NCEL - Play-Off Final
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26/04/25 - Wombwell Town vs Dearne & District
A fabulous occasion for the winner - a horrible way to end the season for the loser. The play-off final at any level is jubilant and heart-wrenching at any level. In the regular season Wombwell Town finished ten points ahead of neighbours Dearne & District, but it made no difference in the single game knock out. It was the team who finished second in the league to make their mark and take the lead in the early stages of the game, played out in front of a record crowd of 1498. On eleven minutes a ball into the box was headed back across by Ollie Fearon to find the feet of Jordan Kershaw. The club's top scorer this season turned his man and fired into the net, with Dearne keeper Ellis Pickard only able to glance the ball off his thigh on its way in. The lead built confidence in the side with home advantage and on 24 minutes it was doubled as Jock Curran delivered a ball at the perfect height for Fearon to rise once more and redirect the ball this time past Pickard and into the top right corner of the net. Dearne & District aren't a team to give up though and following a corner on 31 minutes they were back in the game. Bayley Lowe found himself unmarked to put home the ball to make it 2-1. A two-goal advantage was almost restored just two minutes later as an Owen Sykes corner wasn't dealt with and when the ball eventually fell to Eddie Agnew, his volley flew inches wide of the keeper's left hand post. Half Time: 2-1 Any nerves in the Wellers' camp weren't showing on the pitch as they continued to press forward and that third goal came just seven minutes into the second half. Another Sykes corner was floated into the penalty area and towards the back post, where Fearon was there once more to rise above and head into the right hand corner. Things grew worse for the visitors on 58 minutes as a late challenge on the edge of the penalty area by Liam King denied Kershaw going one-on-one with the keeper, and the experience defender was shown a straight red for being the last man. King could have very few complaints. With nine minutes to go though the game went 3-2 as Dearne's top scorer got on the scoresheet with a reactive tap-in following a Sebastian Malkowski parry that left the defence stranded. An additional six minutes of added time kept the more nervous on edge, but the Wellers were able to keep the ball in the corner out of harm's way for the most part and when the final whistle blew there was a brief moment of relief before the celebrations started. Players were met by Wellers fans on the pitch and shortly after the trophy was lifted by captain Jack Dando and the celebrations truly began! Wombwell Town - 3 Jordan Kershaw 11 Ollie Fearon 24, 52 Dearne & District - 2 Bayley Lowe 31 Jamie Austin 81 Attendance: 1498
Images from this season can be found on the Gallery page.
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Match Programme
Player of the Match
Chosen by Match Sponsors Local Lockie and gardenchic.co.uk
Official Sponsors
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