West Didsbury & Chorlton 1 Silsden 1

Silsden earned a point from a competitive fixture on a difficult surface at West Didsbury & Chorlton in which the home side had most of the first half but the Cobbydalers came closest to winning it in the second half.

The visitors had the first chance but Chris Wademan’s shot was well blocked and the Cobbydalers’ Ben Lamb made a superb tackle to prevent West Didsbury taking the lead. The home side did break the deadlock midway through the first half when David Short picked up a ball over Danny Fagan and netted a well-struck shot.

Silsden were disrupted by two hamstring injuries within minutes of each other. Joe Jalil was the first to suffer, Aaron Hollindrake replacing him, and Ben Crabtree was also affected.

Crabtree’s replacement was Josh Brown but it was Hollindrake who made the biggest impression.

Hollindrake began the move that produced the Cobbydalers’ 44th-minute leveller. He collected the ball facing his own goal but turned and ran before playing Wademan in. He dribbled past two defenders and found Dale Feather unmarked and his shot beat the home keeper.

In the second half Craig Nicholls fed Wademan, who forced the home keeper into a fine save, but Nicholls went even closer just a minute later when he broke into the area and curled a shot around the keeper, only to see it bounce back off the angle of post and bar.