For the third time this season Staveley Miners Welfare met
Garforth Town with the miniseries in league and cup between the clubs standing
at one win a piece.
The Trojans went into the game on the back of three
consecutive defeats, conceding fourteen goals in the process but poor as that
may be the club on the whole is looking up. The new kids (and big kids) table
tennis arena in a corner of Inkersall road is taking shape. The Ladies
continued their recent good form coming from behind twice to draw 2-2 with the
top team in their league and the under21s not only need just three more points
to be crowned HKL league champions they also won the chance to defend the HKL
league Cup trophy with a 0-1 semi-final win away at Sheffield FC which saw them
through to the showpiece once again.
Scorer of that goal, Nathan Jessop did enough to impress the
watching first team manager Brett Marshall who handed him a place on the bench
for today’s game. Chris Butt who also played a starring role with at least two
top drawer saves in that same under 21s semi-final continued in goal and George
Johnson, a returning from injury Ash Rawson and Dan Fletcher were the other
changes to the starting line-up.
The visitors who were also on a poor run of form, got the
game underway and after a scrappy opening five minutes brought about no doubt
by the lack of confidence in both sides, had the first chance when… Ashley
Preece won a fifty fifty challenge in the centre of midfield and raced forward
to receive a pass from Curtly Martin-Wyatt after the loose ball had fallen to
the big number nine. Preece laid off to Mick Jones and continued his run into
the box receiving the ball back from Jones but Charlie Oglesby made sure that
Preece could only fire wide at the expense of a corner, which Mick Jones headed
well over.
Matt Varley then sent a Garforth clearance back where it had
come from but with more direction and purpose finding Kieren Watson through on
goal. His first touch took it away from Jassim Alali and his second touch was a
left footed strike towards goal which lacked power but still had to be saved by
Garforth goalkeeper, Tom Osbourne who closed his legs just in time to prevent
him being nut-megged and denied Staveley the early lead.
A few more minutes of scrappiness ensued but again it was
Staveley that emerged from it with more quality. Steve Carty on the left hand
side threw to George Johnson, who passed forward to Ash Rawson who with his
back to goal just outside the area laid off back to Charlie Oglesby to “start
again” Oglesby passed right to Matt Varley who found George Johnson again just
past halfway. Johnson used the pace on the ball to roll away from the
attentions of Spencer Lund and found Steve Carty out left. Clever play off the
ball from Johnson, holding position whilst Lund carried on running allowed him
to lose Garforths holding midfield player, find enough space to receive it back
from Carty and find Kurtis Morley who also used the pace on the ball to spin
and played in Kieren Watson whose effort with the outside of his right boot
crept just wide of the far post and out for a corner which, came to nothing
thanks to a deflection off ‘keeper Tom Osbourne.
Garforth nearly scored when Tim Robertson passed the ball
just past the far post on 22 minutes following a corner, as did Kieren Watson
when pouncing on a mistake in the Garforth defence to strike wide of the far
post. But on the half hour mark Staveley got the breakthrough they had merited
when Steve Carty gathered the loose ball and supplied Kurtis Morley who played
a carbon copy of the ball he played for Kieren Watson’s chance earlier but this
time found Adam Scott who knocked it right footed, past Tim Osbourne in goal.
Staveley MW 1 – 0 Garforth Town
10 mintes later it was two when Charlie Oglesby headed clear
a Garforth attack which landed nicely via the head of the visitors Ashley
Preece at the feet of Kurtis Morley. He supplied Kieren Watson whose run and
shot was parried by Tom Osbourne into the path of Dan Fletcher who tapped home
from close range.
Ht: Staveley MW 2 – 0 Garforth Town
Garforth got themselves back into the game in the fifty
second minute when Jassim Alali tossed a free kick into the Trojans box which
was just too high for Matt Varley to get full contact with his head and
inadvertently flicked it on to Ashley Preece who smashed it across goal where
Curtly Martin-Wyatt was waiting to apply the vital touch.
Staveley MW 2 – 1 Garforth Town
The game then settled back into the scrappiness that had
beset a good portion of the first half but the blustery, rainy conditions that
had appeared from nowhere were not helping the spectacle. It’s fair to say that
with nothing to lose Garforth were the team pressing forward but they were not
causing that many problems for the Trojans who with the recent run of defeats
can be forgiven for not being that adventurous preferring instead to remain
solid and hit their opponents on the counter attack if need be.
In fact it took till the seventy fourth minute for a real
shot on goal from either side. Which fell to Garforths halftime substitute Jack
McCarthy who rose to head Khalid Alali’s left sided freekick towards goal and
couldn’t believe it when he saw Staveleys Chris Butt dive to his right and tip his
goal bound effort past the post and, that was as close as either side got to
scoring again as Staveley claimed three valuable points, stopped the rot and
with results going their way elsewhere gave themselves a huge chance of
catching Pickering Town (who it just so happens visit Inkersall Road on Monday
28th at 3pm) in the race for the top six finish which seemed beyond
them just one game ago.
Attendance: 112
SMWFC Line up: 1. Chris Butt.2.Alex Pugh.3.Steve Carty.4.Ash
Rawson.5.Matt Varley.6.Charlie Oglesby.7.Adam Scot. (16.Nathan Jessop).8.Kurtis
Morley.9.Dan Fletcher. (15.Courtney Hastings) 10.Kieren Watson.11.George
Johnson (12.Jamie Brown)
Subs not used: 14.Greg Fitzpatrick. GK.Nick Siddons
