Belper 1 - Sheffield Hallam 1
Scorers: Scorer: Ben Inshaw
Belper capped off an excellent weekend with a hard fought 1-1 draw against second placed Sheffield Hallam which meant a return of 4 points from a possible 6. With other results at the bottom of the league proving tight, Belper now travel to Durham next weekend knowing a win with ensure they maintain their EHL status. "It's been a good weekend, I'm slightly disappointed that we didn't take all 3 points as I felt we were the better side throughout". "We defended well, Sheffield created very little and we had some good chances" commented Ben Lamb, Head Coach. "We've put ourselves in a strong position now and hopefully we can get the result at Durham".
The game was a much tighter affair than the previous day as Sheffield Hallam were well drilled and disciplined. The opening exchanges were very even, although Hallam perhaps edged the opening period with the home side forced to defend. However on the break, through the pace of Tom Sherratt and Nick Morris the Nailers looked dangerous. Ben Inshaw also excelled over the weekend and it was his 3rd goal of the weekend which gave the home side the advantage on 25 minutes. Good work from Nick Morris saw him enter the circle to shoot goalwards with Inshaw nipping in to deflect the ball past the goalkeeper. At 1-0 Belper looked comfortable.
With Belper 1-0 up going into the 2nd half both teams knew the next goal would be crucial. Belper continued to press and looked the more dangerous. Hallam had good spells of possession but they rarely threatened the Nailers goal. That changed on 47 minutes when ex Belper player, Dan Berry entered the circle and Jack Wells produced the foul which lead to Hallam being awarded a penalty stroke. Scott Sanderson pulled the sides level from the spot with an impressive flick high into the roof of the net. At 1-1 both teams had changes but the game eventually ended as a stalemate.