Quality the name of the game

ACTION STATIONS . . . Dog and Partridge’s Wayne Howarth (striped shirt) is surrounded by Saddleworth rivals.

Dog & Partridge 1, Saddleworth FC 1

FOOTBALL: TWO of the Midas Plumbing and Heating Supplies Oldham Sunday League’s newest clubs were happy to share the spoils in this David Giblin First Division fixture at Clayton playing fields.

The fact that each side had a man sent off by referee Steven Clegg should not detract from – at times – the quality of football on display.

Dog’s Mark Hope had literally no hope of avoiding a red card for violent conduct, while Saddleworth’s Adam Young was dismissed on a second yellow card for deliberate handball.

Dog were without midfielder Dominic Hallam who stood dolefully on the touchline nursing a dislocated shoulder.

But it didn’t stop them from racing into a 29th-minute lead when Wayne Haworth’s slide-rule pass allowed Imi Bash to round Saddleworth ’keeper Andy Young before slotting the ball home.

Saddleworth could have taken the lead after just 44 seconds, but were denied when Jamie Clarke in the Dog goal pulled off a breathtaking save, diving low to his left to keep out a Joel Longmore header.

Longmore, however, got his revenge seven minutes before the break when he was first to react to a loose ball in the six-yard box, forcing the ball home with some force.