Shelley 4 Otley Town 0

Otley Town suffered another bad day on Saturday with a dismal West Yorkshire Premier Division defeat at Shelley.

The game only served to highlight, although no reminder was needed, the paucity of the options available to manager Danny Gallagher, and it must be hoped that a vigorous recruitment policy can be pursued in the summer to bolster the Town ranks.

The home side were the brighter from the outset, and they took a deserved lead mid-way through the first half when their centre forward jinked his way down the left and squared back for the ball to be driven home past a helpless James Davies.

There was no further score before the break, and Town suffered a cruel blow early in the second half when they conceded again, this time from a deflected shot that Davies otherwise had covered.

Town briefly roused themselves, and threatened to get back into the game, but their best chances were spurned.

Firstly Tom Walker shot wide when well placed, and then the Shelley goalkeeper made a good save from the same player when he tipped a shot over the bar from point-blank range.

However, when Shelley broke on Town to make it 3-0, the game was over as a contest. A fourth goal for the home side simply added the gloss.

By this time Town were down to ten men with Josh Waite having to retire with an ankle injury.

This Saturday Town are away at Ripon City in the Premier Division with a 2:30pm kick-off.

This match is a replay of the game earlier this season which was abandoned following an injury to the Ripon goalkeeper, who has since retired from playing..