Swinton Athletic Res 4 v United Worksop 4 - Sheff County Senior League Div 2

Saturday 6th April 2019
Sheffield County Senior League Division 2
at Swinton Miners Welfare, Park Road, Swinton
Swinton Athletic Reserves (1) 4
Ben Taylor 28,
Nathan Walsh 49,
Dane Shaw 84,
Martin Rouane 87
United Worksop (1) 4
Aleks Szynal 23, 47, 78
Adrian Blachewicz 82
Point & hope photo gallery from today's game: Click HERE

United Worksop played the last of their County Senior League fixtures for the current campaign this afternoon, in what turned out to be, a high scoring game of football, played at a very high tempo... it was knackering just watching from the touchline.
After which they finished the day in seventh place, just two points ahead of today's hosts, who themselves, still have one game left to play... when fourth placed Ardsley Athletico, visit Park Road next Saturday. Which means of course, that neither of these two sides will actually know their final position in the table until after next week's games have been completed.

This Division Two clash, kicked off at 2PM, at the behest of the visiting side, who had asked for it to be brought forward because so many of them needed to be back in Worksop to start their night-shift.
The league's ruling body and Swinton Athletic FC were happy to grant United's request, which was nice of them.
It was good to see Ryan Hall was refereeing the game, he evidently believes in letting the game flow and shows a good measure of common sense when it comes to applying the 'advantage rule'... which, with all due respect to the occasionally frantic pace of games in this league, was precisely the right kind of approach to adopt.

Swinton had two early chances to open the scoring, but Sam Atkinson launched a second minute free kick from twenty yards out over the bar... and Piotr Strycharz did well to smother Arron Giles effort after Nathan Walsh and created a half decent chance for him with a measured sideways knock.

Danny Wilson was caught napping when he tried heading the ball back to his keeper Ben Dring, but inadvertently nodded it down into the path of Patryk Zuckowski, whose blistering shot was turned around the right hand post by Dring.

The visitors opened the scoring in the twenty third minute, with a goal that owed much to the persistence of (P) Zuckowski, who having had his shot blocked after being put through into the right hand side of the area by Przemyslaw Gulczynsk's slide rule pass, battled to regain possession of the ball before knocking it inside to Aleks Szynal, who planted the ball across the face of Dring's goal and into the bottom left hand corner of the net.

Swinton went straight on the offensive, looking to restore parity and Strycharz was soon called into action again, diving in to save the ball at the feet of Alex Butterfield, who reacted quickly to reach the rebound after Atkinson's initial attempt had been blocked.

Ben Taylor steered the ball past Strycharz just before the half hour mark, to put the hosts on level terms, after the Worksop keeper had blocked Butterfield's shot and the Swinton number four reached the loose ball first.
Swinton rallied towards the end of the first half and had a string of chances, that saw Atkinson go close twice, while Strycharz did well to get down to his left to turn Butterfield's low free kick round his post, and Wiles was unlucky to see one effort narrowly clear the bar, and another, just moments later, was saved by Strycharz.
HT: 1-1

The second half was less than two minutes hold, when Tom Saddington clattered into (P) Zuckowski, with a mistimed heavy challenge, just inside the Swinton half. The live-wire United striker was helped off the pitch, too receive treatment, while the players from both sides moved towards the Swinton area, in readiness to challenge for Szynal's anticipated long free kick into the mix. But Szynal improvised... and having spotted Dring off of his line directing operations, launched a dipping free kick that caught everybody off guard and bounced into the back of the net just inside the right hand post, much to the delight of his teammates. Subsequently, (P) Zuckowski managed to continue for the remainder of the game, but was understandably not quite as sharp as usual in front of the opposition's goal.

The home side were on level terms virtually straight away, when Tom Herbert broke free on the left flank and delivered the kind of cross that striker's dream off, that Walsh met with a thumping header and bulged the visitors goal net.
There was a brief stoppage following an off the ball collision between Taylor and Mateusz Skrzypczak, that left the latter with a bloody lip. But the game was soon under way again... they make 'em rough and tough in the County Senior League, and occasionally the combatants will pick up the odd war wound here and there for their efforts.
Pawel Grabowsk went close from Michal Zuckowski's long throw into the Swinton area, while at the other end, a well timed last ditch challenge by Adrian Szewczyk, thwarted Walsh, as he motored towards United's goal with intent.

Adrian Blachewicz stroked a well weighted, defence splitting pass through to (P) Zuckowski, who blazed his shot wide from just six yards out. The Worksop striker went close again from Aleksander Rutkowski's pass, but the prolific scorer seemed to have been knocked out of his stride when he had been 'roughed up' at the start of the second half and he clipped the ball wide again.
The visitors rode their luck a little, when Swinton had two great chances in quick succession, but Herbert flicked a header just wide of the right hand upright... and Wiles went even closer, when he dived to connect with Matty Moore's delivery.

The visitors regained the lead, with a quick box to box move, turning defence into attack, Rutkowski and Szewczyk combined to clear a Swinton corner away from danger and got the ball forward quickly to (P) Zuckowski out on the right wing, who went shoulder to shoulder with the last defender before cutting into the area and rolling the ball into the path of (P) Zuckowski, who claimed his hat trick for the afternoon from close range.
Four minutes later, Rutowski picked out Blachewicz with a right wing corner, which he met with his head... and the visitors were two goals in front as the game moved into it's closing stages.

There was a little over five minutes remaining, when Moore's ball into the United area was fielded away from their goal and out of the area, towards Dane Shaw, who connected sweetly on the half volley and sent the ball fizzing past Strycharz, to give Swinton a fighting chance of salvaging a point from this lively encounter... and right at the death, Martin Rouane collected the ball with his back to goal on the right hand edge of the six yard box and made himself the narrowest of spaces to turn and drill the ball across the face of the goal. where it nestled in the net inside the far post.
What a finale!
The visitors would, no doubt, have been gutted not to have finished their season with a win, after going into the final eight minutes two goals ahead. But both teams deserved something out of this game... and in my humble opinion, a draw was just about a fair result.
FT: Swinton Athletic Reserves 4 v United Worksop 4

Circumstances dictated that I wouldn't be able to make it to the Football League game I was scheduled to be at today, but though the result from there was music to my ears, when it came through on the car radio... I thoroughly enjoyed this game at Park Road, and am delighted to report, that now the clocks have gone forward, there are a whole load of 6PM midweek games coming up in the County Senior League, as the season rapidly approaches it's climax. See you all there!?