Dunston travelled to Leeds to take on Pontefract Collieries on the back of two wins against Brighouse and Liversedge. The hosts were also in good form, picking up seven points from their last three games. Both sides headed into the game on sixteen points, with Dunston sitting fifth and the hosts in third.

The first chance of the game came early on, as Graeme Pickering was forced to come quickly flying out of his goal to deny Adam Haw with a great one-on-one save. Dunston went straight up the other end and Sado Djalo swung a ball into the mixer, but Jack Maskell couldn’t keep his header down beneath the crossbar.

Pontefract had their best chance of the half after thirteen minutes, as the pitch conditions played their part when Jack Walker slipped with the ball at his feet in the Dunston penalty area, but Adam Haw failed to convert from close range after the ball was pulled back to him. Not long after, the pitch again thwarted Dunston as Dale Pearson charged through on goal, but slipped before he could shoot.

The rest of the half consisted of multiple pieces of brilliance from Dale Pearson on the left wing, as he had Elliott Owen’s number. Beating the fullback on numerous occasions, Pearson put a couple of dangerous balls across the box, with Djalo coming close with a back post shot, but Aleksander Petkovic managed to gather the ball in his hands.

The second half started with dramatic fashion, as Dunston were awarded a penalty early on, after a foul on Richard Coulson. Most people in the crowd were very confused as to why the penalty had been awarded, as there was a decent chunk of advantage time played between the foul and the penalty being awarded. Dale Pearson stepped up to take the penalty against Aleksander Petkovic, but the Pontefract goalkeeper dived low to his left and saved Pearson’s effort, keeping the score level.

The rest of the second half was incredibly quiet, with notable highlights being Adam Haw coming close with a free-kick and the Pontefract supporters making the same joke towards the referee at least a hundred times. The game was incredibly scrappy, with the ball spending most its time airborne.

But Dunston’s moment came in stoppage time, as the referee awarded a free kick on the halfway line for a foul on Sado Djalo. Craig Baxter took it quickly, and Jack Maskell expertly flicked it into the bottom right corner as the Dunston team wheeled away in celebration.

But moments later, the everlasting threat of Jack Greenhough’s long throw-ins punished Dunston as Bailey Thompson stabbed home from close range, after Graeme Pickering had denied the initial shot. There were appeals from Dunston that the ball had blatantly gone out of play prior to the throw-in, but ultimately Dunston were punished with a late equaliser.

The result pushed Dunston up the table to fourth, and even though winning would have seen Jon McDonald’s men top of the table, in the end it was hard earned, well fought point.

Written by Adam Richardson

Image Credit - Beauty Time Photography