Shirebrook secure safety with point at Dunkirk

It was a very quiet start with 17 minutes on the clock before either side had a chance of note.

When that chance did arrive it fell to Shirebrook as Liam Widdowson played in Kian Tansley, but his shot from the edge of the box flew just wide of the far post.

Just two minutes later Shirebrook were back in on goal when Liam Widdowson forced a Dunkirk defender into a mistake and robbed him of the ball. Widdowson then found himself 1 on 1 with Ryan Howes in the Dunkirk goal and, as Widdowson drove towards goal, Howes produced a fantastic save to tip the ball out for a corner. From that resulting corner Shirebrook did take the lead when Tansley headed into the bottom corner.

Now they had the lead Shirebrook looked to try and extend it with Joe Godfrey twice going close, while Ben Hartley also tried his luck from distance.

As the half went into the final ten minutes Dunkirk were beginning to get on top with Christan Newbold and Oakley Kennedy both going close, while Craig Westcarr fired over the bar from an indirect free kick.

On the stroke of half time Dunkirk did level the score when a cross from the left wasn’t delt with and the ball fell to Luca Burton at the back post to tap home.

As the second half got underway it was Dunkirk who started the half the better of the sides with Matthew Crawford shooting over the bar from just inside the box and Westcarr firing into the side netting.

As the half went on Shirebrook were starting to get chances of their own with Joe Godfrey and Farbod Yousefi both going close. Shirebrook’s best chance of the half so far came in the 72nd minute when they hit Dunkirk on the break and Tansley couldn’t keep his shot down.

As the game went into the final ten minutes both sides were pushing for a winner and Shirebrook almost had it in injury time when Farbod Yousefi was played through however he could only find the side netting with his shot.