As Andy Parky entered Tower Road and approached Pleasington Playing Fields he was filled with an a feeling of fear and nervousness and a headache that was threatening to distract him from the job at hand. Some would say this was caused by the pressure of being a manager whose team were on the back of a three match losing streak, others would say it was caused by Lidl's own brand cider being 0.3% stronger than Strongbow!
Immanuel's supporters came to Sunday's encounter with Brownhill Arms hoping to see their team record their first victory in 3 weeks and put in a performance that was befitting of this proud club. Little did they know what they were about to see on the day when quiet man Graham Harrison let his guard down and showed some of his true colours. And it was not a pretty sight.
The game could not have started worse for Immanuel. They were the slowest team out of the blocks and found themselves deservedly behind after 7 minutes as Brownhill showed how dangerous they are from set pieces.
This goal seemed to wake Immanuel up though, and within a minute they were level as Danny Riding made a foray forward before sending John Spencer through to finish expertly and bring Immanuel level and from then on Immanuel were the better side.
Any fears regarding Andy Parky's future as Immanuel's manager were surely relieved before half time with a managerial masterstroke. On 33 minutes, Parky made the brave decision to substitute top scorer Andy Dewhurst for Joel Gaskill amidst chants of 'You Don't Know What You're Doing' from the 5-strong Immanuel crowd. His decision was vindicated 11 minutes later however, as Gaskill found himself one on one with the keeper and showed enough composure to round him and slot home to give Immanuel a half time lead.
Gaskill further repaid his manager's faith as 5 minutes into the second half he arrived late at the far post to tap in a Graham Harrison cross and give Parky's side a 2 goal cushion and surely seal the game for Immanuel.
Immanuel do not like to make things easy and on the hour mark Brownhill pulled themselves back into the game with a good finish.
Then came the big talking point of the match. Graham 'The Hitman' Harrison viciously stamping on the Brownhill keeper's toe as he tried to quickly throw it out causing a reaction which can only be described as bizarre. Who would have thought that such an obese goalkeeper would be able to move his arms so slowly when throwing a punch? Nevertheless, a punch is a punch and the referee had little choice but to reduce Brownhill to 10 men. Harrison's disgraceful behaviour had gained his team a numerical advantage.
Before another ball had been kicked 10 had become 9. In the ugly scenes that had followed the first sending off the referee had been on the receiving end of some language that would have been better aimed at 'Chopper' Harrison and Brownhill were on the receiving end of another red card.
They did not let it dampen their spirits though, and within a minute of the game restarting they were level. But their joy was short lived. Danny Mooring's 2 goals in 6 minutes killed off the game as a competition and Oswaldtwistle Immanuel deservedly recorded their second win of the season.
It was a match that had everything and was an enthralling encounter. Immanuel gained a hard fought win that made the supporters' weekend but the major talking point was the two sendings off and the behaviour of last season's star signing, Harrison.
The match highlighted a few important points. A. When under pressure, Parky always has the tactical nous to win a game with a substitution, B. If you keep plugging away and keep your head up, you will get your reward, and C. Always be wary of the quiet ones, they often have another side to them. Peter Sutcliffe was a quiet man, Fred West was a quiet man, Graham Harrison is a quiet man....
