Sporting Armley's amazing 15 game winning streak came to an end against Halfway House, with a frustrated 2-2 draw.
Armley got off to the worse possible start, conceding a very sloppy goal within the very first minute. Halfway House were the quickest off the mark, and their initial pressure paid off when Armley failed to clear the ball within their own area, allowing the opposing striker to smash the ball home past the helpless Dennis Spencer making his debut in the Armley goal.
Sporting were playing against the strong wind in the first half, and as a result struggled to get into the opposition half for most of the game. Morley continuing to launch the ball into the wind at every opportunity.
Armley eventually pulled one back thanks to Glen King's calm finish. The big defender came forward for a free kick, and following a neat flick on, found himself in front of the Halfway House keeper and kept his nerve to bring the ball down and place in into the net. It was the centre back's third goal for Armley in the past two games.
With the hard work done, and the wind on their side, it seemed Sporting were confident of pushing for a win in the second half. It wasn't too long before another Armley defender, Mark Pearson, put Sporting in front with an excellent free kick.
With a crowded penalty box awaiting a cross, Pearson hit his curling shot directly towards goal, taking the keeper by surprise. The shot curled into the net above the flailing arms of the Morley goalkeeper.
Armley continued to dominate the second half, but soon their luck began to run out. Armley captain Anthony Morkos in a desperate attempt to clear a Morley cross, succeeded in directing the ball into his own net to make the scores level once again. Suddenly everything seemed to be against Armley in their attempts to regain the lead.
Striker Gareth Knight had a deft headed goal disallowed for offside, but not until the referee had awarded the goal and then changed his mind as the Armley players celebrated.
The frustration continued to build as the game approached 90 minutes. Left winger Danny Goulden found space for a spectacular long range effort which cannoned back off the post and away to safety. It could have been even worse for Armley had Glen King not pulled off a great last ditch tackle to prevent a certain goal, plus debutant Dennis Spencer punched away several great efforts on goal, and in the final minute pulled off a great one-on-one save to prevent certain defeat.
The final frustration came when Armley captain Morkos was sent off in the final minute for arguing with the referee. Morkos had just made a fantastic run down the right wing, cut inside and launched a match-winning shot into the top corner of the goal. However, the referee deemed the ball had gone out of play earlier in the move and disallowed the goal. Morkos couldn't contain his composure and was sent off for his protests.
The game ended 2-2, but Armley shouldn't be too disappointed. Their 15 game winning streak ended, but they are still 16 games undefeated. It's not over yet for Tony McDonald's men in their race for the league title.
