JCP Construction NCEL League Cup - Round Two
14/11/23 - Wombwell Town vs Athersley Recreation
A break from league action and a first home game in four weeks allowed the Wellers to relax and rejuvenate on the pitch as they took on Athersley Recreation in the JCP Construction NCEL League Cup. With 14 players unavailable for the tie, Wombwell Town gave 18 year old Leo Elsdon his debut in goal, with new signing Jordan Watson backing him up on the bench. The match was played at a calm pace, more akin to a pre-season friendly than the win or go out cup match it actually was, however the flow of the play was disrupted by three injuries in the first half that saw Rec's Callum Howell and Callum Clark replaced and returning Weller's captain Eddie Agnew. Before Agnew's departure he did open the scoring on the 22 minutes! Brad Kerr's surging run down the right wing was played across goal to Agnew who hit his shot into the roof of the net giving Ellis Pickard no chance. Agnew's replacement, Luis Afonso-Ferreira, was involved in creating another chance on 43 minutes as he and Gadhafi Kiwanuka linked up on the left. Afonso-Ferreira's cross was flicked on by Kerr and Jordan Good's volley was deflected out for a corner. All of the injuries had caused a good amount of additional time and four minutes past the original 45 Callum Walton used his creative talent to dance past his man on the right of the penalty area and shoot low. Pickard was able to parry the effort away but the marauding Gareth McDermott from left back was in the right place put in the rebound. Half Time: WTFC 2, ARFC 0. Wombwell Town started the second half as forward thinking as they had ended the first and just five minutes were played before the lively Kerr was put through the middle and slotted home from the edge of the penalty area to give the forward a much needed and deserved boost of goal scoring confidence. With the pace going from the game it allowed Athersley Rec to find space going forward and on 67 minutes former Weller, Louis Wardle, was able to play Sam Thompson in on the right wing. Thompson's low cross saw stand in centre back Owen Sykes try to slide in and deflect the cross, but inadvertently put it into the far right corner, with Elsdon stranded. The last surviving member of the line-up that played against United Worksop in our very first competitive game was introduced with ten minutes remaining. Jake Padgett entered the game to mark his first appearance of the season, replacing Jordan Good. Chances became a premium in the latter stages of the game, however Sykes could have scored his first for the Wellers with a minute to go as his speculative effort from outside the area dropped just over the crossbar. It would have been a nervy ending to the game as Thompson headed Wardle's cross over his marker and the unsighted Elsdon deep into stoppage time, but the final whistle denied them taking the game to penalties. Wombwell Town now progress to round three where one of 15 other teams will be waiting. Full Time: Wombwell Town - 3 Eddie Agnew 22 Gareth McDermott 45+4 Brad Kerr 50 Athersley Recreation - 2 Owen Sykes (OG) 67 Sam Thompson 90+4 Attendance: 111
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