A point on the road for Daisy
A late equaliser dashes Daisy's hopes of collecting three points from a trip to Cumbria
Daisy Hill had to settle for a point after a 2-2 draw away at Holker Old Boys in the North West Counties League First Division North on Tuesday night.
On a windy evening in Barrow-in-Furness, Daisy had the better of the first half possession, but the sides were tied at the break with Fionn Murphy levelling for Daisy after Luke Davey had put the home side ahead.
Just after the hour, Liam Sheppard’s 16th goal of the season restored Daisy’s lead, which they held until eight minutes from time when Jamie Hodgson got a touch on a corner kick to earn his side a share of the points.
Attacking up the slope with the wind at their backs, Daisy began well and had the better of the opening exchanges, but it was Holker who struck the first blow with the opening goal on 19 minutes.
A Daisy attack broke down inside the Holker half, and the home side hit quickly on a counter down the left which set up a shooting chance for Davey, who buried a shot past Daisy keeper Jude Smith from 12 yards.
But Daisy were quickly back on level terms, with a goal created by debutant Harry Forshaw, who drove forward down the right and played a neat pass inside the defender to Murphy, who levelled the score with a cool finish into the bottom corner of the net.
The remainder of the first half was fairly even with neither side seriously troubling the opposing keeper, and that pattern continued in the early stages of the second half, with the strengthening wind causing problems for both sides.
But just as the game passed the hour mark, Daisy took the lead for the first time.
A foul on Jacob Ridings on the right gave Daisy a free kick, and Dec Baldwin curled a delightful cross into the box that Liam Sheppard deftly glanced past the keeper from six yards.
With 20 minutes remaining, Forshaw had a chance to increase the lead when he picked up a loose ball and raced in on goal, but his shot was held by Holker keeper Matthew Bailey low down to his right.
However, with a strong wind at their back, Holker began to exert pressure in the closing stages of the game, and eight minutes from time the pressure finally told.
After Daisy keeper Smith had tipped a wind assisted corner from the right onto the crossbar and over to safety, the resulting corner kick from the left was curled into the box, and Hodgson got a touch to nudge the ball past Smith and ensure a share of the points.
