Late show earns three points

A late Jamie Sleigh goal was enough to give the Lions all three points in a game where perseverance was key.

Heanor were the dominant force throughout the game and had chances in the first half to put the game to bed. Sam Birks dragged his shot wide before Jamie Sleigh and Kyle Daley saw efforts sail over and saved, respectively, as the game was goalless heading into the interval.

The second half followed a similar pattern; Sleigh missed two golden opportunities within minutes of the restart. Firstly, he saw his shot saved at the near post before latching onto a long pass to volley just wide of the post.

The hosts were barely a threat throughout the game but saw an opportunity to snatch the lead on the hour mark but Wayne White was equal to Mark Etherington’s long-range attempt.

With the game seemingly heading to a stalemate, it took the quick thinking of Sleigh and Vowles to break the deadlock. The Lions caught Ingles on a counter-attack and Jamie Sleigh’s volleyed pass found Jesse Vowles and he drew the ‘keeper out and put the ball on a plate for Sleigh to roll into the empty net.

The lead was almost doubled later on but Sleigh couldn’t divert his effort on target after seizing on a defensive error.