Frickley Athletic v Knaresborough Town FC

Recap

I was summoned to Ruths Dungeon before the game & as a result I managed to get a sneaky peep at the teamsheet. Got to admit it made me apprehensive – no Green, no Bennett, no Varley, no Czubik, no Hughes……no problem!!! The Gaffer keeps saying it is a squad game – & every member of last nights playing squad stepped up to the plate & delivered.

To compensate for the absentees, Collier came back into the squad & we saw new signings Jake Hemingway & Josh Lockwood take their places in the team

There was a minutes silence before the game to mark the sad passing of life long Azzurri John Vandeleur – he will be missed by us all

So, to matters on the field – it was a fairly uneventful opening to the game. We won a free kick which Ben Hall took – an interesting delivery which missed by some distance. On 33 minutes we won another free kick fairly close to the corner flag which Ben Hall also took – a very interesting delivery, smashed straight into top bins!! It will be a long time until you see as sweet a hit as that one – 3 keepers wouldn’t have saved it.

A few minutes later, another free kick (are you getting the theme yet?) – this one more central about 25 yards out. Hall & The Colonel Collier stood over it & it was The Colonel with more interesting delivery – crashed into the onion bag (not you Jerry) off the inside of the post.

2nd half we basically laid seige on the away goal – another great hit by Collier, a passage of play that saw us hit the post twice & then the final shot went agonisingly wide, then Big Al created a great chance for himself which was met with a very good save.

Up at the other end, the defensive unit gave Charlie Preston a relatively quiet night but he was called into action to make an excellent double save, only to get rewarded for his efforts with a slide tackle straight into the mush – an awful challenge that saw CP receiving treatment for quite some time – which contributed to 9 (nine) minutes of Fergie Time at the end of the half,

It mattered not though – as the clock ticked towards midnight, Frickley saw out the game in some comfort to give them the 3 points & a very satisfying clean sheet.

A very good squad performance – all 4 of the game changers who came on in the 2nd half played a very important part in the victory

WEBMASTER MOTM – a strong performance by the entire defensive unit, Hemingway impressive on debut & Ben Hall with his goal. Murillo & Binns were unruffled in the centre of defence. The area where we won the game was midfield – with Collier playing a more attacking role (& getting his goal) & Kofi gave us his usual quality combative performance. But let’s acknowledge the work that Nathan Fletcher got through last night – he really got stuck in even when he was running on fumes towards the end. Up top Big Al & Brandon Burke gave the away defence a torrid night but I’m giving the Glitterball to Keelan Grist. For such a slender kid, he seems to have the super power of knocking ‘robust’ centre halves flying & running them into the ground!

TWITTER POLL MOTM – the super strike & a strong defensive performance wins it! Ben Hall gets the fans vote, ahead of Rich Collier with Keelan & Kofi also polling votes. Thank you to everyone who voted

Here’s what the Gaffer thought about the evenings work

199 through the gate – a very decent attendance for a midweek game. Thank you to everyone who backed the boys last night

Next up we are away to Barton on Saturday for a league game, 3pm kick off. We are running a supporters coach to the game which will leave North Elmsall at 12.45pm, £10 full £5 under 16s. To book your places please ring / text Ian on 07790 569075 or DM @jpclarkson2 on Twitter