Frickley Athletic v Knaresborough Town FC

Recap

Frickley 4 Knaresborough Town 4

Ask Alexa to show you ‘a game of two halves’, and she’ll show you Frickley 4 Knaresborough 4. If the first half was a car crash, 3-0 down at the break, then the second half was more Dukes of Hazzard, pulling it back to 3-3, going behind again and then equalising again with the very last kick of the match. Never in doubt 😉

Keanan Mannings and Morgan James returned to the starting lineup as Brandon Murillo and Luke Walker moved to the bench.

130 seconds gone and The Blues were one down. A Knaresborough forward was brought down on the edge of the box, but they were rightfully allowed to play the advantage. The ball was played across to their number 7 who had time to control it and smack it into the onion bag.

Knaresborough head just wide from a corner on 20 minutes.

In the 23rd minute, the visitors doubled their advantage. A pass in from the right found their number 10, he steadied himself before slotting past Bradders for number 2.

Knaresborough continued to press, peppering the Frickley goal with shots from outside. Bradders stopped them with his feet, caught them and pushed them around the post.

It took until the 31st minute before The Blues had an attempt on goal, a rising shot from 25 yards by The Elk, clearing the bar.

6 minutes before the break it went from bad to worse as a calamitous defensive error let in the Knaresborough number 9 who steered his shot past Bradders for a 3 goal lead. HT 0-3.

A combination of genius team talk and Knaresborough taking their foot off the gas a little (well, you would at 3-0 up) made the first 20 minutes of the second half more competitive, with neither side having more than the odd half chance.

Then Luke Walker came on as sub with about 25 minutes to play and the game turned. Was it changed tactics or personnel that made the difference? I don’t know, that’s above my pay grade, but I know what I saw.

In the 69th minute, Rich Collier played an exquisite ball to Lloydy, he went down the left, squared to Haighy and he put it away as cool as you like.

4 minutes later, Big Al swung a cross into the danger area and Keegan Townrow, still in an advanced position after a set piece, redirected the ball into the bottom corner with his head.

Now there was everything to play for, could we do it? Yes. On 83 minutes, The Azzurri won a free kick wide on the right. The Elk landed the resulting kick right on the head of Keano and his header looped over the keeper, and nestled in the back of the net for 3 apiece. What a comeback!

Both sides saw late attempts go wide or saved, like Big Ank’s angled shot.

But 2 minutes into time added on, it was seemingly more heartbreak for The Blues when Bradders came out to clear but it landed right at the feet of a Knaresborough player who lobbed it into an empty net from 35 yards. Losing to an injury time decider for the second home game on the trot. My head had dropped for sure.

Those Azzurri Boys are made of sterner stuff though. 9 (nine!) minutes into extras, Lloydy hit a desperate last ditch effort from range and the Knaresborough defender inadvertently stopped it with his hand. Stonewall penalty.

With liquid nitrogen running through his veins, Lloydy stepped up to bury the spot kick. The ref immediately blew time. Cue scenez and beta blockers all round!! FT 4-4.

What a game! The Gaffer might have nightmares about the first half but the second was a show of pure character. One of the great nights at The Wezzie, I doubt many who were there will forget that one in a hurry!

WEBMASTER MOTM – cojones of steel! ‘Nuff said. 

Bradders – Sweeper keeper.

The Elk – A monster.

Haighy – Made hay.

Keano – Keen as mustard.

El Binno – No pasarán.

Keegs – Goal machine.

Zak Attack – Zippy and zoetic.

The Colonel – O Captain! My Captain! Lead by example.

Lloydy – Ice cold baller.

Jamesy – Jesse James, gunslinger.

Big Al – Big handful for defenders.

Luke Sky Walker – Game changer.

Ellz – ‘Ell of a sub.

Pat & Blake – Cloughie & Taylor. We see you.

Sarah Fizz & Bailey – The legendary Boot Room. We see you as well.

So the Glitterball simply has to go to the whole squad and back room staff. Well done to the entire Frickley pride!

TWITTER MOTM – Josh Haigh narrowly takes it from Lloyd Smith, Luke Walker and Richard Collier. Keegan Townrow, Morgan James, Keanan Mannings, Big Al Keita, Pat McGuire, Blake Campbell and ‘the whole team’ also polled votes. I think that rather justifies the Glitterball decision above. Thanks to all who voted.

SPONSORS/VOLUNTEERS MOTM – Josh Haigh was chosen for his second half performance by Ian Clarkson. Well done, Haighy!

210 through the gate. Thank you for your vocal support, creating such an amazing atmosphere!

To hear the thoughts of the manager, Pat McGuire, click here.

The Blues are next in action on Saturday 25th November when we travel to Bradford to play Campion, 3pm kickoff. Hope to see you all there….

#forzafrickley