Droylsden 1, Farsley Celtic 2

Farsley’s victory would not have been predicted nor expected by many but the fact that it was earned in extenuating circumstances makes it even more incredulous.

The Celts, trying to secure their Blue Square North status, went a goal down to their promotion-chasing hosts following a contentious penalty.

They had clawed it back to 1-1 before midfielder Dave Syers was sent off. There were still five minutes of the first half remaining at that point but the ten men were in front by the interval.

It was certainly an exceptional 45 minutes and it gave way to the expected one-way traffic in the second period.

With most of the incidents packed in before the break, the only imponderable of the second half was if the Celts could hold out.

What followed was better than damage limitation and they banked all three points from their visit to the Butchers Arms.

All of the major decisions were potentially game-changing and all controversial.

The Farsley players contested the award of the penalty from which the home side took the lead.

Celts left back Ryan Serrant was adjudged to have tripped a forward midway through the first half and Tony Gray drilled in from the spot.

Minutes later, a Simeon Bambrook cross picked out Gareth Grant and the former Bantams striker tucked in a neat shot.

Syers then broke down the flank and shrugged off a defender hanging on to his shirt. The referee deemed there was an elbow involved and Syers was shown a straight red card.

In the last minute of the first half, young Farsley substitute Scott Driscoll latched on to a pass from skipper Dominic Krief and put his side into the lead with his first touch after coming on.

Farsley manager Neil Parsley was left with mixed feelings, saying: “It was a brilliant win. Some of the others have been good but this tops the lot for my money.

“What upsets me is where the game is going when we have referees as poor as the one in charge of this game.

“I have to be very careful what I say but to my mind he has done as much as Droylsden did to try to prevent us winning.

“But I don’t want to take the shine off what was a very spirited, fantastic performance. I have total respect for all of the lads we have in this squad.

“Once again they upset the apple cart and got a result. It proves they can go away to sides above us and do better than just compete.”