Woodley Sports 3 - 1 Wakefield FC

Date: Saturday 19th December 2009
Competition: Unibond 1st Div North
Venue: Neil Rourke Stadium, Woodley, Stockport
Attendance: 098

Firmly into December and with Christmas on the horizon, winter has bitten the North West of England and bitten violently. Temperatures below freezing and a blanket of snow across the region have given league fixture secretaries a headache each as entire leagues worth of fixtures are postponed. Watching the updates come in on the various league websites, the letter P appears next to everything on the screen and it looks like a rather depressing weekend of no football might be on the cards. However, I was saved the cold turkey by the artificial pitch at Woodley as their game against Wakefield FC goes ahead despite the conditions.

It could be a wacky match on the artificial surface as players slip and slide all over the place whilst the ball zips and skids along the surface, but it’s a game of football at the end of the day and that isn’t happening in too many other places today. On arrival at the ground, a degree of warmth and shelter from the freezing temperatures in the stylish looking clubhouse, and the sight of Portsmouth beating Liverpool on the big screen certainly warms the heart. The pitch is still covered in a dusting of snow as kickoff approaches; all that’s missing now is the orange ball.

So into the bitterly cold temperatures come the players from the warmth of the dressing rooms and onto the pitch, Woodley Sports in their home colours of dark blue and claret and Wakefield in a combination of orange shirts and black shorts, at least we’ll be able to see them through the snow. Captains and match officials meet in the centre to complete the pre match formalities and it would be Wakefield FC to get the match underway. The opening half our would belong to the hosts as they adapted to the conditions the quicker and created all of the chances whilst Wakefield were finding their feet, the first of these chances coming in the 5th minute of the match. A neat turn and through pass saw a Woodley forward receive the ball on the edge of the penalty area and hit a thunderous effort that was heading for the top of the net, but the Wakefield keeper pulled off a fine save to parry the ball back into the box and the linesman’s raised flag for offside killed the attack stone dead when another Woodley forward attempted to follow it up.

Wakefield’s keeper was very nearly responsible for the hosts taking the lead in the 8th minute when he scuffed a clearance straight to a waiting forward on the edge of the box. The Woodley forward then evaded a defender before hitting a powerful drive that the keeper managed to save low to his right to keep the game scoreless. Woodley kept up this pressure in the 13th minute when they won a corner after an attempted cross had been deflected behind goal by a defender. The delivery of the corner was deflected behind goal by a defender for another corner and this corner delivery was punched away by the Wakefield keeper and this resulted in a 3rd corner for the hosts. This corner delivery was headed away by a Wakefield defender which sent the visitors on a break downfield however they couldn’t turn this into a goalscoring chance. Another good chance for the hosts came in the 15th minute when a neat through ball set a forward free in the penalty area with only the goalkeeper to beat from an angle. But the keeper advanced and narrowed the angle well and made the required save from the shot and the defenders cleared the spills away. But the lead Woodley had been threatening finally came in the 25th minute and they could probably consider it an early Christmas present from Wakefield FC. The keeper bowled the ball out looking for his defender but failed to see Kristian Dennis in his way. Dennis picked up the ball and advanced towards goal before beating the keeper from the angle to give the hosts the lead they deserved in the contest. Wakefield attempted to get themselves level in the contest again when they won themselves a corner in the 29th minute, the delivery of which was claimed by the keeper after a headed attempt and he distributed the ball out to the wing to send Woodley on a quick break forward.

The winger advanced the whole length of the pitch before managing to send a cross into the penalty area that was turned over the bar by another Woodley forward. Wakefield then created half a chance for themselves in the 38th minute when they worked the ball out wide to the wing before a low cross into the box required a touch to send it goalwards, but no Wakefield forward was on hand to apply this touch and the ball rolled harmlessly out of play for a Woodley goal kick. The final action of the half would occur when a Wakefield cross was deflected behind goal by a defender for a corner, the delivery of which was right into the danger zone but the forward couldn’t get any direction on his header and it glanced wide of the goal creating no threat. Half time then arrived in a game that had been fairly uninspiring but where Woodley had deserved the lead they held, even if the goal had come from an error from the keeper. It’s literally freezing cold and the match has done little to make the supporters feel any warmer. Wakefield were creating more chances for themselves as the half wore towards its conclusion so maybe a comeback is on the cards for the 2nd half.

Half Time:
Woodley Sports 1 – 0 Wakefield FC

As the start of the 2nd half approached the weather took another downwards turn as another snow storm dropped in, but Wakefield were not cooled off by this and won themselves a corner in the 47th minute. The delivery of this corner was punched clear by the Woodley keeper before Wakefield secured themselves a throw in on the far side, the throw was taken long but headed away by a defender and the danger passed. Another chance came for the visitors in the 50th minute when a cross from the wing headed over the entire defence and was almost touched home by a Wakefield player that was ghosting in at the back post, but the player couldn’t get enough of a touch on the ball and it went wide of the post.

But a minute later Wakefield got their equalising goal when a through ball saw the Woodley defence appeal for an offside flag that didn’t arrive. Chris Howarth picked up the ball and finished with aplomb with a powerfully struck low drive that gave the keeper no chance and brought the game level. They very nearly took the lead in the 58th minute when a square ball across the box had Woodley stranded and the sliding effort from the Wakefield player arriving at the back post was just off target. Woodley regained the lead in the match in the 61st minute when they were awarded a free kick in an attacking position, the delivery of the set piece was headed half clear by a defender before it was crossed back into the box and over the defence before Kristian Dennis scored from an acute angle to give the hosts the lead once more. The game was now becoming a far more entertaining affair as Wakefield once again pushed for a goal to get them level in the match again, they went about this in the 65th minute when a low cross into the box was looking threatening until a Woodley defender stuck out a foot and turned the ball behind goal for a corner to the visitors. The corner delivery was right into the danger zone again but the keeper was able to punch half clear and the defence was able to do the rest.

Woodley then had the chance to further their lead in the 67th minute when they were awarded a penalty after a Woodley forward had got passed the Wakefield defender and had been pulled down inside the box. But the game was kept interesting as the Wakefield keeper guessed the right way and saved the spot kick. Wakefield were then reduced to 10 men after one too many protestations from a certain player saw the referee lose patience and dismiss him from the field, the player having to be restrained by his teammates after squaring up to the referee on two separate occasions. As the match drew towards its conclusion neither team was really able to dominate the other and a weak effort from range for the home side in the 81st minute failed to trouble the keeper. But the points were made safe for the home side in time added on when they scored a third goal when Antoni Sarcevic picked up a pass on the edge of the penalty area. Sarcevic then sidestepped two defenders before coolly slotting the ball into the net to double their advantage and secure the points. This would be the full time score as Woodley defeated Wakefield 3-1.

Well there was far more entertainment in the 2nd half than the first provided and in the end it had a little bit of everything. Appalling weather, missed penalty, some great goals, bad tempers, red cards, there really was something for everybody by the time full time arrived. Woodley were probably just about worth their victory on the whole despite the slight resurgence Wakefield showed after a poor first half performance. From my personal point of view though it wasn’t the greatest game I’ve ever watched, but given the state of the weather at the moment, it was a game of football and I’m going to appreciate it just for that fact. Congratulations to Woodley Sports.

Full Time:
Woodley Sports 3 – 1 Wakefield FC