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Dunston 1
1
Maskell (10')
1 Grantham Town
1
Horne (17')

REPORT | Dunston UTS 1 Grantham Town 1

Dunston's unbeaten run stretched to ten games on Tuesday night as they played out to a 1-1 draw against Grantham Town at Consett's Belle View Stadium.

Jack Maskell netted his eleventh goal of the season to give Dunston the lead on ten minutes however, Luke Horne levelled the game just seven minutes later. In a stop-start game, neither side were able to find a winner.

Jon McDonald made a few changes from Saturday's draw against Stockton Town. Jordan Lamb, Sado Djalo and JJ Chrisp were handed starts as Dale Pearson, Richard Coulson and Craig Baxter dropped to the bench.

Dunston began the game looking far more likely than the visiting side. A headed effort from Jack Maskell was held by Curtis Hall and David Robinson then had a shot well held before blazing an effort over the crossbar.

The breakthrough came with ten minutes on the clock. A Phil Turnbull free kick was floated towards Maskell, and the latter looped a header over Hall to give Dunston a deserved lead.

Dunston continued to ramp up the pressure and could have doubled the advantage with 15 minutes played. Jordan Lamb brought the ball down with an excellent first touch, but his shot was pulled into the side netting.

After the bright start, The Gingerbreads pulled level with a clinical counterattack. A misplaced pass from JJ Chrisp was pounced on by the visitors, and Luke Horne was the man to finish off the move and bring his side level.

With pace up front, Grantham always looked a threat going forward, and they almost found a second goal when Curtis Morrison fired a shot just over the bar from the edge of the box. Sado Djalo could have also put Dunston back into the lead as his effort was pulled wide at a tight angle.

One of the best chances of the game then once again fell to Dunston in the 35th minute. After a poor goal kick from Hall, Maskell almost took advantage as he hit the foot of the post on the half-volley. Djalo looked to follow-up on the rebound, but his effort was rifled well over the bar from just a few yards out.

The second half was a much more cagey affair. Not much rhythm to the game with a lot of stoppages. The first effort on target in the half came on the hour-mark as a Phil Turnbull free kick was comfortably stopped by Hall.

Jon McDonald was also forced into some changes as Josh King and Chris McDonald were withdrawn through injuries and replaced by Jude Swailes and Richard Coulson. Dale Pearson was also brought on in place of Sado Djalo with 25 minutes to go.

With ten minutes left to play, The Gingerbreads had a couple of opportunities to claim all three points. Bradley Munns took aim from outside the area, but his effort was narrowly wide. Then Harry Wood came agonisingly close as he flashed a low-driven effort across the face of goal.

With time running out, nothing seemed to be coming off for Dunston. One final half-chance came deep into stoppage time as Dale Pearson dragged an effort wide from distance.

The point sees Dunston climb up into 3rd place. Next up, we welcome Ashington to The UTS Stadium this Saturday.

Published Tuesday 30th January 2024