Ollerton Town secured their first win of 2025 on Saturday afternoon, despite playing for more than 70 minutes with ten men, against a plucky Glapwell who looked much better than their position in the bottom three would suggest.

The reverse fixture had been a 4-3 thriller, Ollerton racing into a comfortable four goal lead before Glapwell almost staged an astonishing comeback, and Saturday's fixture also had the potential to go either way, but three moments of real quality from Ollerton proved to be the difference.

It was Glapwell who had the first chance of the game, as Cameron Burgin beat 'keeper Josh Watson to a through ball before failing to squeeze his shot into the back of the net.

In the 11th minute, Ollerton struck first to take the lead. Ashley McEwan delivered a teasing freekick into the area, and defender Vlad Nittiss rose highest to head emphatically home from close range.

Ollerton would have hoped that the goal would put them in control of proceedings but, in the 20th minute, everything changed as Ollerton were reduced to ten men. 'Keeper Josh Watson raced out to challenge a Glapwell forward for a ball 20 yards out, and made contact with the man first, with both players ending up in agony on the turf. The referee deemed that it was a straight red card for Watson, though the young stopper sadly suffered a broken Tibia in the incident, so would have been unable to continue anyway.

Thankfully for Ollerton, they had experienced 'keeper Gareth Briggs on the bench, with Lewis Neville being the unfortunate player who saw his afternoon cut short in the process.

In the 34th minute, Oliver Parfitt spurned a big chance for Glapwell, firing into the side netting from a tight angle after rounding Briggs.

Three minutes later and it was Ollerton who were denied, Adam Scott seeing his effort from inside the area clawed away by Danny Church in the Glapwell net.

However five minutes before the interval, Ollerton did manage to score again. Ashley McEwan received the ball on the edge of the area and sent a fantastic bending strike into the top corner, leaving the 'keeper with no chance.

That put Ollerton into a strong position, but three minutes after the restart, Glapwell got a goal back and it was very much a case of 'game on'. Briggs did really well to get a hand to an initial effort, but as the ball spun away towards goal, Burgin was on hand to poke home from three yards out.

In the 57th minute, Ollerton had a huge let off as Glapwell wasted a massive chance. A pass across the box found Gabriel Oloko in space, just yards out, and he somehow managed to strike the woodwork when it seemed easier to score. The rebound fell to another Glapwell attacker but Briggs brilliantly denied the opportunity.

Five minutes later, and Oloko struck the bar again, with Glapwell really pushing for an equaliser but the visitors' seemed to tire after the hour mark, and Ollerton were allowed to settle and regain somewhat of a foothold in the game.

There was to be no real goalmouth action until past the 80th minute mark, when the game came back to life with two quick fire goals.

The first went to Ollerton, and it was their second stunning strike of the afternoon. Adam Scott displayed the quality that has given him a long, successful career in non-league, wiggling into shooting room and drilling a shot into the roof of the net from 22 yards to put Ollerton 3-1 up with only a few minutes to go, giving them some much needed breathing room.

That did not last long though as Glapwell immediately went up the other end and scored again in controversial fashion. It was Oloko who bundled his way through and slotted past Briggs, but the assistant referee on that side waved his flag to indicate that the Glapwell forward had used a hand to bring the ball under control. However, the referee overruled his assistant, awarding the goal and claiming that there had been an Ollerton foul in the build up.

Despite Glapwell's best efforts, the Ollerton defence stood firm for the remaining few minutes, and Lee Cook's men were able to hold onto a valuable three points.