HOLSWORTHY’S first outing for over a month saw them held to a frustrating draw on Saturday.

The Magpies were looking to continue their push towards the top four and after starting well, were awarded a 20th minute penalty when Ben Sharpe took a pass inside the box and was taken out by debutant Jay Horrell. Up stepped skipper Jedd Peschke to do the rest.

But within a couple of minutes Millbrook were level as following a mistake down the home side’s left, Will Larsen made no mistake.

The hosts created three decent chances before the break as Chris Wildern was twice denied by Horrell, before Peschke headed in, only to be denied by the offside flag.

The visitors had seven regulars missing and were understandably content to sit in, and made life tough for Holsworthy to break through.

The hosts had a big penalty appeal waved away on the hour when Sharpe raced clear and fell in a tangle with Horrell and a covering defender, before the same man headed over from 12 yards.

Sharpe then scored but again a linesman denied the hosts, before Rob Pearce somehow blazed over with an almost open goal following a clearance off the line.

But the final stages saw Millbrook hold out relatively comfortably.

Reflecting on the game, home boss Kevin Squire said: “You could tell that we hadn’t played for a month and that we were a bit rusty.

“We worked hard but lacked that bit of quality to finish off the chances we made, and in the end it just wasn’t to be.”

HOLSWORTHY: Ryan Chadwick; Jedd Peschke (capt), Callum Martyn, George Plumb; Sam Hill, Jay Thomas, Gavin Carter, Rob Pearce, Will Harris; Ben Sharpe, Chris Wildern. Subs: Josh Down, Joe Barker, Todd Peschke, Aiden Slade.

Magpies’ man-of-the-match: Jay Thomas.