Staveley Miners Welfare made the long trip to Pickering Town
with the two sides next to each other inside the top seven in the league. The
Pikes however were six points better off but with a game in hand over their
hosts and with them to play again on bank holiday a win for the Trojans would
see them steal a march over there close rivals for a place inside the top six
come the end of the season.
However close the two clubs are in the main league table the
same cannot be said for the form table. And the home side went into the game
unbeaten in their last nine league games with eight of those being wins whereas
Staveley on the other hand have hit a bit of a slump having not won in four
league matches and have conceded lots of goals in the process.
So it’s fair to say that the Staveley fans travelled more in
hope than expectation and although Pickering playing a fast direct style of
football were on the front foot for most of the half they were reasonably
impressed with the start as Staveley battled to stay in contention.
Ryan Cooper signalled his side’s intent with a shot that
whizzed over the bar inside the first minute, Chris Butt had it well covered
though. The Trojans then went forward with Mohammed Tijani twisting and turning
down the left winning a free kick which came to nothing in the end.
And so it continued with Pickering make the attacking
headway and the Trojans standing firm and counter attacking when they could…
Courtney Hastings pressured Joe Danby into a poor clearance
which fell at the feet of Adam Scott but he over hit his first time return pass
to Hastings and it went for a goal kick.
Another breakout from defence found Kieren Watson out wide
right, he held up the ball and waited for help which duly arrived in the shape
of Adam Scott. He laid off to Kurtis Morley whose clip into the box was headed
towards goal by Courtney Hastings but there was no power in his header and Toby
Wells in goal for the home side collected comfortably.
There had been lots of niggly fouls that had gone unpunished
by the referee and the players were seemingly seeing just how far they could push
the boundaries which was quite a long way to be fair, and Staveley were
fortunate to not concede a penalty when a run across the area was halted by an
outstretched Staveley leg in the crowded box (apologies but the viewing angle
made it difficult to see who).
After fifteen minutes Pickering’s Ged Dalton smashed a cross
low from the left which went across the box and to no one in particular but
prompted Staveley captain Matt Varley to ask his forwards if they could “give
us (defenders) a break”
Another five minutes were spent resisting constant Pickering
pressure but chasing from Mohammed Tijani relieved it a bit when he forced Toby
Wells into a rushed clearance which he spooned over the fence and into the
cricket pitch to his right, Kieren Watson shooting a chance created from the
throw in wide.
Staveley came more and more into things and Courtney
Hastings called for the ball but Adam Scott dwelled on it a bit too long and
was closed down when he eventually tried to find Hastings in the box. He did
win a corner however from which a Hastings shot cannoned off a sliding,
blocking defenders hand but at too close a range for a penalty and so a corner
was given instead, from which a header came out of the crowded box and wide.
After 24 minutes the man in the middle seemed to decide that
he should get to grips with the persistent infringements but actually penalised
Kurtis Morley for a decent tackle in the Pickering defensive third. The
resultant free kick was tossed forward and eventually was put out for a corner
from which Matt Turnbull put his side ahead with a thumping header.
Pickering Town 1 – 0 Staveley MW
But just two minutes later Staveley were given a golden
opportunity to level things when Mohammed Tijani wriggled to free himself in
the box and got his toe to the ball just before right back Niall Tilsley and
was awarded a penalty.
Now, regular visitors to Inkersall Road will be aware that
spot kicks have been a bit of a problem recently and this one went the same way
as Toby Wells saved the effort from Kieren Watson – the fourth in a row missed by
the Trojans.
Staveley created more chances as the half wound to its
conclusion with Kurtis Morley encouraging his team mates to “pass the ball”
sparking a 7 or 8 pass move around defence and midfield which released Adam
Scott, his cross was blocked for a corner from which the “first man” missed a
clearance attempt which fell to Courtney Hastings who couldn’t direct it on
target but, Pickering also had chances and thought they’d doubled their lead
just before halftime after a cross from the right was bundled home but
fortunately it was chalked off for offside.
HT: Pickering Town 1 – 0 Staveley MW
Dan Fletcher replaced Courtney Hastings at the restart and
where the first half had been intriguing and but for a penalty miss reasonably
close the second half was anything but…
The first incident occurred in the fifty sixth minute when
the home side were reduced to ten men with Ryan Cooper receiving his marching
orders for a second yellow card.
It did not have the desired effect though as Matt Turnbull
rose unmarked at the far post five minutes later to head the ten men further in
front.
Pickering Town 2 – 0 Staveley MW
George Johnson replaced Mohammed Tijani just after the hour
and he went close two minutes after coming on shooting wide after a quick
series of passes from Kurtis Morley, Charlie Oglesby and Adam Scott as Staveley
tried to move the ball around to take advantage of the player numbers
disparity.
Alex Pugh took it on himself to try and create something
moving out of defence taking several players on and found himself in the right
wing position where he found Kieren Watson whose shot was deflected wide. –
Arguably the highlight of the second half and “Pughy’s” efforts were greatly
appreciated by his management, team mates and the fans that had made the long
trip.
Pickering still looked dangerous on the attack though even
with ten men and effectively wrapped up the points when Sam Lingard knocked
home a tap in at the far post following a low centre from the right, after 71
minutes.
Pickering Town 3 – 0 Staveley MW
Staveley did manage to get themselves on the score sheet
when Matt Varley headed home an Adam Scott free kick in the 85th
minute but only after the home side had gone down to nine men when Calum Ward
launched a ridiculous two footed challenge on Alex Pugh who was lucky not to
have his season ended right there and then.
Pickering Town 3 – 1 Staveley MW
Pickering still looked comfortable though even with just
nine men and they held on to record their sixth league win in a row and with it
probably ended all hope of a top six finish for the Trojans.
FT: Pickering Town 3 – 1 Staveley MW
Attendance: 113
SMWFC Line Up:1.Chris Butt.2.Chris Baugh.3.Charlie Oglesby(5.Lewis
Naylor).4.Kurtis Morley.5.Matt Varley.6.Alex Pugh.7.Adam Scott.8.Steve
Carty.9.Cortney Hastings(12.Dan Fletcher).10.Kieren Watson.11.Mohammed Tijani.
(14.George Johnson)
