Albion pick up point on the road at Hyde

Witton Albion raised a place into seventh in the BetVictor Northern Premier League standings following a goalless draw away at Hyde United.

An entertaining first half saw chances at both ends. Chris Renshaw made a good save early on while Billy Smart saw a couple of shots on goal blocked away from danger.

A header from Bradley Roscoe from a right wing free kick went narrowly wide shortly before James Short raced in at the far post only to see a low effort well parried by goalkeeper Sam French.

Renshaw made a couple of further good saves to deny Tom Pratt and Alex Starcenko ahead of the half time whistle to ensure the sides went in at the break level.

Danny McKenna was replaced by Cesaire Lingouba at the beginning of the second period.

The home side spent the second 45 minutes on top but couldn't break through a stubborn Witton defensive line.

United had the ball in the net on the hour, straight from a right wing corner, but it was disallowed for a foul in the six yard box.

MJ Monaghan replaced Kyle Sambor midway through the half before Tom Owens had an opportunity on the break as a ball forward found its way through to him in the penalty area, with French coming off his line to close the Witton man down and prevent an effort on goal.

An injury saw Liam Goulding replaced with James Foley for the final 20 minutes as Witton looked more settled after a spell of pressure from the hosts.

Isaac Baldwin cut in from the right and fired a left footed shot which French did well to tip around his post before the final action of the game caused controversy.

A right wing corner was nodded goalwards and scrambled away by the Albion defence with the home side claiming it had crossed the line. The officials disagreed and blew the final whistle.

Hyde United: 1 Sam French, 2 Bradley Roscoe, 3 Kyle Brownhill, 4 Liam Tongue , 5 Tom Dean, 6 Jordan Fagbola, 7 Tom Pratt , 8 Alex Starcenko , 9 Dan Turner (Jamal Crawford 80'), 10 Chris Sharp, 11 Paddy Lane.
Subs: 12 John McCombe, 14 Harry Benns, 15 Jack Dyche, 16 Jordan Wynne, 17 Jamal Crawford.

Witton Albion: 1 Chris Renshaw, 2 Isaac Baldwin, 3 James Short, 4 Josh Wardle, 5 Adam Anson, 6 Liam Goulding (James Foley 71'), 7 Tom Owens, 8 Billy Smart, 9 Danny McKenna (Cesaire Lingouba 45'), 10 Will Jones, 11 Kyle Sambor (MJ Monaghan 66').
Subs: 12 Jack Byrne, 14 MJ Monaghan, 15 James Foley, 16 Cesaire Lingouba, 17 Ryan Neild.