A double from Scott Vernon and a header by Lewis Collins saw the Owls claim a comeback 3-1 victory over Glossop on Tuesday evening. Jeremy Seosolo’s deflected shot had given the visitors the lead, but Clee’s patience and resolution won the day. It was the 7th successive Northern Premier League triumph at Linden, a run stretching back to April.

Just the one change from manager Dave Smith. Jack Fixter came in at right-back for Conor Marshall. The side lined-up as follows:

Goal: Theo Richardson
Defence: Jack Fixter, Tim Lowe, Oli Donald, Jon Oglesby
Midfield: Ben Davies, Alex Flett (c), Lewis Collins
Attack: Brody Robertson, Scott Vernon, Josh Batty

Subs: Jack Richardson, Adam Millson, Alfie Usher, Brandon Buckley, Jack Boswell

The groundstaff had done a fantastic job to deal with the recent rain and the surface was in excellent condition at kick-off.

Despite their lowly position, Glossop began brightly, but it was the Owls who came closest to opening the scoring in the initial skirmishes. Batty twice went close and then Collins curled just the wrong side of the upright.

The clearer chances were falling the home side’s way, including a shot by Flett which Vernon nearly toe-poked into the net. Therefore, it was a shock for the faithful when the Hillmen grabbed the initiative in the 32nd minute.

Jeremy Seosolo picked up possession on the left side of the box and there did not appear to be any imminent danger. The Glossop man let fly though and a big deflection, which totally wrong-footed keeper Richardson, helped the ball fly into the top corner.

Rather than going into their collective shell, the Owls continued to play a patient game and got their reward shortly before the break. A spell of pressure pinned Glossop back and, as the ball was again lifted into the danger zone, Scott Vernon rose to nod home his 10th of the campaign.

HT Cleethorpes Town 1 (Vernon 44) Glossop North End 1 (Seosolo 32)

North End had the first look at goal after the restart in the 49th minute, but a decent chance was screwed wide.

The Derbyshire outfit paid a heavy price soon afterwards, as Clee powered to the front. It had a touch of real quality as well. Fluid team movement led to a cross coming in from the right flank and Lewis Collins timed his jump to the second, bulleting a header beyond stopper Latham.

Richardson was required to make a reflex low save as Glossop briefly threatened and the first sub saw Jack Richardson replace scorer Lewis Collins. There was also the only yellow of the night, shown to Brody Robertson.

It was substitute Richardson who was involved in the next major incident. The midfielder was clumsily felled as he surged into the area and the referee did not hesitate in pointing to the spot. Reliable penalty taker Scott Vernon, who has a fine variety of placement options from 12-yards, did not waste the opportunity to provide Clee with a welcome cushion.

Glossop’s resistance had been broken and, although the visitors continued to battle gamely, it was Clee who had a stranglehold on proceedings. The final two changes were made during the final quarter-hour. Brandon Buckley and Alfie Usher were introduced. Josh Batty and Scott Vernon enjoyed a well-earned rest after putting in some hard toil.

No more goals were forthcoming to further ice the cake, Davies coming closest from a direct free-kick. Nevertheless, Clee could be well pleased with their shift and, with results elsewhere falling kindly, the comfortable win enabled the Owls to fly to a handily placed 3rd in the division, just 3 points from the summit.

FT Cleethorpes Town 3 (Vernon 44, 67 pen, Collins 51) Glossop North End 1 (Seosolo 32) Attendance: 262

Writing the comment section of these reports is becoming easy – another home win and another excellent performance. Long may it continue!!

There is definitely a growing maturity throughout Dave Smith’s side. The recent run of wins at Linden (the match against Lincoln aside) have all seen a period of adversity somewhere in the 90 minutes. We have approached the situation well though, basically just keeping to our plans and knowing that our quality can win the day.
The sponsors gave the man-of the-match to Jon Oglesby, which is fair enough. My own narrow preference would be for Ben Davies, who tends to make everything look routine. Ben and Alex Flett certainly provide a formidable barrier in midfield for opponents.

A long poke to Stoke-on-Trent to face Newcastle Town at the weekend. All support will be well-appreciated and a win could see us go top – COME ON!!

Details:
Saturday 5th October – 3pm
Newcastle Town – BetVictor Northern Premier League
Red Industries Stadium, Buckmaster Avenue, Clayton, Newcastle-under-Lyme, ST5 3BX

Admission:
To be confirmed

UP THE OWLS!