Frickley Athletic vs Leek Town

Recap

Those of you who believe in the Bible will be acquainted with the story of Jesus feeding the 5000 with 2 loaves & 5 fish (fish sarnies I’m guessing??). Yesterday we witnessed the new Messiah – who made an even bigger meal out of even less. Is he the Messiah or just a very naughty boy? Well, his reaction – which had Dick Fosbury salivating – contributed to Strictly Sherbs getting a straight red & effectively ended the chances of the Azzurri getting the point that they deserved from the game. I’ve been watching Sherbs for 2 seasons now – in the 21s & first team – & I don’t think I’ve seen a ref even speak to him, let alone caution him so make of that what you will.

Interestingly when a Leek forward went in 2 footed on Tom Jackson, it only warranted a yellow………

If it wasn’t for bad luck, we’d have no luck at all at the moment – with Jenk unavailable, Tom Davie injured, Brad still missing & Tyler suspended we were hit with another body blow when Margs picked up an ankle injury & had to be replaced at half time.

Ken ‘The Truth’ Whitehead:

A much-depleted Frickley side held table-topping Leek Town for over an hour in blustery conditions at Westfield Lane. But the league leaders nicked it late on to continue their long unbeaten run.
Both teams had a decent chance in the first 5 minutes but a combination of good keeping and profligate finishing left it scoreless.
It took until the 22nd minute for the next to come. Frickley’s Tom Jackson stopped well with his legs from a suspiciously offside-looking Chris Baker then Jonny Margetts’ shot was blocked at the other end moments later.
5 minutes on and Jacob Hazel executed a sublime turn in the box but fired straight at the keeper. Tom Jackson then made two superb saves in quick succession, tipping balls, carried by the swirling wind, over the bar.
Frickley’s task was made that bit harder when 17-goal Margetts was forced off with a knock just before the break.
The second period was just 7 minutes old when a ball into the box skidded off sub Kyle O’Reilly’s head. In a good position. O’Reilly was straight back at it, heading the ball down for Hazel a couple of yards out but he’d crept offside.
Leek got their noses ahead in the 65th minute when Matthew Bell hit his attempt on goal into the ground but then saw it fortunately bounce past Jackson, into the corner of the net.
The home side’s chances of getting anything from the game were effectively quashed when Paul Sherburn was shown a straight but highly debatable red card in the last 5 minutes.

Me again – it was a gritty backs to the wall display for the most part by the Azzurri who gave it absolutely everything & they deserved a point – but you don’t always get what you want.

So we take our medicine & get back on the horse on Tuesday against Cleethorpes at the Wezzie. Tyler & Jenk will be available for selection

WEBMASTER MOTM – everyone played their part. TJ didn’t feature in the Twitter MOTM Poll simply because he just did what we’ve come to expect of him – being brilliant. The defensive unit were strong & midfield boys put another absolute shift in. So I’m going to reserve my mentions for Nathan Hotte & Brad McGowan who battled all afternoon & Liam King who, up until a few weeks ago, hadn’t kicked a ball for 12 months but you wouldn’t have known that yesterday. But I’m giving the Glitterball to Will Sutton – another product of our 21s. Drafted in to fill Tylers boots, he looked a little nervous for the first 5 minutes but then absolutely stepped up to the plate for the remaining 85 minutes. Well done sir.

TWITTER POLL MOTM – something I’ve never seen before, A TIE!!! Liam King & Will Sutton tied for MOTM & Brad Mc & Nathan Hotte also tied for 2nd place. TJ also polled votes & as I said earlier was simply a victim of his own brilliance as to why he wasn’t in the main vote. Thank you to everyone who voted.

232 through the gate – thank you to everyone for your support. Please come again on Tuesday