DRIFFIELD EI travelled to face local rivals Middleton to replay the abandoned fixture from earlier in the season.
Manager Deverson was without the experienced duo of skipper Dixon and Grice but nevertheless he was still able to field a strong line-up with Haminga returning to the starting 11.
Middleton had the better of the early exchanges but never really threatened Harrison in goal as the back four of Kirby, Thomas, Fowler and Nield looked solid.
EI were trying to utilise their pace out wide with Cousins and Wilkes but they too were being well marked. Dennis nearly gave Middleton the lead after 20 minutes when he found space in the box but Harrison made a smart save to keep the scores level.
The Robinson brothers then created EI’s first opportunity themselves which saw Russ race clear only to be fouled by the last defender which saw him receive a yellow card. From the resulting free kick Briggs made a fine save from Russ’s goal-bound effort.
Middleton took the lead after half an hour. Etherington’s cross from the right should have been dealt with but the ball came off Nield’s shin and wrong footed Harrison in goal and rolled into the net. EI responded and saw Deverson’s header from a long Ricky Robinson throw go narrowly wide. Fez and Penney were locked in an intriguing battle with Haminga for EI in the middle of midfield.
Neither keeper had another save to make as the first half drew to a close with Middleton still leading 1-0. Darling was introduced just after half time and he made an immediate impact with his pace and direct running.
The tackling remained tenacious which saw the referee produce several more yellow cards to players of both sides as the game became edgy. Despite having much more possession EI were finding it difficult to break down a dogged Middleton back four. Harrison made another excellent save to keep his side in the game from a Fez drive.
Rossi and Desiano came on for EI as they searched desperately for an equaliser. Player manager Deverson and assistant Fraser decided to gamble and changed the formation to an attacking 3-4-3 as time began to run out.
Middleton looked dangerous on the counter attack as gaps appeared. EI forced a string of corners which Middleton managed to clear.
With three minutes remaining EI finally grabbed an equaliser. Haminga won the ball near the centre circle and passed to Ricky Robinson. His floated ball from the right found his brother Russ on the run inside the box and he smashed an unstoppable left foot volley past Briggs to the delight of the EI players.
Then with only 30 seconds left EI scored a sensational winner. Darling found himself in space and his through ball split the Middleton defence and saw young Wilkes in the clear. He coolly slotted the ball past Briggs to score. The resulting celebration from the EI players was as if they had just won a cup final. The referee blew the final whistle moments later as EI secured an excellent victory.
Manager Deverson was delighted with the result, saying: ‘The lads never gave up and it was a fantastic team effort.
“The spirit within the team and the never say die attitude from every player was superb. It was a tight game with few chances, fortunately for us we took ours with two tremendous finishes.
“You could see how much it meant to the lads the way they celebrated the winning goal.”