10-men of Emley hold out for point
The dismissal of captain Paul Sykes was the turning point of this festive fixture.
Syko was shown a straight red for a high tackle on Niall Gibb who left the field injured.
Emley should have had all three points sewn up long before being reduced to 10 men.
On top from the start, the visitors struggled to cope with the wind and Emley dominated. They got their reward on 15 minutes when Doran Jordan scored direct from a free kick that evaded everyone – defence and attack.
Rossington had a glorious chance to equalise against the run of play. Jordan Hatton playing a ball over the top and Lee Holmes unmarked ran through one on one only to hit his shot wide.
Main started the second half the stronger side mainly down to a tactical substitution with Niall Gibb coming on for Harry Holden.
Early pressure saw Steve Etherington and Jason Stokes fire just over but the turning point with Sykes’ seeing red.
The equaliser came after 62 minutes, Jordan Hatton fouled 25 yards out in a central area and Lee Holmes bending in his 100th NCEL goal for the club.
As Main pushed for a 2nd goal Emley were pushing for all three points on the counter attack. Both sets of players should be applauded after the game for their display in difficult conditions.
