Toolstation NCEL Premier Division
at the Windsor Foodservice Stadium
Worksop Town (1) 1
Mark Simpson 22
Maltby Main (0) 0
Attendance 375
Click HERE for Flickr photo gallery... if you dare!
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| Lock up yer daughters Worksop! |
Jon Kennedy, Jordan Hodder, Steve Woolley (C), Matt Thompson, Michael Trench, Steve Wankiewicz, Liam Greenfield (Adam Scott), Mitch Husbands, Jake Currie (Kyle Jordan), Mark Simpson (Conor Chappell), Micah Bishop
Unused subs: Aaron Pickersgill, Michael Blythen
Maltby Main:
Paddy Kenny (Josh Lill 9), Liam Flint, Danny Swales, Danny Harrison (Callum Littlejohn 51), Joe Austin, Ollie Lawrence (Ryan Smyth 55), Danny Patterson (C), Sam Sweeney, Steve McDonnell, Sam Forster, Lee Hill
Unused subs - Josh Hemmingway, Ollie Perry, Jack Conley
Football, particularly non league football, and especially NCEL football, must have the biggest turnover of staff/players in any walk of life you care to mention.
I won't list the entire comings and goings that these two respective teams have made of late, mainly because the details will almost certainly have changed by the time that I get home from today's game and type these notes and observations up, given the speed that things have been happening over the last two weeks.
Today's hosts didn't have a midweek game, but Maltby started their NCEL campaign with a very respectable draw at home against the highly fancied Pickering Town at Muglet Lane on Wednesday night, but it wouldn't be right of me to comment on that game, seeing as I wasn't even there. I had gone to watch the Ched Evans Story in Sheffield instead.
The signing of the former Premier League goalkeeper Paddy Kenny, has to be seen as a massive coup for Maltby Main, even taking into account the fact that they already have two perfectly capable goalkeepers in Jamie Bailey and Josh Lill.
Sadly for the Miners, Kenny tweaked his hamstring kicking the ball down the park and only lasted nine minutes before he was replaced by Lill.
Of course, it is worth remembering, that during his first stint at Worksop Town, their evergreen keeper Jon Kennedy was transferred to Sunderland AFC, who at the time, were also a Premier League club.
Given the telling contribution that 'Kendo' made late in the game, to preserve the Tigers narrow lead, it was a shame for all concerned with Worksop's South Yorkshire neighbours, that it wasn't the home keeper who had pinged himself.
For what it is worth, there is some really stiff competition out their for the accolade, but I reckon that Kennedy is still the best goalkeeper in this division. I was hoping he was going to have an off day, but just like orgasms for ladies of a certain vintage, Kennedy apparently just gets better with age.
Maltby's Ollie Lawrence has started this campaign with a confident spring in his step, having been given his chance to shine by the Miners new management team, after frequently playing a supporting role last term, when he was often on the bench, out of position or taken off to facilitate tactical changes.
But he has kept his head down, worked hard and forced his way into the reckoning and it is good to see him having such a big impact on games and already justifying his place in the starting line up this early in the new season.
It was Lawrence's persistence that created the first chance of the game, when Steve McDonnell forced Kennedy into making a save early doors and his cross for Sam Forster's knock back that saw Sam Sweeney go agonisingly close with his first touch of the ball.
The battling duel between Steve Wankiewicz and Lee Hill, was already turning into an intriguing sideshow all of it's own and in the tenth minute Hill got above Wankiewicz, no mean feat in itself, and flicked the ball on into the path of former Worksop player Steve McDonnell who went to ground in the home side's area after Steve Woolley had given him a crafty nudge in the back, but the referee, Stuart Richardson saw no wrong in the Tigers captain's challenge and waved play on.
To be fair to Mr Richardson, he was fully aware of what sort of game that would be forthcoming today and made allowances for the 'occasional' contact that would occur as players inevitably 'came together' from time to time and whatever those viewing the game from a position of bias towards either team might have thought, the officials actually did alright today.
Hill and Wankiewicz spent so much time clattering into each other all afternoon, there was a rumour sweeping the ground that they're entering Love Island together next year and are among the favourites to win.
And the ever popular with opposition supporters, Danny Patterson (the Worksop fans even dedicated a song to him), had obviously been warned about his conduct beforehand and told that he would be getting a good talking to after the sixth or possibly seventh time that he wrestled a Tigers player to the floor, twisted his victims arm up their back, and said: "Go on then, try to get out of that!"
Old Danny does enjoy a bit of rough and tumble, but he always plays with a smile on his face.
Other teams hate playing against him, while at Maltby, they worry intently about whether there are enough hair care products in their changing room cabinet to keep him happy.
The visitors had put down their marker, and had announced their arrival in pretty much the competitive and combative manner that Worksop had thoroughly expected, but it was the Tigers who scored what was to be the only goal of this physical game that saw both teams fighting fire with fire, when Michael Trench picked up the ball on the left hand side of his defence area and strode forward before playing the ball down the line to Mark Simpson, the former Garforth Town hit man, who was making his debut after arriving at Sandy Lane late in the week from Frickley Athletic. Simpson collected Trench's delivery in front of the visitors bench and cut inside, making a diagonal run towards the goal and having spotted that Maltby's defence were backing off and allowing him space to manoeuvre, unleashed a long range shot and put his new team ahead as the ball nestled into the bottom left hand corner of the goal.
Maltby regrouped and the frantic pace of the game slowed down towards half time, with Ryan Hindley's side knocking the ball around in the middle third, but finding that their visitors (having let their guard down momentarily) were now going toe to toe and squeezing the life out of any attacking notions that Worksop might be harbouring.
The Tigers almost doubled their lead, when Steve Woolley crashed the ball against the cross bar with a long range free kick and Lill did well to keep out Micah Bishops angled shot from the left hand side of the area just before the break.
While at the other end McDonnell's goal bound flick from Patterson's was plucked out of the air by Kennedy.
HT: Tigers 1 v Miners 0
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| At Maltby we even duff our own players up to get a shot in |
Patterson flattened Jake Currie when the Tigers striker crumbled under the full force of a hefty challenge near the halfway line, then accidentally stood on his opponent in his haste to make some room for the undertaker, whoops! I meant the Worksop physio to perform their task of patching Currie up.
Woolley fired a free kick straight into Maltby's defensive wall... maybe he was aiming his shot directly at Patterson, the big lad certainly seemed to be getting in the neck all round this afternoon.
I even heard a cruel spectator mocking him with a taunt of: "Oi Patto! Sideshow Bob wants his ****ing hair back!"
I ask you people, was there really any need for that level of of personal abuse?
Jordan Hodder cleared a McDonnell effort off of the goal line and for the the closing twenty minutes or so, the home defence was put under the cosh as the Miners anticipated direct approach became fully operational and Maltby pummelled and threatened to put their hosts to the sword.
And they would have done had it not been for Jon Kennedy, who put in a match saving, nee match winning sublime display of top drawer goalkeeping.
Hodder and Trench pincered Ryan Smyth as he chased a long ball down the middle of the pitch and Kennedy kicked clear.
Hill, still having his one on one public display of male bonding (live and let live I say) with Wankiewicz, beat the towering centre half to the ball in the air, but his well directed header was blocked by Woolley.
Having absorbed a spell of pressure, Worksop countered and Lill slid to clear the ball at the feet of Kyle Jordan who was charging towards the goal at a fair old rate of knots and went to ground over the Miners keeper, but although the Tigers fans called for a penalty, the referee was unmoved. Phew!
Forster cut in from the left wing and spotted Hill making a run to the back stick, but so did Trench who did well to cut out the cross.
Ryan Smyth let fly with a stinging shot from twenty yards out that Kennedy held onto at full stretch.
The Tigers keeper then turned Flint's shot behind at the expense of a corner, from which Hill head McDonnell's delivery across the face of the goal, but Kennedy smothered the ball.
Hill stepped up a gear and powered past Trench, and Smyth was 'the width of a beer mat' away from converted a chance at the back post.
Forster advanced on the Tigers goal, seeing off two attempted challenges in his stride, but Hodder blocked his shot and when the ball fell to Callum Littlejohn he rattled a shot against the crossbar from twelve yards out.
The Tigers defence were being stretched to the limits, but still digging in the preserve their slender lead.
Josh Lill took a free kick from just inside the Maltby half, which dropped perfectly for Hill, who bounced off a challenge from Trench but still managed to get his shot away, despite landing on his arse, but Kennedy stretched and tipped the ball over from underneath his crossbar.
McDonnell took the resulting corner out on the right and Kennedy once again turned the ball over his bar from Hill's towering header.
Patterson took the flag kick from the opposite side and McDonnell almost put the ball into his former clubs net but couldn't quite keep his effort on target.
In stoppage time, the indefatigable Hill broke free down the right flank and as Kennedy approached him whipped the ball across the face of goal to Smyth, arriving on the scene at full tilt, who got a touch on the ball as it bounced up, but put it wide of the post.
And in spite of a mammoth effort from the visitors, that was that, Worksop had held on and Simpson's flash of improvisation mid way through the first half had proved to be the difference between the two sides. Well that and the agility of Jon Kennedy whose input during the closing stages of the game, bordered on showing off.
FT: Worksop Town 1 v Maltby Main 0
Both sides now face tricky games on Wednesday night, when Worksop entertain Bridlington Town at the Windsor Foodservice Stadium and Maltby make their way up to Farsley, where they take on Albion Sports.
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| Oh Danny boy! |
