In preseason a few teams were identified as being the
favourites for the title and as we enter the last couple of months of the
season the league has pretty much panned out that way with only Bridlington
Town perhaps being the cat amongst the pigeons.
For two games running Staveley Miners Welfare have been
able to test themselves against two of those front runners and whilst they
passed the test with flying colours in the previous game against Tadcaster
Albion they came up short in this afternoons encounter with Cleethorpes Town...
...To be fair to the
Trojans though a number of changes were enforced on them Ash Rawson has had to
go off in the last two games injured and was forced to miss this one entirely
so Chris Baugh started in the centre of midfield and Tom Gambles of the under
21 side made his first start of the season at right back, and George Johnson
made up the completely new central midfield covering for the unavailable Steve
Carty. Dan Fletcher was also missing following his injury in the last game.
Staveley got the game underway but it was the visitors who had
the better of the opening period and it has to be said most of the entire game…the
second minute saw Alex Flett launch a ball over the top of the Trojans defence
for Brody Robertson to run onto, Tom Gambles did well to stick with him and
forced him wide of the goal where he checked back and played in his strike
partner Marc Cooper, but he couldn’t control the ball and George Johnson
cleared but the ball was tossed back in again and this time Cooper gathered and
got his shot away but Nick Siddons in the Staveley goal was equal to it and
saved with his feet.
Adam Scott tried his luck from distance in the eighth minute
when Cleethorpes ‘keeper Miles Fenty made a mess of clearing the ball from his
area but was able to gather comfortably in the end.
The game deteriorated into a scrappy affair with neither
side being able to string passes together that often to create anything of note
and when they did the final ball was cut out before a shot on goal could be
fashioned.
That is until the twenty third minute when Cleethorpes Luke
Maskell flicked the ball over to Brody Robertson who controlled and laid back
to Alex Flett whose cross was met by a downward header from Luke Maskell but
one which Nick Siddons was again equal to, pushing it wide where Tom Gambles
cleared out for a corner which was cleared by Kieren Watson.
The visitors almost grabbed a second goal as the clock tick
towards the half hour mark and it was again Alex Flett who created the
opportunity when his clip into the area found Brody Robertson via the head of
Marc Cooper. Robertson squared the ball across goal but luckily no one was on
hand to compete the simple task of tapping it home and he could only find Matt
Varley on the line who was able to stop the ball for Nick Siddons to gather.
Cleethorpes took the lead on the forty third minute when
Luke Maskells run into the box wasn’t tracked properly and he rose unmarked to
meet Caine Winfarrahs high through ball to nod over Nick Siddons.
HT: Staveley MW 0 – 1 Cleethorpes Town
Losing the goal was a little bit disappointing given that,
although Cleethorpes had had the better chances they weren’t particularly
dominating proceedings and had scored with their least likely attempt.
There was still hope however as generally this season
Cleethorpes have been worse in the second halves of games but that hope was
extinguished in the forty eighth minute when from a throwing Caine Winfarrah
was the beneficiary of a lucky ricochet on the byline and was able to square to
Brody Robertson at the near post who redirected the pass from Winffarah past
Nick Siddons who had no chance from point blank range.
Staveley MW 0 – 2 Cleethorpes Town.
It got worse for the home support who were again fantastic
when Liam Dickens helped on a long punt upfield from goalkeeper Miles Fenty and
Brody Robertson found the back of the net when the ball eventually came his way
via Luke Mascall and Marc Cooper.
Staveley MW 0 – 3
Cleethorpes Town.
to add to the earlier substitution of Richard Mintoft who
had been replaced by Alex Pugh an injured Courtney Hastings went off to be
replaced by Lewis Naylor and Reece Treasure another of the under 21s made his
first team debut in place of George Johnson. But from then on in it was just a
case of playing the game out, and no further goals were scored.
FT:Staveley MW 0 – 3 Cleethorpes Town.
Attendance: 207
SMWFC Lineup: 1.Nick Siddons.2.Tom Gambles.3.Charlie
Oglesby.4.Chris Baugh.5.Matt Varley.6.Richard Mintoft. (16.Alex Pugh) 7. Adam
Scott.8.George Johnson (14.Reece Treasure) 9.Courtney Hastings (15.Lewis
Naylor).10.Kieren Watson.11.Jamie Brown
