Tuesday May 1st 2018
EvoStik Northern Premier League (South)
Play Off Semi Final
At the Big Fellas Clothing Sizes 2XL to 8XL Stadium
Frickley Athletic (0) 1
Jacob Hazel 90+3
Stamford (2) 2
Rob Morgan 21
Kieran Wells 34 pen
Admission £10. Programme £2. Attendance 536
Frickley had already beaten Stamford twice already in the league this season and finished eleven points ahead of them. But those kind of statistics count for nothing in play off matches, where the outcome of the best part of ten months effort, can be flushed down the crapper as a consequence of one solitary result.
Stamford have a very thorough and efficient scouting network (Hi Westy!) and they had obviously run the rule over tonight's opponents and work out a game plan to nullify the home side's strengths while exploiting any sort of Achilles heel that they may have shown while under close scrutiny.
Only one club in the last thirty years has ever been relegated from the Northern Premier League and won promotion straight back into it the following season. and that was Accrington Stanley, who are of course now a League 1 team.
And guess what!? They didn't use play offs to decide promotion back in those days either.
So that was the reality and scale of the challenge facing the South Elmsall based home side tonight.
The visitors started on the front foot, while Spencer Fearn's side initially began slowly and looked to be struggling to get into the game.
Perhaps it would be an exaggeration to say that they appeared to be suffering from stage fright, given the enormity of the occasion, but they were certainly edgy and lacking the kind of collectiveness and cohesion that you could normally virtually guarantee them showing throughout this challenging, but in the main successful season.
I understand that the use of the word successful, is subjective... and having read the Frickley fans forum (yes, somebody still does!), my interpretation of the word probably differs from several other people's; however,
even though there isn't any silverware in the Westfield Road trophy cabinet (but that could still change if the Blues win the Sheffield & Hallamsire Cup later this month), to my mind, a club that was in terminal decline and possibly even teetering on crashing through the trapdoor to football oblivion, have, in just twelve months, successfully reversed that downward trend and steered Frickley Athletic back in the right direction, where they are on course to move forward on an upward trajectory.
Does anyone honestly believe that would be the case if things had carried on the way they were?
And one final question: Is success only measured in terms of trophies won? Or does a club who, on all levels, is showing a marked improvement on where they were twelve months ago, also qualify for such an accolade? There is only one right answer by the way to that line of enquiry by the way, regardless of how you might struggle to reach it, while actively and steadfastly scraping the barrel to look for negatives.
Each to their own of course. But I'm sure that the vast majority of supporters who regularly watch game sans any prejudices and petty agendas, have been picking up on the positive vibes and aura around the club of late and are grateful that an obvious feelgood factor has kicked the prevailing atmosphere of doom and gloom into touch.
Even if the game didn't go to plan tonight.
After just two minutes Kieran Wells, rattled the Blues keeper Jake Turner, with a firm but (borderline) fair shoulder to shoulder, airborne challenge, just to let him know he was there, pumped up and raring to go.
Michael Armstrong and (in particular) Rob Morgan, were taking the battle for the middle of the park by the scruff of it's neck early on, while Jon Challinor who taking the game to the host side down the left flank and linking up well with (in particular) Rob Morgan.
I guess that it stands to reason that you've got to be damn good, to parade around on a night in South Elmsall, with a lasses hairstyle, but Morgan (in particular) fitted the bill.
Stamford had the first real goal scoring chance of the night, when Henry Eze headed over from a Jake Duffy's flag kick and moments later Morgan tested Turner with a well struck shot after making himself room to have a go with a burst of pace.
Eze had an awesome game for the visitors, I overheard him described thus in South Elmsall parlance: "****ing hell! Their number six has probably got massive muscles in his cock". Thankfully he never whipped it out to clarify the inquisitive speculation, but he used every other tool at his disposal to impose himself on this enthralling contest, especially after the break, when Frickley scatter bombed the Lincolnshire side's goalmouth.
But that was to come later on, in the meantime, Stamford were in the ascendancy for the opening thirty five minutes or so.... and deservedly took the lead in the twenty first minute, when Eliot Putman's left wing delivery was punched out of the six yard box by Turner, but fell to Ben George just outside the right hand edge of area, who lofted a great cross for Morgan to cushion a looping header over the Frickley keeper and into the net.
Stamford pushed forward on the left again and once again Putman knocked the ball into the danger zone, but this time Danny Burns blocked Wells shot.
Challinor's long throw into the Frickley area bounced up in front of Burns and hit him, but the referee Mr Matthew Corlett (not Matthew Corbett surprisingly enough) adjudged that the Blues number six was guilty of a handball infringement. It was harsh in my opinion, but these things happen and you just have to get on with it, which is exactly what Wells did, as he belted the ball past Turner and celebrated wildly, like he'd just won THE66POW player of the year award, or something just as important.
Moments later, Wells was in a good position once again, but fell theatrically under a challenge from Jameel Ible and the chance went begging. Good strikers instincts by the ginger kid mind you.
Having fallen two goals behind, in front of an expectant crowd, Frickley finally got their arses in gear and began to make a game of it towards half time, but that man Eze made two blocks and Danny Haystead prepared himself for the second half by pulling off a great save, which is something he was going to be doing frequently after the interval... but the Daniels held out and went into the break with their two goal lead intact.
During a last ditch scramble just before half time, a thumping shot by Hazel appeared to be heading for the back of the net, but was kept out by an outstretched arm, clad in a red sleeve. The referee was good at spotting hand balls, apparently... but somehow he missed this one. He'd seemed so alert before the game when I shared his crack pipe with him, while he showed me his collection of famous glove puppets too.
HT: The Blues 0 v The Daniels 2
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| A Frickley Leg-end! |
Way back in history, 1836 to be precise, President General Antonio López de Santa Anna, launched a ruthless and merciless assault on the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Béxar, brutally butchering all of the Texan defenders therein.
The second half at the 'Wezziecana' was a similar scenario to that as Frickley bombarded the Stamford penalty area, smashed the crap out of the goalposts and crossbar numerous times and caused a ceaseless tide of mayhem in front of Danny Haystead, who surely must've earned himself the man of the match tin of Quality Street, with a sublime performance, that incorporated a string of top class saves, that proved to be just as important to his team at one end as their goals were at the other. And, it needs to be said, that if the Texans who were trapped in the Alamo Mission, waiting to be slaughtered, would've had Henry Eze on their side, instead of John Wayne and Richard Widmark, they would've have pissed it repelling all of those Mexicans, until reinforcements turned up to save the day.
I'd swear that at one point the Daniels number six did actually display his musclebound member to everyone present and whack the ball away with it from a long Nicky Darker throw in, but that potent stuff that I's smoked with the referee was blurring my vision as badly as it was his, so I will need somebody who was closer to the incident to confirm this.
Allott was thwarting by Haystead and Ible crashed a header against the crossbar, as Stamford came under a lengthy spell of sustained pressure. Haystead turned away Reece McGinley's shot, but when the ball fell to Hazel flashing, he couldn't quite find the target from the rebound.
Meanwhile, having absorbed a relentless flow of one way traffic, Stamford cleared the ball into the Blues half for Wells to chase... and though the flag went up for offside, while Turner smothered the ball, the prolific striker arrived late and caught the Frickley keeper in the face with his boot.
Cue a straight red card for Wells and a broken nose for Turner, who tried to carry on but had to come off a few minutes later.
I know Keiran Wells of old, he's a good friend of mine, but though it could be argued that if he takes the aggression out of his game, he wouldn't be half as effective as the highly rated striker that he is... I really wish he hadn't just done what he did. It was completely unnecessary and the referee had no option but to send him off.
In the aftermath of the incident, whoever was putting updates on Stamford's Twitter feed said the red card was harsh. Well, lets just say, I love the big ginger lump to bits, most of the time, but the decision wasn't harsh, not by any stretch of the imagination. I have it on very good authority that he was remorseful and apologetic after the game, so lets just leave it there.
Frickley continued to put the visitors defence under the cosh, but it wasn't until deep into stoppage time that they finally broke through the Daniels Fort Knox like defences, when Jacob Hazel planted the ball through a scrum of legs, that even included the Blues assistant manager and sub goalkeeper 'Stan' Stancliffe, but the breakthrough had come too late and it will be Stamford who will play away against Bedworth United in the play off final on Saturday, after the Warwickshire club beat Chasetown in their semi final tonight.
It might be said that Frickley should've made substitutions at half time and reshuffled their pack (isn't hindsight a wonderful thing?) but surely persisting with what they were already doing was the better option, given how many chances they had in the second half and how many quality saves Danny Haystead was called on to make.
One final thing before I go... the Stamford fans were immense tonight and noisily backed their side in good numbers, good luck to you all on Saturday.
FT: Frickley Athletic 1 v Stamford AFC 2
Frickley's next game is on Monday night, when they face Shaw Lane AFC away from home in a Sheffield & Hallamsire Senior Cup semi final. The winners of that game will face Penistone Church at Bramall Lane in the final on Tuesday 22nd May, 2018 (7.45PM)
