Monday 3rd September 2012, at Eagle Valley
North Midland U19 League Division 1
Arnold Town (0) 1
Joe Brothwell 64
Staveley Miners Welfare (2) 3
Sam Finlaw 30, Jake Smith 35, Pat Lindley 84
Admission £2 inc. programme and team sheet,
Attendance 36 or so
Arnold Town:Tom Dudley, Jack Norrish, Macauley Bayliss, Connor Scott Parkin, Sam Raynor, Byron Webster, John King, Tom Lees Collier, Marcus Fletcher, Karl Stevenson, Joe Brothwell
Subs - Sam Foster, Rob Dunbar, Brett Langsdale, Luke Jordan. Alex Woolery
Staveley Miners Welfare:
Sam West, Ryan Capuano, Danny Plant, Oliver Greaves, Baba Jack, Ross Goodwin, Pat Lindley, Sam Finlaw, Jake Smith, James Whitfield, Brad Jones
Subs - Chris Gilson, Ryan Stockley, Simon Marsden, Ryan Walters, Oliver Byrne
Truth be told, after Arnold's Karl Stevenson had smashed the ball against the crossbar on 15 minutes, Staveley controlled the remainder of the first half and created enough chances to have been able to declare by half time.Jake Smith came close to opening the score for the visitors, shooting from close range after dribbling around three defenders, but Tom Dudley, got down well to block the shot.
A few minutes later Smith tried his luck against Dudley again, but the Arnold keeper denied him once more.
On the half hour, Sam Finlaw, held off the attentions of several Arnold defenders and fired Staveley in front.
Pat Lindley looked odds on to score, but when he narrowly failed to connect with the ball from a left wing cross, he inadvertently created a decoy for Jake Smith, who was on hand knock the loose ball home past the wrong footed Tom Dudley, to double the visitors lead.
Brad Jones and James Whitfield combined, but Tom Dudley stood firm and repelled the danger.At this point in time, the game was one way traffic.
Lindley and Whitehead combined to put Brad Jones in the clear, but he thundered the ball against the underside of the crossbar and it bounced on the line much to the relief of the Arnold defence.
Sam Finlaw floated a left wing free kick into the box, James Whitefield rose above his marker, but planted his firm header narrowly wide of the upright.
Tom Dudley was called into action, yet again, right at the end of the first half, when Brad Jones let fly from the edge of the box.
Half time, 0-2, the damage could've been a lot worse and Arnold would've grateful for the chance of some respite from Staveley's first half dominance and the opportunity to re-evaluate the situation and make a few changes.
The second half was played an altogether less frantic pace as Arnold regrouped and tightened things up in the middle of the park.All the same, Jake Smith had the chance to put the visitors three up, but fired high and wide when he'd looked odds on to score and James Whitefield put the ball into the side netting from six yards out.
The home side were working hard to force their way back into the game and on 64 minutes they were rewarded for their efforts when John King's blocked shot ran loose to Joe Brothwell and he smashed the ball home from 20 yards out.
Staveley though, weren't going to surrender the points that they should've already had in the bag by half time, regardless of how stubbornly and deeply Arnold were digging in since the interval ... and they pushed forward looking for the third goal that would finish off the home sides dogged resistance.Brad Jones went one on one with Tom Dudley, who turned the ball away at the expense of a corner. But with a little over five minutes to go, the Staveley captain Pat Lindley secured the win for his side, with a deflected shot on goal from outside the box.
Final score: Arnold Town U19 1 v Staveley Miners Welfare 3.
A good night, spent in the knowledgeable and pleasant company of Richard and Ricky Lane and a 'sharp dressed man'.
Fund raising idea for Arnold Town.
On none match days, rent the car park out as an off road, extreme sports arena for Land Rover owners.
My car exhaust can't take much more hammer like that :-O
