The new look coaching and playing staff at Maltby Main were looking for a winning start when they travelled to West Yorkshire rivals Nostell Miners Welfare.
Despite new Main manager Robbie Barron only had four signed players available to choose from on Wednesday night, he managed to build a team that put up a brave fight in a hard fought match.
The game didn’t start in the way Main wanted, going a goal down after only nine minutes when Neil Beardsmore fired a powerful shot past Main’s Aussie keeper Gerrard Bowtell-Harris and into the top corner.
However, Main were almost level two minutes later when Lee Dews controlled Mick Baker’s great cross field ball but his shot bounced narrowly wide of the goal.
Main winger David Alder-Heaver dragged his shot wide in the eighteenth minute following great build up play involving Nicky Darker, Baker and Jovan Maric and Main skipper Paul Staniforth watched in vain as his deep cross flew inches wide of the far post in the twentieth minute.
Main were againunlucky not to have drawn level in the twenty third minute when Matt Dawson was forced to headed Chris Dickman’s deep free kick away from under his own crossbar with Danny Payne closing in.
On the half hour mark, Maric was denied a spectacular goal when his overhead kick hit Welfare keeper Sam Dobbs in the chest and went out for a corner before, on the stroke of half time, Main almost went two goals down when David Nicholas beat the offside trap to race onto Mikey Long’s ball forward. Nicholas fired in a shot but was denied by a world class one handed save from Bowtell-Harris.
Dobbs denied Maric after only thirty four seconds of the first half with the big striker firing a shot in from a tight angle.

Beardsmore almost doubled his and Welfare’s tally in the fifty sixth minute when he rose to head Long’s cross but his effort struck the cross bar and Baker cleared the danger.
A minute later Welfare were awarded a indirect free kick inside the Main area when Bowtell-Harris picked up Baker’s pass back. Paul Bedford stepped up to strike the free kick but Baker bravely threw himself at the ball to block.
Welfare had another great chance to double their lead on 75 minutes when Bedford’s free kick was tipped onto the bar by Bowtell-Harris. He then palmed away Nicholas’s shot and Tom Thornton headed Long’s cross wide with the net gaping.
Staniforth headed over from Dickman’s corner in the sevnty second minute when he could have given Main the equaliser.
Welfare doubled their lead in the seventy fourth minute when Long smashed the ball into the far corner of the Main goal following Bedford’s square ball and the home side could have extended their lead when sub Toby Rutter’s strike hit the  post then Bedford fired over the bar from close range.
In the eighty second minute Darker received a harsh yellow card when he won a fifty-fifty challenge with Scott Hartley who rolled around on the floor to try and get Darker dismissed. After Mr Foster the referee had shown Darker the yellow card he was shown a second yellow then a red for an uncharacteristic outburst of dissent.

Main: Gerrard Bowtell-Harris, Mick Baker (John Masson 81), Pauk Staniforth (Capt), Nicky Darker, Danny Reilly, Alex Wilson, David Alder-Heaver (Ryan Welsh 74), Chris Dickman, Danny Payne, Jovan Maric, Lee Dews (Carl Thornton 74).