BY JONATHAN EELES

In a re-arranged fixture Leek Town travelled to Seal Park the home of high flying Mossley in the Pitching In NPL West. Neil Baker picked almost an identical side to the one who drew on bank holiday Monday, with the exception of Tom Carr who was preferred to Will Saxon. This would prove to be an extremely good performance from the Blues who played with quality and a high tempo for much of the game. A fine first half goal from Marc Grocott laid the foundation, and in previous games where Leek failed to score a second they made sure of the points when Tim Grice popped up in the second half to score with an exquisite finish.

The game started brightly for Leek with Trickett-Smith and Carr combing well but Mossleys defence held firm. Mossley counter attacked with across field ball from Potts which just evaded Fawns at the far post. On 15 minutes Leek attacked again with a neat pass from Trickett-Smith to Carr, he elected to shoot which Latham got down to well and pushed it wide. Stevenson followed up before the ball went out and the keeper recovered again to push the shot onto the upright.

Leek continued to press and try their luck with most of the good work involving Davidson or Grocott, Mossley were dangerous on the counter attack and often looked for Keogh and Potts with long diagonal balls. A long ball from Keenan just evaded Stevenson with the clearance going up field. As Leek built again they were awarded a corner and whilst trying to take a quick throw Hickman punched the ball out of Keenans hands and was duly issued with a needless yellow card. Good combination on the left wing saw Carr feed the ball into the middle to Grocott, with his back to goal he turned and dragged back in a single motion and shot with the ball beating the diving Latham and nestling into the far corner to the rapturous applause of the travelling faithful.

This gave Leek impetus and they dominated play for the next 15 minutes until the close of the half, Mossley defended well but often broke the play up at the expense of a foul - with Trickett-Smith, Carr and Davidson all being fouled. On 37 minutes a long ball from Wara was flicked on by Grocott to Trickett-Smith who scored, only to be disallowed for offside. A few minutes later again in almost identical circumstances Trickett-Smith latched onto a long ball but had timed his run to perfection, as the keeper advanced he slipped the ball past him for the ball to roll agonisingly wide whilst being clattered by Latham for his troubles - the referee deemed this was not a penalty.

MOSSLEY 0 - LEEK TOWN 1 HT

Leek continued to attack from the half time whistle with the tireless Trickett-Smith picking up a loose ball on the edge of the area, his drilled shot being parried away by Latham. This resulted in another good spell for Leek with Stevenson delivering some tantalising crosses into the area. A long ball from Wara found Trickett-Smith again but his shot this time whistled over the bar. Good work from Carr resulted in a corner, the ball being delivered to the back post where Harrison headed the ball back across goal to Ryder whose header was just wide.

Mossley then had two good chances with a Potts heading over from a central position and then with a long diagonal ball to Keogh who found Potts in the area, his back heeled shot just evading the post.

Neil Baker made his first substitution of the match with Carr making way for Tim Grice, within 5 minutes this had paid dividends. A long measured ball from Keenan was delivered between the two centre halves, under pressure from Grice they failed to deal with it, he then got in between them pushing through them and squeezing a powerful shot high to the left of the goal that rattled the post before hitting the back of the net - a tremendous finish and much need breathing space for the Blues.

Leek continued to press without committing too many men forward and Mossley did not give up, peppering the Leek defence with long balls to deal with. The game past without much further incident until 89 minutes when Grice again picked up the ball in the Mossley area, twisted and turned to beat three defenders before being closed down before he could shoot - an easier opportunity than the one taken 10 minutes earlier.

MOSSLEY 0 - LEEK TOWN 2 FT

Not many will have argued with the result, Leek largely dominating the play and restricting Mossley to very few attempts, a much needed win on the road which sets the Blues up with confidence against another form side on Tuesday night with the visit of Kidsgrove Athletic for the hotly contested #NorthStaffico.

Leek Town line up as follows

1. Booth

2. Wara replaced by Bavanganga (82)

3. Keenan

4. Grocott (c)

5. Harrison

6. Ryder

7. Carr replaced by Grice (69)

8. Reeves

9. Davidson

10. Trickett-Smith replaced by Short (82)

11. Stevenson

Substitutes : Morris, Saxon (unused)

Attendance : 377