A brace from Brody Robertson and a delightful curling effort from Marc Cooper sandwiched between Robertson’s strikes was enough to see off Sedge, however Captain Darren Hanslip was sent off with 20 minutes to go but the Owls held on for the win.

Marcus Newell kept with the same 11 players that won 3-0 in midweek away at Handsworth Parramore. The only change to the whole squad was to bring in Kirk Wheeler in for the rested Louis Grant.

The match could not of started much better for the Owls as they raced into an early lead. In just the third minute Robertson had the ball in the back of the net for the 19th time this season. He coolly slotted the ball into the back of the net after been sent clear with a clever through ball. The high tempo start from the Owls and positive play showed through in the goal and it was much deserved.

With the wind blustering around the Bradley Community Stadium, it was hard for both teams to deal with anything that was lofted high, as the ball seemed to be running away from both sides as they tried to attack.

In the 10th minute though, smart thinking from Oglesby created a glorious chance for Robertson to extend the lead and his goal tally for the season but the linesman on the near side had adjudged that he had gone to early and that it was offside.

At the other end, Liversedge went close to equalising only four minutes later when a lofted ball from Josh Hope into the box found Andrew Wood lurking at the far post. He then tried to square it to Kieran Corley but Owls shot stopper Damien Steer was on hand to intercept the pass across the six-yard box.

Chances kept coming for the Owls but were unfortunately spurned. Firstly, Jack Barlow, playing his 23rd game of the season, fired inches over the bar after Cooper was tackled 25 yards out. Then Robertson held a long ball up well, knocking it into the path of Captain Darren Hanslip. He was then dragged to the floor but managed to play it into the path of Cooper but he could only shoot wide of the mark.

With the Owls pushing up, it left their defence a little exposed and Liversedge almost capitalised on this when the ball fell to Corley inside the 18-yard box, but a great block from Luke Mascall saved the Owls and the ball went out for a corner.

From the corner, the ball was whipped in and headed home by Josh Hope but the referee’s whistle had already blown for a foul on Steer in the build-up much to the Owls relief.

The game ebbed for the next few minutes but then sparked into life in the 30th minute. Barlow shot agonizingly wide after a Robertson short pass. Then the Owls came even closer as a Jonathan Oglesby long-range shot was blocked, the ball spun up in the air and fell kindly to Cooper, 25 yards out but his volleyed effort came thundering back off the woodwork. As the ball pinged back into play, the outstretched leg of Robertson just could not reach the ball was it travelled along the edge of the six-yard box as the youngster slid in.

In the 39th minute, the visitors should of equalised after a indecisive clearance from Lawrence Heward found Tom Jackson inside the box but his curling effort was more than matched by a diving save from Steer.

Just two minutes later though and Liversedge did indeed equalise. The Owls broke forward through Luke Mascall, but he was tackled on the right-hand side. The ball was then ushered forward, cross in and Eli Hey was on hand to knock home an Alex Flett clearance.

Straight from the kick-off the Owls went in search of a quick reply and nearly got this just two minutes later when Oglesby curled a corner in from the right straight onto the head of Heward but his header was cleared off the line. Then as the clocked ticked into injury time, Flett played the ball to Hanslip who then put through to Robertson but he could only hit the ball over the bar.

The chances kept coming deep into added time. Firstly Cooper tested the keeper from 25 yards out but he was more than equal to it. Then in the last action of the half, a free kick awarded to Liversedge for a foul Liam Dickens was taken by Wood. He tried his luck from 30 yards out but his effort went wide of Steers right hand side post.

With no changes at half time, the team made their way back out and with barely a minute on the clock the first yellow card of the game was brandished to Hanslip for a challenge in the middle of the park. This seemed to unsettle the Owls, as Heward could not deal with a long goal kick from Samuel Dobbs as the wind took the ball over his head. The closest player to the ball for Liversedge was Wood who chested the ball down but as he sprinted into the box, Steer narrowed the angle. Wood attempted a lob but the ball bobbled wide much to his annoyance.

The chances kept coming for the visitors as Wood had two good chances in the preceding few minutes but saved header and a dragged shot wide was all that he could muster.

With the wind not playing into the Owls hands during the second half, they found it tough and were limited to long range shots and this was evident when in the 57th minute Flett took aim from 25 yards out but his shooting boots were not on as he shot wide.

The came a five-minute spell for Liversedge, which should of put the game beyond the reach of the Owls. A long ball from their keeper troubled the Owls defence once more, this time though as Wood was about to shoot, Steer feigned a dive and this put off the advancing striker and he could only shoot off target. Then just two minutes later Matthew Kingston had to clear a Corley header off the line as Steer misjudged a cross and was then out of position as the header came back in.

Just 60 seconds later, Hey was caught just offside as he tried to finish off a neat move. The five minutes of chaos was then complete when Barry Rothera headed wide of the mark after Hey did well to flick on a corner to the near post.

The turning point in the game came in the 68th minute. An innocuous challenge by Hanslip was deemed by referee Matt McGrath to be worth of a second yellow card and he was dismissed from play. Just two minutes later and all the players came together following a challenge on the far side. Luke Mascall and one of Liversedge’s players received a yellow card for their involvement.

This seemed to really turn up the heat on this blustery afternoon, as the Owls retook the lead inn the 73rd minute. A late challenge in the build-up on Heward was not seen by the referee where Heward played a long ball forward, a Liversedge attacker left his boot in and subsequently Heward was writhing in agony. The long ball forward was then knocked down into the path of Cooper. He shaped his body perfectly and curled his effort home, over the stranded keeper sending the homes fans wild. Not only wild in celebration but also wild in anger following the later challenge on Heward.

The referee in the melee only awarded a yellow card to Steer for a protest and nothing more. Heward was swiftly replaced by Peck as the game restarted.

With the Owls on a high and breaking forward as Liversedge looked for a way back into the game, Robertson capitalised on a defensive error just outside the box and had the easiest of chances to slot the ball home to seal the victory for the Owls, pushing them up to 2nd in the NCEL Premier Division.

The remaining eight minutes was played out with little clear-cut chances for both sides as the Owls now look forward to entertaining Barton Town Old Boys on Wednesday night at the Bradley Community Stadium, with a 7:45pm kick-off.