On a slick pitch that rapidly became heavy as the rain came down there were a couple of defensive mistakes for both sides early on that made it appear as if it could end up being a high scoring draw! The hosts took the lead in the first few minutes through Gaz Edeson as a cross evaded all the Westella defenders to find him at the far post.
Then after 15 minutes Westella & Willerby were level as a cross skidded through a mass of bodies and was deflected in as an own goal by an unfortunate defender. Riston were soon in front again though as an excellent move led to a cross forced home by Shaun Wilson under pressure from a defender. But from a free kick Westella headed home a second equaliser.
The second half was again end to end with both keepers again, as in the first half, pulling off excellent saves. Riston thought they’d gone in front only to see the ball hit the bar twice in 5 seconds. To add insult to injury Westella then went in front with their next attack. As Riston strove to find the equaliser that would take it to extra time the visitors caught them on the break to make it 4-2 with a matter of a couple of minutes left.
A fine competitive game that could have gone either way right until the end!
Author: Mike Edge
