Stocksbridge Park Steels 3 - 4 Scarborough Athletic - FA Trophy 1st Rnd Qly

Dudsey`s back at the 'Look Local Stadium' to catch up with Rudy Funk and his travelling 'Seadogs' with all the anticipated excitement and intrigue of  the FA Trophy ready to unfold.

Having not seen Scarborough since late August when they lost to 0-1 to Gresley Fc at Queensgate, the reality that life at Step 4 is not going to be quite as easy as first anticipated now seems to be widely accepted by Boro`s Faithful Army, and after a bit of a shaky start they have now hoisted themselves up to mid-table which is commendable given how much more competitive the league has become over the last two seasons.

Stocksbridge, unfortunately seem well down on form this season and now find themselves in the relegation zone, so no-doubt they`ll be looking to kick-start their season and despite being one league higher in the pyramid they`ll know anything is possible in a cup competition and surely nothing will be being taken for-granted.

With time to spare before kick-off, Dudsey samples a 'Steak and Kidney Pie with Peas'...very nice too, I make my way down to pitch-side as the teams are emerging down the steps, Rudy`s beaming as he spots me, he`s always grateful to see an old friend, we share a man-hug and a few words about today`s fixture.

Scarborough got the game of to a brisk start but suffered a quick set-back as Stocksbridge choose to lump the ball over the top towards the towering figure of Brett Bowden-Lovell, sure enough he got his chance, shook off his marker and put 'The Steels' ahead in the sixth minute although Tom Davie had enjoyed a decent couple of chances either side of the opening goal.

Despite finding themselves a goal down so early, Boro`s first twenty minutes was littered with chances but Stocksbridge are a big physical side in defence and seem hard to break down, Peter Davidson is in fine form in the mid-field, distributing some excellent through balls to Davie and Lewis Clarkson..

Having had a few decent attempts thwarted by some decent goalkeeping from Stocksbridge`s No1...Ben Scott, persistence eventually pays off  as Clarkson picks up the ball and makes a mazy run off to the left, he rounds Scott to what looked to be too tight an angle but he still managed to find the target in the twenty sixth minute.

Steels sprung back into life in the final fifteen minutes of the first half as Royles and Knowles create enough space down the right to provide Joynes, Lipka and Stephen Hoyle with some decent crosses as the visitors find themselves having to sustain their lengthiest period of real pressure.

Joe Cracknell is called into action on a couple of occasions as Stocksbridge`s height advantage starts to trouble the Boro defence. Defending in numbers, Scarborough look to be coping pretty well with what`s asked of them, Steel`s are starting to pick up a few corners from the right and it`s from the set-piece that the home-side re-take the lead via Hoyle...2-1 with ten minutes remaining.

The rest of the half is decent end to end stuff, Boro are desperately seeking an equaliser whilst Stocksbridge sense a third goal before the break could potentially kill the tie off  but the remaining period see`s no further goals.

Another quick chat with Rudy prior to the re-start, he`s frustrated to be a goal behind after such a great opening half-hour but he`s resolute there`s definitely something in this game for Scarborough.

Mr Hainsworth gets the action away again, Boro have a great opening twenty minutes as Ryan Williams starts to make his presence felt down the right-flank, Bradshaw finds opportunities arising thick and fast and eventually he manages to find the net just after the hour through some excellent build up play from Davie down the far touch-line.

Boro`s relief is short lived though as Lipka and Hoyle press on from the re-start, with Bowden-Lovell trying to sneak in from the right instead of his usual route through the middle, a miss-timed tackle gifts the home-side a free-kick which is quickly taken and accurately dispatched into Cracknell`s net four minutes after the equaliser, 3-2 to Stocksbridge.

Both sets of supporters are on the edge of their seats as the half enters it`s final third, the game is serious end-to-end stuff with both sides keen to secure the tie, Rudy opts to make a couple of changes to replace tired legs.

Lipka tests Cracknell once again with a decent solo effort, but it`s Williams who takes the game into a frenetic final ten minutes as he get`s himself a well deserved goal and Boro`s third with ten minutes plus stoppages remaining.

With the game slipping towards a re-play, Boro make one more charge towards the far goal, a scuffle in the box see`s the ball hustled towards Ben Scott who manages to collect the ball, the near-side linesman is waving his flag, had the ball crossed the line..?, no...he`s waving for an infringement in the box and Mr Hainsworth points to the spot. Bradshaw picks up the ball, places it on the spot and neatly drills it beyond the keeper as the 'Chanting Seadogs' lift the roof off the stand.

With only extra time to go Boro`s delight looked like being dashed once again, but what looked to be a definite penalty for Stocksbridge was brushed aside by the Ref much to the disgust of the home support and a massive sigh of relief for the visitors, 3-4 at full-time.

Seldomly do you look forward to a game all week and it surpasses all your expectations but this one did, credit to both sides for providing a great afternoon of end-to-end entertainment.Obviously I`m chuffed to bits for Rudy but you couldn`t help but feel for Stocksbridge a little, but`s that`s football and the magic of a Cup-tie.


My Men of the Match - Stocksbridge - Ben Scott (kept them honest in the first half with some fine saves).
Scarborough - Peter Davidson (he stoked Boro`s engine for ninety minutes)



Click Here for Team Sheet and Match Pictures



Attendance - 239 (Looked a lot more to me..!!)

Admission - £8

Prize fund  - £2700

Shirebrook Town 1 - 2 Shaw Lane Aquaforce

Not the most conventional name for a football club, and not one I was familiar with...but it`s a name on everyone`s lips in the Ncel this season.

Newly promoted from the Sheffield and Hallamshire County Senior League and four points clear at the top of the table ' The Ducks' look to have nestled nicely into Division 1.

Shirebrook currently sit eleven points adrift in seventh spot with three games in hand, so potentially this six pointer could keep 'Town' in with a shout of reaching the top spot should they win all their games in hand, although the likes of Bottesford, Eccleshill and the in-form Cleethorpe`s Town who Dudsey tipped along with Shirebrook to take one of the top three places this season will all have something to say about it..

Coming off the back of a loss and a draw, Shirebrook will be looking for a return to form and hopefully with a few players back from injury the team should be back to full strength, whilst Shaw Lane`s shock defeat in the League Cup against struggling Dronfield and recent draw with Pontefract Collieries might indicate a bit of a wobble.!! 

"What a difference a week makes", a tee-shirt and a fleece as back-up last weekend at Stocksbridge...today it`s turned out to be a bit of a shocker, it`s hat, coat and even the camera is parked up with the wind and driving rain, ironically...." it`s ideal weather for 'Ducks.!! 

Both teams pushed from early on, Aaron Moxam looked to have given Shirebrook the early lead having beat the off-side only to see the linesman`s flog aloft..that was the first of a catalogue of bad decisions today.

Shaw Lane chose to hoof the ball over the top to supply the lightning quick front pairing of Ashley Flynn and Danny Frost who despite their height disadvantage had the towering figures of Ross Henshaw and Steve Wankiewicz in a bit of a spin in the opening period.

Shaw Lane continued to press and looked evermore dangerous, corners were becoming more frequent as they piled on the pressure. A quick break down the right and a decent ball into a crowded box from Mark Whitehouse found Frost who directed the ball towards Joe McCormack who could only look on as the ball crosses the line from off his own defender..Henshaw`s OG  gives the visitors the lead after twenty minutes.

With the rain becoming increasingly heavier, the toll of it on the game was becoming more apparent..mis-timed tackles and wayward clearances turned what should have been a decent game into a bit of a washout to be honest.

Shirebrook broke as the opportunity arose and managed to square the game as Moxam once again went on a charge, only on this occasion the ball came into contact with his hand more than it did his feet as dropped in from over his shoulder, with neither the liner or Ref managing to spot the infringement he lobbed the ball into the far goal...the visitors are incensed as the goal to is allowed to stand.

Frost takes a knock just after the re-start and is struggling to shake it off by the looks of it, nevertheless Shaw Lane once again start to apply a fair bit of pressure as the half comes to a close and just as the crowd start to head in the direction of the tea-hut...Whitehouse once again delivers another dangerous ball into the box from the right again, only for it to be assisted over the line again by Henshaw.

Martin Chester blows the whistle and is immediately surrounded by Shaw Lane`s players and Staff regarding Moxam`s equaliser, as for goals...that was it for today.

Frost failed to return to the pitch after the interval and as far as Shaw Lane was concerned his absence really changed the face of the game, Shirebrook had the better of the play as Cobley, Bacon, Wilstshire and Moxam pushed for an equaliser, whilst after the disappointment of his two OG`s, Henshaw had a great second half, missing nothing in the air.

'The Ducks' should have put the game to bed as their best chance in the second half was put well wide from close range as Flynn failed to hit an open net with McCormack already beaten.

Realising that their chances were becoming farther and fewer, Shaw Lane`s Keeper decided to reduce the game to an absolute farce, fair dues to the lad....he`d got the Ref in his pocket after he failed to hurry him on with a few goal-kicks but feigning injury, encouraging other team members to go down for treatment and stopping play to ask him to check the ball on half a dozen occasions really spoiled it for me. 

So it finished up 1-2 in a very niggly affair which was spoiled not so much by the weather but by the antics of a few and a sheer lack of discipline from a very poor set of Officials, tbh as a neutral it was a very disappointing episode from what had the makings of a decent fixture and probably a day that Shirebrook will probably want to forget quickly, two own goals and severely let down from the men in black.

On the other hand, it`s not hard to see why Shaw Lane are where they are in the league, from what they showed in the first half, they are a decent footballing side and have a fire in their belly with a desire to win at any cost and up until the time wasting shenanigans they had won me over. 

The talk is, Shaw Lane`s owner...Craig Wood has big plans with the cash to match his aspirations and his eyes are set on a place in the NPL. Good luck to anyone who is prepared to invest time and their own money into the beloved game, it will be interesting to watch how the club develops in forthcoming seasons.


My Man of the Match - Mr Martin Chester, an award winning performance Sir..??



Attendance - 161 


Admission £4

Stocksbridge Park Steels 2 - 3 Ilkeston Fc

I`ve been meaning to catch up with Kevin Wilson`s Ilkeston side this season and decided to take a look at them on-the-road and when it comes to local treasures, I rate this place as one of the finest.

Bracken Moor Lane or the 'Look Local Stadium' as it`s now known is as picture perfect a Stadium as you could wish to watch a game of football with a playing surface like a Bowling Green..!!

This place is full of charm and character and although it`s only three sided, the back drop scenery more than makes up for that. The main stand is as good a vantage point as I`ve come across, the seats are all hand made wooden slatted, painted in the Yellow and Blue of 'The Steels'....nothing like the pre-moulded plastic we all park our bum`s on nowadays.

No accuracy bonus today for the Met Office, it`s nowhere near as nice a day as they`ve been selling us all week, nevertheless it`s dry and quite mild.

Stockbridge get the game rolling and make a run in from the right, Aaron Webster and Jamie Knowles get into a bit of a wrestle from the eighteen yard box to the bye-line ending up with Stockbridge`s No 8 on the deck, the Ref points towards the spot although it looked like 'six of one and half-a-dozen of the other' to me.

Nathan Joynes steps up to take the kick and easily places the ball beyond Lloyd Allinson to give the home-side the perfect start after just three minutes.

Ilkeston dusted themselves down and headed deep into 'Steels' half from the re-start, Kane Richards drops lucky on the right hand side of the box as a mix up between defender and keeper allow the nimble footed 'Robin' to sneak the ball beyond Jack Ward...1-1 after ten minutes.

Despite looking far more comfortable on the ball going forward than Stocksbridge, Ilkeston`s defending left you feeling trouble could be just around the corner on more than one occasion in the opening period. Richards and James Reid are looking dangerous though and have 'Steels` back four entering a busy spell.

Ilkeston`s second came from the set-piece, a short corner played back to Reid is lofted toward the box where Joe Maguire manages to get himself up above the crowd to nod the ball neatly into the net.

Richards (Kane) should have put the first half to bed as Matt Richards threaded him a lovely ball beyond the last defender, with only the keeper to beat, he runs to his left in a bid to round him but Ward is well up for this one a whisks the ball neatly from his feet.

The entertainment value sat just above and behind both dug-out`s is priceless as Kev Wilson and his opposite Darren Schofield scream their frustrations at their players and each other throughout the game, he`s a bit of a comic is Wilson and readily exchanges banter with both sets of supporters.

Still looking in control yet a tad ropey going backwards 'The Robins' are as frustrating as they are creative, a mis-timed tackle outside the area results in Stocksbridge squaring the game as Nick Swirad`s slick header from the free-kick totally wrong foots Allinson, 2-2 with just over five minutes of the first half left.

With no further goals in the first period it`s time to check Twitter for all the half-time results. Dudsey`s well peeved as Amy McDonald`s 'Mister Rock and Roll' is abruptly interrupted in full swing to announce the results of the raffle,  "I love that tune". "Hold on a minute....did he just say 211-215 on the Green Ticket..?, disappointment turns to a wry smile as a lady called Carol confirms I`ve lifted the first prize.  Nice one..!!

Both sides emerge and before the vocal 'Ilson Crew' have had time to finish their beers and make their way down to the far goal, the ball is nestling in the back of it as Danny Gordon has put the visitors back in front immediately from the re-start.

Both sides had plenty of chances in the remainder of the second half, Ilkeston still looked to be in charge for the main but Stockbridge`s attempt to recover a point from the game saw them have their best spell of the game as they pushed the visitors back into their own box for a twitchy last ten minutes, but to no avail as it finishes 2-3 to a relieved Kevin Wilson. Today`s victory now see`s 'The Robins' entering the play off zone of the table.

A cracking afternoon out, a decent game with plenty of goals in a very welcoming and picturesque setting.


My Man of the Match - Kane Richards...this lad never stops.


Click here for Match Pictures


Teams - Stocksbridge : Ward, Royles, Turner, Swirad, Bowden-Lovell, Senior (c), Hamshaw, Knowles, South, Joynes, White. Subs - Akiester, Travis, Bettney, Hoyle, Denton.

Ilkeston : Allinson, Baker, Webster (c), Gordon, Maguire, Storey, Reid, Chettle, Ricketts, K Richards, M Richards. Subs - Wright, Stokes, Adams, Hooton, Williams.

Admission - £8

Attendance - 260