined run and shot, and Duncan Williams hit the post after a Hotchkiss through ball. Williams would curl a ball upfield that was teed off for Dom Blair to try his luck. Against this backdrop, Mossley would steal a third goal from an ungainly goalmouth scramble, but it clearly did not improve their mood, as an undignified spat soon occurred involving several Mossley men and Ben Small.
While they may have been Ready to Rumble, the official wasn’t, and soon signalled the end of the game and thus the gain of three valuable points for the Miner’s. Garforth can look at this win as proof they can match the top teams in the division, no matter how hot their form may be. Similar performances will surely culminate in a high league standing come April/May at the season’s climax.
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