Handsworth 6 v Selston 3 - PSF

Friday 26th July 2019
Pre Season Friendly
at Sandy Lane
Handsworth (2) 6
Luke Francis 3
Marley Grant 45+ pen
Leon Howarth 46, 51
Jamie Austin 75
Jacob France 88
Selston (1) 3
Joe Naylor 31
Henry Brooks 51
Guy Wilding 62

EMCL champions Selston have been one of the success stories of local football in recent years.
They won promotion to the Midlands League Premier Division at the end of last season, where they'll start their league campaign with an away game at Stourport Swifts next weekend.
Tonight, they gave hosts Handsworth a good run for their money in a high tempo and hugely entertaining encounter, that ultimately saw the 'Ambers' (well, 'Reds' if I'm to be my usual pedantic self) predominantly youthful side, overcome their highly motivated and hard working visitors, with their aesthetically pleasing, eye-catching brand of fast-paced, pass and move football.

Handsworth FC 2019-20 - Football with a smile on it's face.
I'd sack your bleedin' barber though Aiden Spowage.

Luke Francis opened the scoring inside the fourth minute, running onto Alfie Dodsworth's diagonal pass through the visitors defence, before confidently dispatching the ball into the bottom right hand corner of the net.
As the game unfolded, it became evident that these were two very well matched sides and there was very little to choose between them application wise. They were neck and neck in almost every respect for the most part and it came as no surprise when, just moments after the visitors had been denied a goal for offside, they were on level terms, when Joe Naylor added the finishing touch to a well worked move in and around the Handsworth area.

On the stroke of half time, Marley Grant was tripped as he cut inside the Selston area through the left channel, and after dusting himself down, restored the home side's lead from the resulting penalty.
HT: Handsworth 2 v Selston 1
Inside the opening minute of the first half, Leon Howarth received a sideways pass from Grant, before increasing the Ambers lead with a sublime strike, with what was his very first touch of the ball tonight.
But Selston were soon back in it again when Henry Brookes took his chance well, while the Handsworth defence were found wanting as he netted from eight yards out. But it's going to take something rather special to upstage the whirlwind of inertia that is Leon Howarth at Sandy Lane this season... and by my reckoning, he'd put Selston to the sword yet again less than twenty seconds after the restart following Brookes goal.

Bailey Hobson, who is so young that he's probably got to get up early to do a paper round in the morning, launched a crashing shot that was destined for the right hand corner of the net, until it was palmed away. off of the line by an outfield player... hmm, judging by the referee's response, or rather the lack of one, it is recognised protocol during pre-season games for the visiting captain to be able to use his hands as a last resort in such circumstances. Either way, the game continued to enthral the crowd who had been rewarded with a cracking contest to watch, for having turned out on such a wet night.

I can well imagine Craig Weston's visiting side, winning games as the season unfolds, where they don't play half as well as they did tonight... and a swift box to box charge forward, saw them finding the net once again, through Guy Wilding just after the hour mark.

It was around this time that I was meant to leave the game early, to pick up my wife and granddaughter from the Dome at Doncaster, where they had been to watch the comedian Rhod Gilbert; but I quickly weighed up all of the pros and cons of a truncated night at the football, duly considered what my priorities were and decided: knackers to them! They would have to wait, because there was no effing way, that I wanted to miss the remaining half a hour of this gripping encounter. Besides, I know where all of the speed cameras are en route.

And, for the record, I screeched to a halt at our pre-arranged rendezvous moments before they showed up, apologising profusely to me that their show had over-run. "Don't worry about it ladies, these things can't be helped!"
If I'd have been daft enough to exit stage left while it was still 4-3, I would have missed the goal of the game, when Jamie Austin, who'd appeared under the pseudonym of 'Number Four', in last week's blog about the Handsworth v Frechville Davys game, unleashed an unstoppable long range shot to restore his side's two goal cushion.
Austin and Howarth (of course) also both scored for the Ambers in a very credible 2-2 draw against Worksop Town at the weekend... and the rapid progress that they, amongst others in this young Handsworth side are making at present, certainly isn't going unnoticed in some circles.

With just over a minute of the game remaining, Handsworth were finishing the game by guarding possession of the ball, while running the clock down with a flurry of passes... it made for pleasing viewing. And when the tippy-tappy stuff manifests itself in an end result, then both the purists and those who are driven by the outcome of football matches are all satisfied... it's the real thing innit?

And subsequently, Jacob France added the finishing brush strokes to tonight's canvas, to provide the home side with a sixth goal.

FT: Handsworth 6 v Selston 3

A great game of football all told, with both sides deserving a lot of credit for their respective input.

I'd swear blind that I even caught that curmudgeonly Handsworth stalwart, Mr John Stainrod, allowing himself a wry smile.

There is an upbeat vibe around both of these clubs at present. Long may that continue.