Worsbrough Bridge Athletic 0-2 Swallownest

Worsbrough Bridge Athletic 0-2 Swallownest

NCEL (Division One)

Tuesday 22nd March 2022

When I set off to watch Barnsley's U23s game against Swansea City, it wasn't quite my plan to watch this one afterwards but sometimes things don't quite work out as you anticipate.

The change in circumstance, however, did mean that I could finally tick off a local ground that I'd been wanting to visit for some time in the shape of Park Road - home to Worsbrough Bridge Athletic and a place which is shared with the local cricket team.

Worsbrough are one of two NCEL teams in Barnsley (the other being Athersley Recreation) and they currently compete in Division One. On the pitch they've had a decent enough campaign with some talented youngsters in their line-up gelling well with more experienced heads, such as Conor Glavin, and they're on course to achieve a top half finish.

The club hit the headlines around a month ago when their ground was under water due to floods caused by Storm Dudley and Storm Eunice which hit back-to-back over the space of a few days. It's only when you approach the ground from Barnsley Town Centre and realise that it's right at the bottom of a hill and then get inside and spot the adjacent River Dove which runs directly behind the fence in one of the photos, that you begin to appreciate just how to prone to flooding the ground actually is!

Worsbrough's opponents for this game were Swallownest and despite being strugglers towards the bottom end of the division, the visitors put in the type of display which belied their league position as they picked up a vital three points in their quest to avoid relegation - thus nudging Clipstone one step closer towards their inevitable drop to Step 7.

Swallownest, wearing blue, more than competed in this game and they went within a fraction of an early goal when Jack Haslam latched onto a right-wing cross with a diving header and saw his effort hit the inside of the post before it was desperately scrambled off the goal-line. 'How the f**k did that stay out' was a phrase expressed by one of the locals which summed up just how close it was to being a goal.

The visitors didn't have to wait too much longer to make a breakthrough because a handball inside the box was immediately spotted by the referee on 22 minutes and Haslam maintained his composure with the resulting penalty, sending the 'keeper the wrong way, to give Swallownest a 1-0 lead.

On occasions it felt like a case of 'whoever shouts loudest gets it' as the referee's dodgy decision-making threatened to overshadow a battling and competitive game but, that aside, Worsbrough did apply plenty of pressure and test the visitors' rearguard either side of half-time as they searched for an equaliser.

They had more of the play and more of the territory and created a few chances. An early header was put narrowly wide on the back of a good floated cross, Conor Glavin hit a speculative attempt following a crap clearance by the 'keeper straight onto a grassy bank and then, attacking uphill in the second half, the Briggers soon had the ball in the back of the net but it was ruled out for offside.

There was already more than a sense of it might just not be Worsbrough's night by the time that Swallownest doubled their lead close to the hour mark through a simple goal. Haslam was again the scorer and it was the simplest of finishes as he calmly headed the ball home from a near-post corner where the defending was questionable to say the least.

Despite plenty of endeavor by the hosts in the remaining 30 minutes, the hosts' aspirations about launching a comeback proved elusive as Swallownest defended well, ate away at precious seconds whenever the opportunity allowed and although they rode their luck sometimes, they were worthy winners. Their overall display was certainly a lot better than what you'd expect from a team which is battling relegation and things are certainly in their own hands as they now look to see off FC Humber United - the only team in the drop zone now who could, realistically, overhaul them.