6.30pm 21 April 2021
West Yorkshire League, Division Two President's Challenge
Howden Clough 2 Tingley Athletic 3 (att 42)
Staying abreast of how different leagues are providing competitive post-lockdown football is difficult. It took some Googling, checking of clubs' social media and a quick pre-match chat with the referee to establish how this fixture fitted into what remains of the West Yorkshire League season.
The normal divisions have been abandoned. Instead they are restarting from scratch with each club playing their divisional rivals just once in a 'President's Challenge'. I'm unsure whether promotion and relegation will follow.
Howden Clough are long established in the West Yorkshire League, but for some reason their ground had eluded me until now. They're based at the Batley Sports and Tennis Centre, on one of a pair of railed off pitches that are a fair walk from the car park and other facilities. It feels more rural than I'd have expected for a sports centre in Batley.
Both sides had lost their opening two President's Challenge fixtures, managing just a single goal between them. Despite those unpromising statistics it didn't take long for this game to come to life, as Tingley went ahead in the first minute.
It looked like it might be a long evening for Howden Clough, but they levelled when the visiting keeper misjudged the bounce of the ball on the hard surface, allowing an opponent a simple finish.
Tingley looked the better side though, and two goals put them in control by half time. The second of those, just a couple of minutes before the break, was controversial. The Howden Clough keeper was lying on the ground injured, but the referee allowed play to continue and Tingley had an open goal.
A second half sending off for a Tingley player, for his second booking, reduced their chances of adding more goals. Howden Clough pulled a late goal back, but despite plenty of effort they couldn't equalise in the 10 minutes or so that remained.
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