Leaders Silsden pull off crazy comeback at Penistone Church

Their hosts would have hit the summit had they won, and that looked the most likely scenario at the interval.

But Silsden superbly fought back from 2-0 down, turning the tables in the second half to record a brilliant 3-2 victory.

Both sides made decent starts, but it was Penistone who hit the front after 21 minutes courtesy of a fine finish by Luca Defalco.

Kayle Price came close to equalising, only to be denied by a great save from Adam Lawlor.

And Silsden instead fell 2-0 behind after conceding a penalty for handball, with James Young converting the subsequent spot-kick.

The Cobbydalers knew they needed a fast start after the break, and they got it when Casey Stewart turned an excellent Ellis Hudson cross into the net after 50 minutes.

Lawlor produced a brilliant stop to tip Stewart’s effort on to the post moments later, but Silsden soon equalised anyway, Luke Brooksbank firing a shot home from the edge of the box.

Luke Brooskbank scored a fine equaliser for Silsden on their way to beating Penistone Church. (Image: Gary Lohan.)

The visitors continued to dominate, having one effort disallowed for offside, until Ross Daly was sin-binned.

Penistone got on top against 10 men, but Silsden still carried a threat, with Price thundering an effort off the crossbar.

And with Daly back on the pitch, Silsden scored what turned out to be the winner with 15 minutes to go, as Stewart found a way past Lawlor for a second time in the match.

Stewart then came close to finding the net for his hat-trick, before Jack Stockdill struck a long-range effort narrowly wide.

Tom Greaves should have put the game to bed for the Cobbydalers, but he failed to find the target with a brilliant opportunity.

Penistone almost mounted a fightback in second-half injury-time, as they piled the pressure on, but the Silsden backline, marshalled by powerful centre back Harry Coates, kept them out.

Tempers almost boiled over with some last-gasp handbags after Silsden were awarded a late goal kick, but tempers were quickly quelled.

And moments later, the referee blew the final whistle to signify a monumental three points for the visitors.

The result nicely backed up their thumping 4-1 win at Winterton Rangers on Wednesday night and Silsden will look to increase their lead at the summit when they visit eighth-placed Parkgate this coming Saturday.