West Riding County Amateur League Premier Division: Steeton 2 Littletown 2

STEETON came from 2-0 down to prevent the visitors from going top of the table.

The Chevrons made two changes to a line-up which had survived three consecutive games as the unavailable Steve Pearson and Michael Rhodes were replaced by the club's longest-serving player Sam Rooke and Tom Sowerbutts.

The latter almost opened the scoring after six minutes when he latched on to a pass from Lee Reilly but his effort struck the post and rebounded to safety.

Striker Graham Holmes also went close when goalkeeper Mikey Smith punched out a cross to his feet but his snapshot just missed the target.

Five minutes later Holmes turned provider when his cross saw a glancing header from Reilly beat Smith but bounce the wrong side of the goal.

The deadlock was broken after 25 minutes when a huge punt from the Littletown keeper caused confusion down Steeton's left flank. The failure to clear allowed the league's leading scorer Joe Jagger to put in an angled drive which struck the far post, rolled along the goal line and bounced into the net off the other post.

Two minutes later the hard working Holmes almost equalised but his header went over the bar.

After half an hour a scramble saw the ball fall to the feet of Andy Holden, whose effort struck the underside of the bar and went to safety.

When Andy Briggs did find the target just before the interval, the referee ruled he was offside.

Steeton went two down as a result of almost equalising. A sloppy backpass saw Reilly almost reach the ball on the edge of the box but keeper Smith just beat him to it and hoofed the ball to the other end of the pitch where Jagger latched on to it and slid it past Wayne Mahomet to notch his 40th goal of the season. There was a dispute whether the striker had been offside but the referee allowed the goal to stand.

In the hope of salvaging at least a point, acting manager Adam Smith replaced Joe Mason, Andy Holden and Olly Hunter with Elliot Scott, Alex Yates and Jonson Butterfield.

Littletown's second goal seemed to bring out the best in the hosts, who moved into top gear with skipper Tim Hird shining in midfield.

On 75 minutes, a free-kick just inside the Littletown half on the touchline was taken by keeper Mahomet, who swung the ball perfectly into the area for Alistair Morgan to powerfully head home. Steeton piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser and it came four minutes later when Holmes headed the ball across the goal before Reilly stooped low to nod home.

The last ten minutes saw Steeton come under enormous pressure but they held out thanks to some stout defending and goalkeeping. They were especially grateful to Scott, who cleared off the line in the last minute.

The point saw Steeton move into fifth spot in the table, remaining three points behind Littletown in third who have a game in hand.

The Chevrons now face five consecutive away fixtures in the league, starting with a trip to DRAM Community on Saturday.

They are also looking forward to two semi-finals on neutral grounds. On Wednesday, April 19 they will play Boroughbridge in the County Cup at Woodlesford and on Tuesday, April 25 they face Littletown in the Premier Division Cup at Campion.

The last league game of the season is at home to Newsome on Saturday, May 13.

Steeton: Mahomet, Mason (Scott), Hunter (Butterfield), Morgan, Rooke, Hird, Holden (Yates), Sowerbutts, Reilly, Holmes, Briggs.