Flanagan’s Onions 1 Hamilton Parish 0

Flanagan’s Onions strengthened their chances of qualifying for the Dudley Eve Trophy next season with a late victory over Hamilton Parish at Goose Gosling Field on Saturday night.

An own goal from defender Ijahmon Mallory in the 85th minute handed Onions their sixth win of the season to remain in fifth place in the league table, just five points behind leaders Dandy Town.

Onions narrowly missed out on a top-six spot last season, having suffered an alarming drop in form during the second half the campaign, but Mick Ward, their coach, is confident that there will be no repeat slip-ups this time around.

“It’s nice to see us looking to move up the table [at this stage of season] rather than down it,” Ward said. “We’ve been better this season and we’ve learnt from last season.

“Last season we just wanted to finish as high as we could and by the end of the season it was a case of trying to stay up.

“Having stayed up, we then said, ‘Right, let’s now look a bit farther’ and obviously the Dudley Eve is the next step for us.”

Both sides seemed to cancel each other out during a competitive first half, with Ian Coke, the Parish forward, going closest to breaking the deadlock, forcing a fine double save from Stephen Gould, the Onions goalkeeper.

Shayne Hollis, who, like Coke, caused the Onions defence plenty of heart-fluttering moments with his searing pace and movement, then curled a long-range effort from distance narrowly over the crossbar.

Onions’ best opportunity of the first period fell to striker Keston Lewis, who was betrayed by his usually impeccable touch as he attempted to turn and shoot from inside the box. His effort squirted harmlessly wide. The second half continued in the same vein as the first, with both sides enjoying periods of possession without creating much in the way of clear-cut opportunities.

Donovan Thompson, Parish’s in-form striker, probably should have done better when he blazed a shot wildly over the bar from a tight angle, as should have Lewis with a free header that he looped well over the bar

With the game appearing to be heading for goalless draw, Onions grabbed the match-winner when Sam Butler delivered a dangerous cross from the right that Mallory headed into his own net while under pressure from the lively Lewis.

Parish poured players forward in pursuit of an equaliser, with Thompson again finding himself with time and space in the Onions area in the final exchanges. The chance, however, fell to Thompson’s weaker left foot, with the youngster dragging his effort well wide.

The final whistle set off relieved celebrations on the Onions bench, with Ward praising his players for managing to protect their slender lead, given their tendency to leak late goals in recent matches.

“I’m absolutely delighted to get the three points,” Ward said. “The past four games we’ve actually gone in front and not held on, so it was obviously nice to come away with the a clean sheet tonight. The three points were a bonus.

“We struggled a bit after Christmas with our fitness, but we seem to have stepped things up in the last few weeks. Certainly our play has been better and we’ve looked far more composed on the ball.”