Dale Pearson scored his first of the season with a second half penalty to earn his side the three points.

There were competitive debuts for some of the new signings with Dan Lowson starting in goal, Harvey Neary playing in midfield, and Scott Robson leading the line.

It was a blustery afternoon at The UTS Stadium and neither side were able to adapt to the conditions in a cagey opening 45 minutes.

It was the visitors who edged the first half and they almost took the lead on 3 minutes when Charlton was played in on the right, but his effort flashed across the face of goal.

Dunston’s first chance came on ten minutes when Dale Pearson fizzed a powerful effort over the crossbar.

On 23 minutes, Mikey Dunn wasted a good opportunity for the Colls when he took on Craig Baxter, but his effort on goal was off target.

Ponte were off target again with just over half an hour played when Jack Boyle took aim on Dan Lowson’s goal.

The best chance of the half fell just before half-time when a scramble in the box led to Chris McDonald being forced to hook the ball off his own goal line to keep the score deadlocked.

Into the second half, Dunston looked far stronger and had a strong penalty appealed waved away when Dale Pearson appeared to be hauled down in the penalty area.

The momentum of the game well and truly swung in Dunston’s favour when Gavin Rothery, who had just been subbed on at half-time, was shown a straight red card for a challenge over the top of the ball on Chris McDonald.

The Pontefract man was not happy and almost took the door of the hinges when he stormed into the dressing room for his early shower.

Five minutes later, Dunston were awarded a penalty when Scott Robson’s cross was blocked by the arm of a Pontefract player. Dale Pearson stepped up and rifled the ball into the top corner to give Dunston the lead.

The lead should have been doubled on 63 minutes when McDonald played a low cross into Scott Robson, but the latter failed to connect cleanly and the chance went begging.

Robson was then unfortunate again when he was set up by Dale, only for the ball to get stuck underneath his foot and the chance was wasted.

Sado Djalo, Dan Turner, and Scott Lowery were all introduced to the game in the second half.

Dunston continued to see the majority of the possession with having an extra man. The game could have been put to bed again when Dale Pearson was played through but was denied by Mitchell with ten minutes to go.

A staggering twelve minutes of stoppage time was played, however, Dunston managed to see the game out and secure victory on the opening day.

Report by Callum Pattison

Image Credit - Beauty Time Photography