Otley Town 2 Pool FC 3

OOL Bounced back from their thrashing by Oxenhope with a narrow win over a greatly under strength Otley Town side.

Town got off to a bright start when, after a mix up in the Pool defence, James Midgeley coolly slotted home with barely ten minutes gone.

The visitors then dominated the remainder of the first period, but bad luck and woeful finishing meant they were unable to breach the home defence.

However, they were back on level terms within a minute of the second half commencing when a fine driven cross from the right by Neil Ebdon was inadvertently turned into his own net by Josh Lester.

Pool’s celebrations were still taking place when Town responded immediately, again sloppy Pool defending letting in Midgeley for his second goal.

Pool were again the better side for the majority of the second half, with Town feeling the absence of several key players. However the Pool equaliser was eminently preventable, coming as it did within the six-yard box with Nick Hewitt scoring from a free header from a corner.

The visitors secured the win through a penalty kick by Hewitt, with left back Scott Hardcastle fortunate to receive only a yellow when some referees may have brandished a red card.

On the day, Pool were the better team but Otley at least made a fight of it given the players available.

This Saturday sees Otley travel to Wakefield to play Horbury Town while Pool entertain Knaresborough.