Spennymoor began the league season with a lively win over Farsley as life behind closed doors commenced at The Brewery Field.

Rob Ramshaw opened the scoring before Farsley goalkeeper Steven Drench saw red for a handball outside the area, before Taylor headed in a second before the hour.

Jake Charles pulled a goal back with eight minutes remaining, but Moors held on in the end after missing a host of chances to put the game out of sight.

Jason Ainsley made three changes to the side who began the victory at Bradford (Park Avenue), with the trio of Adam Blakeman, Mark Anderson and Jordan Boon dropping out of the side.

Blakeman, who was replaced at half time due to an injury, was replaced by Scott McLean who made his first appearance for the club, while James Curtis returned to the starting eleven after the completion of his three match suspension.

Jamie Spencer, who made a significant contribution to the second half comeback on Saturday following his introduction, replaced Anderson in midfield.

Kick-off signaled Moors’ first competitive outing at The Brewery Field in 206 days, however, the absence of a crowd due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic meant it was a very different atmosphere to the one heard against Hereford in March.

In a cagey and tense opening, both teams struggled to settle in new circumstances, with Stephen Thompson’s deflected shot the highlights of a subdued first 15 minutes.

It was the away side who carved out the contest’s first big chance when a powerful header from James Spencer was superbly tipped on to the bar from Dale Eve, with the ball bouncing on the line rather than over.

After surviving that scare, Moors hit back and went ahead after twenty minutes through a superbly taken goal from Rob Ramshaw.

Thompson saw another long range effort deflect, however, this time it kindly rebounded into the path of Ramshaw who drilled a pinpoint shot into the bottom corner past Steven Drench.

That goal saw Moors take a grip on the contest and the lead was almost doubled when Tyler Forbes slices a shot wide following some fine footwork from Ben McKenna.

A frantic affair, which gathered intensity as it went on, took another turn when Farsley goalkeeper Steven Drench was adjudged to have handled out of his area after a shot from Forbes which struck the post.

After deliberating with his linesman during a significant delay, Drench was shown a straight red to the dismay of the away dugout.

An appeal for a penalty seconds before the interval was also turned down as Moors went into the break a goal and a man to the good.

Ryan Hall replaced Stephen Thompson at the break, but the pattern of play remained the same as Moors doubled their lead twelve minutes after the restart.

The goal was crafted by the electric McKenna, firing in a teasing and driven cross which just required a touch, and Taylor duly obliged with a flicked header past substitute keeper Samuel Kelly.

It was Taylor’s third goal of the season after a double in the cup at the weekend.

McKenna, who provided the assist for the second goal, had a great chance to get in on the act moments later, but he blazed over the bar following Ramshaw’s cut back, before Taylor sliced from close range following a smart save from Kelly.

Eve was called into action with fifteen minutes remaining when he made a stunning double save from Spencer and Jake Charles, before Jordan Richards blazed over the crossbar.

That pressure from the away side eventually led to an equaliser when substitute Charles swiveled in the area before trickling a shot past Eve to half the deficit.

Farsley were adamant they should have been awarded a penalty in the dying seconds but the referee waved away their appeal.