Swinton Athletic 1-0 Frecheville CA

Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup, Saturday 12^th October 2013

A misjudgement from Frecheville goalkeeper Zaffe Mir was enough to send Swinton Athletic to the third round of the Senior Challenge Cup at Frecheville’s expense.

The game looked destined for extra time when a long ball from the Frecheville backline with twenty minutes to go bounced over the goalkeeper’s head, falling to Hayden Barnett who simply rolled the ball into the empty net.

Visitors Frecheville may seem hard done by and they had a goal disallowed after fourteen minutes. Russell Hobson was played through with just the goalkeeper to beat; he then performed a delightful chip over Dan Mirton’s head and into the net, however was ruled offside.

Five minutes later Hobson was in the thick of the action again. The ball broke kindly for the striker in the box but he was denied by the left-hand post.

Swinton’s Joel Bennett and Frecheville’s Robbie Ward also were required to leave the field due to injuries which may cause headaches for both managers.

Frecheville had the first chance of the afternoon. Danny Bainbridge took a free-kick from the half way line; it missed everyone in the box but came within inches of sneaking in at the far post.

At the other end of the pitch, Swinton’s Matt Beevers had a powerful effort from the edge of the box deflected wide and moments later Barnett headed over.

Frecheville looked threatening in attack. Robbie Ward was denied by Mirton’s quick reactions as he pulled off a save with his legs midway through the first half. The rebound fell to Ben Dronfield however the follow up sailed into the side-netting.

Before half-time they had several half-chances. Ward volleyed over from a tight angle before Bainbridge’s long range effort went over the bar. For Swinton, Mark Clare’s left-footed shot was comfortably caught by Mir.

The second half began very much in the same vein the first had finished, with both sides inseparable. With chances at both ends, Hobson had a shot from range which fell wide for Frecheville and Clare likewise missed the target with a blistering effort.

Half-time Swinton substitute Ryan Foxey almost made an immediate impact early in the half. He jinxed past three players before producing a cross from the left. Striker, Clare, headed narrowly wide.

Another substitute, Swinton’s Darren Walker was played through by Moxey, but his shot from a tight angle was gathered by Mir.

The deciding goal was a simple route one, which appeared to be over-hit. Frecheville’s Mir positioned himself close to the edge of his box, but completely misjudged the bounce and it danced over his head. Barnett reacted quickly and was first to the loose which was then sent into the empty net.

There was still time for the net to rattle once more, but this too was ruled out. Athletic’s Justin Greenwood crossed for Barnett who slotted into the net. However the goal was ruled out due to a foul on Shaun Garwell.

Frecheville, who are above Swinton in the league table, never looked like getting back into the game, despite the hosts playing with ten men for the final ten minutes after Joel Bennett’s leg injury.

Swinton Athletic Team: Dan Mirton, Curtis Wilkinson, Joel Bennett, Lucas Briggs, Josh Dacre, Jon Billups, Justin Greenwood, Matt Beevers, Alex Wilkinson, Hayden Barnett, Mark Clare. Subs: Lee Woodhall, John Burns, Ross Shelton, Ryan Doxey, Darren Walker.

Frecheville CA: Zaffe Mir, Adam Smith, Mitchell Golland, Shaun Garwell, Daniel White, Danny Bainbridge, Ben Furnace, Jack Heald, Robbie Ward, Russell Hobson, Ben Dronfield. Subs: Matt Stagg

Swinton Athletic 0-4 Stocksbridge Park Steels Reserves

Saturday 28^th September 2013, County Senior League Premier Division

Stocksbridge Park Steels Reserves efficiently saw off the challenge of Swinton Athletic, 4-0, condemning the hosts to a sixth defeat in seven matches this season.

Swinton started brightly with some slick passing football; however Stocksbridge defended resolutely before taking the lead on 29 minutes. Cole Payne’s bullet header from Kevin Davies’ corner flew into the bottom right-corner, beyond Swinton’s Daniel Morton.

Payne scored his second five minutes later in what was a clinical forward performance by the visitors. First he turned around Lee Woodhall before cooling sending the ball across the goal and into the bottom corner.

And soon Stocksbridge had a third. Luke Townsend was unmarked in the box, and headed into the bottom-right of goal.

The scoring was completed ten minutes into the second half. Ryan MacDonald dispossessed Woodhall before rounding the keeper and passing the ball into an empty net.

The hosts were the better side in the opening period, but were limited to half chances. Curtis Wilkinson’s cross was knocked down by Justin Greenwood only for Joel Bennett to send a half-volley over the crossbar.

Likewise, another half-chance was rued when Lucas Briggs’s shot was caught by the keeper, Danny Salem, from long-range moments later. Then, Josh Moore’s cross almost sneaked in after Salem appeared to misjudge the ball but it went inches wide.

It took until midway into the first half when Stocksbridge mustered a chance of their own when Cole Payne dragged a long range effort wide. However he made up for it with two goals from the next two attacks.

For the first he was able to weave his run away from the host’s defenders, before getting power behind an unstoppable header which flew into the corner. His second demonstrated on-the-ball trickery to leave the Athletic defender behind him and sending the following shot into the same corner of the goal.

The visitors sealed victory just before half-time when Luke Townsend picked up a position within the penalty which no defender noticed before it was too late, and his header from a deep cross floated beyond Morton once more. Townsend still had chance to almost grab a second too, but sent a low shot into the side-netting.

As the half-time whistle blew a brief altercation between both sets of players began. The referee halted the protests and swiftly booked a player from each side before it got out of hand. The interval allowed both camps to cool down.

Swinton appeared reinvigorated by the break and began the second half with the same attacking impetus they had demonstrated in the opening stages of the first. Substitute Mark Clare sprinted beyond the defence but his one-on-one was parried behind by Salem. From the resulting corner Josh Moore’s far-post blast was secularly denied by the keeper’s legs.

But Swinton’s hard work to try and get back into the game was undone by a lapse at the back. Ryan MacDonald stole the ball from Lee Woodhall, opted to go round the keeper before tapping into the unmanned goal.

Swinton still tried to find a consolation goal when Hayden Barnett’s volley bounced off the bar and over. Moore later found himself in the box too, but his low shot was claimed by the Stocksbridge goalkeeper. Stocksbridge therefore held on for their first league win since the 4^th September, with Swinton suffering their third defeat in a row.

Swinton Team: Daniel Morton, Curtis Wilkinson, Alex Wilkinson, Lucas Briggs, Lee Woodhall, Jon Billups, Liam Favell, Josh Moore, Hayden Barnett, Justin Greenwood, Joel Bennett. Subs: Josh Dacre, Mark Clare, Daniel Wilson, Andy Billups.

Stocksbridge Team: Danny Salem, James Hoyle, Kevin Davies, Ryan MacDonald, Tom Cadzow, Aidan Ward, Cole Payne, John Beggs, Iftikhar Afzar, Luke Townsend, Charlie Stewart. Subs: Thomas Nurney, Louis Shaw, Tyrone Okane.

Treeton Terriers Under-21’s 5-0 Davy FC Under 21’s

Saturday 14^th September 2013, County Senior League Under 21’s Division

Treeton Terriers extended their winning streak to three league games in as many games with a convincing victory over Davy FC in Tinsley on Saturday.

After a balanced opening period, Terriers opened the scoring from the penalty spot. It came about when Tom Bartolemen was played through one-on-one. The goalkeeper, Liam Dyson, rushed off his line but resisted the opportunity to tackle. This moment’s hesitation proved costly as it handed the initiative to the Terriers’ striker who poked the ball beyond the keeper and knocked it into the box. He was then able to outpace the goalkeeper who dived backwards, but made contact with the man and not the ball. The referee, Mr Wright, pointed immediately to the spot. Luke Beedam stepped up and calmly sent Dyson the wrong way.

Five minutes later, Treeton made it two. Declan Duckham crossed for Kane Beedam, unmarked at the far post, who comfortably slotted the ball into the corner of the goal.

The following attack too resulted in a goal for the hosts. Beedam pulled the ball back for Joe Slater who struck a shot on target. Dyson got a hand to it, to reduce the power of the shot, but failed to divert it round the post and it trickled into the net.

The best goal of the game was the final goal of the first-half. Beedam, buoyed from his earlier goals and assist, demonstrated his confidence with a run from the half-way line on the right wing before swerving inside, in a move that beat four defenders, before his close-range one-on-one was blasted into the top corner.

The match was rounded off on the hour mark as Connor Simpson broke the offside trap much to the annoyance of the appealing visitor’s defence, before sending the ball into the bottom right corner to complete a stunning start for Terriers, who have now scored nineteen goals in their opening three games in the Under-21 division.

The match began as a midfield-battle, with chances few-and-far-between. This only real opportunity of note was when Louis Fletcher sent a direct free-kick over the bar after two minutes.

Teeton thereafter took control. Luke Beedam knocked the ball down for Kane Doughty whose shot was well wide of the left-hand post. Tom Bartolemen had a tremendous chance when he found himself one-on-one with Liam Dyson. His effort however, despite beating the goalkeeper, lacked the required pace it would have needed to roll over the line.

Two minutes later however the deadlock was broken from the spot after Dyson’s trip on Bartolemen. The keeper survived a potential red card, despite being the last man, as the striker was moving away from goal.

Within a minute, Terriers’ lead was almost doubled. Callum Douglas attempted a shot from long-range, but the right-hand post came to Davy’s rescue and the ball bounced harmlessly wide.

Beedam had a fantastic opportunity to make it 2-0 in the twenty-fifth minute. He received the ball one-on-one, within two metres of the goal, but his close-range effort was superbly saved by Dyson’s outstretched leg.

Beedam only had to wait a minute extra until he did get his second however, when slotting home Declan Duckham’s cross. Beedam then turned provider for Joe Slater, who’s effort founds its way into the goal via a goalkeeper’s glove and the inside of the right-hand post.

Slater found the ball in a similar position to where he’d just scored from – just inside the penalty area – moments later. This time his effort fell just wide, however. Beeham’s spectacular run and finish from the half-way line then made it 4-0 seven minutes before half-time and therefore completed his hat-trick.

Despite this, Beedam wasn’t having a day where luck was always on his side. This was most notable early in the second half when he rounded Dyson, but with the open goal gaping, he sent the ball over the crossbar instead of into the empty net.

The scoring was completed with half-an-hour to spare. Connor Simpson broke the offside trap, causing frustration amongst the Davy FC defenders. Simpson then comfortably placed the ball into the bottom right-corner.

The closest Davy FC came to a consolation goal was through Dane Asher. His long-range effort required a finger-tip save from Kyle Aldon who touched it round the post. This assured the hosts of a first clean sheet of the new season as they remain top of the league table.

Treeton Terriers Under 21’s Team: Kyle Aldon, Shaun Jones, Joe Wra, Ian Abdulka, Connor Simpson, Callum Douglas, Declan Duckham, Joe Slater, Tom Bartolemen, Luke Beedam, Kane Doughty. Sub: Piers Bond

Davy FC Under-21’s Team: Liam Dyson, Owen Philips, Tom Fewkes, James Kirkby, Louis Fletcher, Dane Asher, Ritchie Vicary, Kane Taylor, Sam McArthur, Nathan Storey, Dylan Vicary. Subs: Lawrence Taylor, Ryan Fletcher, Elliott Trundler, Tom Hoyland, Joe Jamir.