Radcliffe Borough 0 - 1 Wakefield

The thing about non-league football is that you don't go to matches with hopes of seeing a good game because they're invariably tend to be few and far between. And Radcliffe vs Wakefield was no exception.

It wasn't a good game, it was a very game and perhaps the best I've seen at this level for quite some time.

The first half an end to end affair with both sides creating and spurning a host of chances, although to be fair to Wakefield, Radcliffe keeper Phil Priestley played a huge part in them not managing to find the back of the net with a string of good saves.

The second period, while not hitting the heights of the previous 45 minutes, was just as engrossing and despite the Yorkshire side edging ahead in terms of chances and possession held, it looked as though a 0 - 0 was firmly on the cards.

That was until moments from the final whistle when, out of nothing, an inch perfect shot was curled from the corner of Radcliffe's box, over the head of Priestley and off the underside of the crossbar to give Wakefield the lead. And as is often the case it was one of the worst players on the pitch that scored it; former Mossley player Will Ryder having spent most of the previous 85 minutes being one of two makeweights in Wakefield's four man midfield.

That wasn't the end to the drama though as Radcliffe should have rescued the game straight from the restart. Steve Howson brilliantly created an opening for himself and then did something even more breathtaking - but not in the good way, knocking the ball wide of the goal from five yards out with only the keeper to beat.

(Clockwise from top left) Priestley comes to Radcliffe's rescue in the second half; the Mossley supporters man of the match Pat McFadden in Wakefield's Bruce Lee/Kill Bill kit; Will Ryder's shot loops over Priestley and towards the back of the net; much to the delight (and no doubt shock) of his team mates.

From a Mossley perspective it was interesting to see what Wakefield were like as we're still to play them three times this season, and what we saw gave us no cause for optimism when the first of those matches arrives in just over a fortnights time. They may be midtable like ourselves but they also possess the strengths that sides who've recently put us to the sword have had, i.e. two dominant centre halves, a commanding, ball winning midfielder (Jay Sobers) and two incredibly mobile forwards who like to run with the ball.

They may well have only been playing Radcliffe, a team adrift at the botom of the league, but the home side weren't too shabby either as anybody who saw their recent game with us will testify. While there's an air of resignation around the Inn2Gether Stadium to the fact that they're likely to get dumped into the NWCL at the end of the season, they're certainly giving 'survival' a go and good luck to them. The last thing we need at the level we're at is local fixtures disappearing.

According to the Wakefield statistician there was a total of 28 shots in the game with 13 being on target and as an alternative to staying in on a Tuesday night (whilst trying to avoid catching even the merest glimpse of the inane drivel that is Holby City), it doesn't really get much better than that.