Athersley Recreation 0-4 Staveley Miners Welfare

Athersley Recreation 0-4 Staveley Miners Welfare

NCEL (Premier Division)

Saturday 13th November 2021

Having not been to Barnsley for what feels like an eternity, this was my second visit here in the space of only a few days.

Following on from a trip to Oakwell to watch the Reds' U23s earlier in the week, this time the purpose of the trip was to head up to Sheerien Park and watch Athersley Recreation take on Staveley Miners Welfare in the Northern Counties East League (Premier Division).

Athersley currently find themselves rock bottom and are very much in danger of relegation back to 'Step 6' for the first time in nine years whereas Staveley are comfortable in mid-table, and despite a rally (of sorts) by the home team after half-time in this game, they were on the back foot for lengthy spells and ultimately well-beaten by the more talented team.

On a difficult pitch which looked as if it would suit studs rather than moulds, Staveley, wearing all yellow, were initially perhaps guilty of 'over-playing' and taking one too many touches at times in the midfield area as Athersley doggedly kept them at bay for the opening half-hour.

However, the hosts eventually got undone at a set-piece on 35 minutes as shambolic marking allowed Rob Worrall's far-post free-kick to be met by the head of Sam Kaye who guided the ball home from close-range. It was a simple routine, a simple finish, but such a disappointing and avoidable goal to concede due to the lackadaisical defending.

It could have got worse for Athersley just a few moments later and their blushes were spared thanks to a linesman's flag after Tomas Poole was judged to have strayed into an offside position when he put Charlie Bell's cross into the net amidst another spell of forced pressure.

Staveley 'keeper Luke Chadwick (on loan at Inkersall Road from Doncaster Rovers) was a virtual spectator for much of the first period. Barring a low shot from the edge of the area which was straight at him (and comfortably saved) and a few long goal-kicks clearances, the youngest player on the pitch hadn't had much to do up to this point. 

Nevertheless, he played his part in the Trojans making it 2-0 just before half-time.

A strange combination of sunlight suddenly creeping out of nowhere and shining directly into his goalmouth (and with the floodlights already on because it was rather dark) meant the baseball cap was required and having just put it on, he launched a long free-kick downfield and straight towards the edge of Athersley's penalty area. The danger wasn't cleared at all convincingly and the ball bobbled around momentarily before Declan Howe smashed it past the 'keeper to add a degree of comfort to the scoreline.

That goal meant Howe - otherwise known as 'the big fat f**ker' (as one Athersley fan described him after what can best described as a 'forward's tackle' earlier in the half), was up to a dozen goals for the campaign and he nearly added another strike right on the half-time whistle with a rasping strike from distance which just went over the upright.

Despite being mid-table, Staveley have had a few capitulations recently - the biggest of which is also their most recent as they led 3-0 but lost 4-3 to Eccleshill United only last weekend.

In the early stages of the second half in this game, there were fleeting fears that another might be on the cards because (as a team) they switched off, allowed Athersley to get on top and start dictating play and struggled to repeat the way in which they did things well during the first 45 minutes.

Had Athersley scored at any point up to around the hour mark then it would probably have resulted in a very different type of contest with plenty of 'Gung Ho' pressure in the latter stages.

The hosts certainly had their chances too - rattling the woodwork from a narrow angle within five minutes of the re-start before Chadwick got down low to tip a shot wide at the expense of a corner. Staveley were also saved by the offside flag in another instance, Chadwick made a couple more good saves and useful catches from balls into the box, and quite a few harsh words were exchanged in order to give those wearing yellow the proverbial 'boot up the backside' they needed.

After this shaky period of sloppiness, Staveley eventually got their act together again and any fears of another capitulation were extinguished altogether when Poole showed nifty footwork and movement inside the area - turning well and then firing home to make it 3-0 on 66 minutes. Goodnight Athersley!

The last 20 minutes saw plenty of play in and around the midfield area but the visitors looked much more assured, confident and in command again by this point. The scoring was completed when Howe burst into the box and finished with aplomb on the brink of injury-time - thus grabbing his 13th goal this season which means he's very much still amongst the handful of prolific and regular goalscorers in the NCEL (Premier Division). Not at all bad for a 'big fat f**ker'!

The result also meant Luke Chadwick kept another clean-sheet and, despite being far busier after half-time than before it, he looked confident and composed in what he was required to do. His distribution was good, he kept a few shots out, claimed the ball well and also wasn't afraid to communicate with his backline and dish out instructions when it was necessary. It was good to hear so many people talking positively about the impact he's made and how he's both performed and settled in during his loan spell to date and long may it continue because he's doing people proud.

Next: Doncaster Rovers (U18s) vs Rotherham United (U18s) in the FA Youth Cup Second Round.