RIDGEONS LEAGUE FIRST DIVISION Ely City 2 Great Yarmouth 0 RICHARD Dewsbury s return helped Ely stroll to victory and keep pressure on leaders Swaffham. The skilful central midfielder has been out of the first team since picking up a knee injury in earl

RIDGEONS LEAGUE

FIRST DIVISION

Ely City 2 Great Yarmouth 0

RICHARD Dewsbury's return helped Ely stroll to victory and keep pressure on leaders Swaffham.

The skilful central midfielder has been out of the first team since picking up a knee injury in early September and made an impressive return, keeping possession well on a boggy pitch.

The visitors were on top for the first quarter of an hour. They smashed the crossbar in the 12th minute and Tim Catley had to race off his line to make a good stop a minute later when a striker beat the offside trap.

But City dominated from then on, with Andy Chatters at the heart of the majority of their promising attacks.

Chatters switched wings to the left in the 35th minute and instantly delivered an inch-perfect cross to Simon Warren to head home from 10 yards.

Three minutes later Chatters collected the ball just outside his own box, after a poor Yarmouth corner, and ran 70 yards through the centre of the pitch, but was crowded out as he entered the penalty area.

Robbie Mason forced a good save two minutes before the interval after racing on to Chatters' volleyed through-ball.

Mason went on to miss a host of opportunities in the second half, miss-hitting when the keeper was off his line in the 70th minute, smashing the crossbar from six yards, blazing over after Chatters' long pass and seeing a deflected shot from the edge of the box fall just wide.

But the striker's persistence was rewarded in the 83rd minute when another fine Chatters delivery picked out substitute Tom Beech, who slipped it through for Mason to fire into the bottom right corner from 12 yards.

Ely boss Dennis Lightning said: "Richard Dewsbury was outstanding and it's great to have him back in the side. We also had Tom Pell on the bench on Saturday and James Reeves is ready to return to the squad, and they are both important players for us."

- Ely play Whitton United away on Saturday.

- ELY'S match was preceded by a minute's silence for the club's former secretary, treasurer and player Sam Lawrence, who died in Addenbrooke's Hospital on Tuesday, February 20, after suffering a heart attack. He was aged 74.

Mr Lawrence was involved with Ely City Football Club in various official capacities for 23 years until 1973, and he became the club secretary when he was 16.

He wrote reports on Ely matches for local and national newspapers and is the author of One Hundred Years of Ely City Football Club 1885-1985.

A funeral service will take place tomorrow (Friday) at Ely Cathedral at 11am and all are welcome to attend.