Athersley Recreation 5-2 Worksop Town
Athersley ‘Rec’ The Hearts Of The Travelling Tigers Supporters
The Tigers’ first of two upcoming ‘Monday Night Football’ games ended in a heavy defeat at the hands of Athersley Recreation who found themselves in 18th place and only six points above the relegation zone. Athersley raced to a three goal lead inside the first thirty minutes of the game through Garside, Walker and Briscoe. Worksop pulled a goal back moments after Athersley’s third thanks to a Mitch Husbands free-kick. That wasn’t enough to mount a comeback as Kai Hancock netted a brace either side of halftime to put his side in cruise control. Worksop added a second with nine minutes remaining but the Rec got all three points.
Athersley dominated most of the chances in this fixture. They went close in the third minute. A deep free-kick from Simon Poole was flicked over the keeper by Hancock. With the header seemingly heading in, Jack Holden rushed to clear it off the line.
Athersley got their noses in front five minutes into the game. A corner from Jack Briscoe was whipped towards the back post where Garside was on hand to head unmarked into the net.
A minute later, the hosts’ lead was doubled through Ben Walker. Briscoe crossed the ball into the box from the left flank for Walker to nod in at the back stick.
The home side almost recreated their second goal on thirteen minutes. A cross from Briscoe was headed only inches over the bar by an again unmarked Garside.
Moments later, Ben Walker cut inside from the right corner of the box and fired a fierce shot that was heading towards the bottom corner but Diggles got down quickly to get a hand on it and push it wide.
Ten minutes later, the Tigers finally registered a shot on target. A free-kick wide left was swung into the box by Higginson. The set-piece almost caught the keeper out as Greaves had to backtrack to catch the effort.
Hancock then had two chances to get on the scoresheet. Ben Walker slotted Hancock down the left wing and then the forward headed towards goal. Hancock’s initial shot was saved by Diggles and his secondary shot cannoned off the post.
Just before the half hour mark, The Penguins added a third goal to their tally. Jack Briscoe tried his luck from thirty yards out as he hammered a bouncing ball into the back of the net.
The Tigers pulled a goal back through captain Mitch Husbands. Jack Holden was thwarted on the edge of the area as he looked to enter and create a chance. Husbands stepped up and hit his free-kick over the wall and in off the bar giving the travelling support a glimmer of hope.
Thirty-four minutes in, Higginson had the chance to pull another goal back. Conor beat the offside trap to latch onto Holden’s through-ball. Higginson unfortunately fired his shot, from a tight angle, into the sidenetting.
However in the thirty-seventh minute, Athersley Recreation restored their three goal deficit. Another dangerous cross from Briscoe allowed Hancock to redirect the ball past Diggles from six yards out.
The halftime whistle went to put an end to a miserable first period for the Tigers. Many players looked down and dejected as they headed for the dressing room.
Five minutes after the restart, both sides had chances at either end of the field. Firstly, Briscoe’s switch from the left ended up at the feet of Garside who saw his volley towards goal superbly saved by Diggles. The ball was cleared over halfway to Phillips who subsequently played through Overton. The Tigers loanee took a touch before rifling his shot just over the bar.
Worksop then enjoyed a decent ten minute spell where they kept possession well and looked threatening. They almost scored through Charlie Baird. An unsuccessful corner came out to Trench who played in Baird. The centre-back weaved his way past two players before seeing his effort ricochet off the underside of the crossbar, bounce down and then back out. There were shouts from the Tigers faithful however, the referee gave nothing.
Rec put the game beyond doubt as they netted another. Joshua Diggles rushed out of his goal to try and clear away what seemed to of been a lost cause. Diggles completely miss-kicked the ball and slipped which gifted Hancock an easy tap in to bag his brace.
Town pulled another goal back with nine minutes remaining. The ball broke to Higginson who passed it on to Husbands. Husbands held the ball up before sliding Luke Black down the left- hand side. Black squared the ball across the box for Joel Phillips who stroked home his first Tigers goal since joining from Chesterfield.
The Tigers saw another opportunity pass them by on the stroke of full-time. Mitch Husbands crossed towards the back post where Conor Higginson’s powerful downward header was saved by the feet of Greaves. The ball was then tapped back into the middle by Lysons for Phillips who volleyed over.
The full-time whistle sounded to confirm Worksop’s eleventh defeat on the bounce. The lads clapped the fans for coming. Higginson and Diggles came over to shake the hands of the supporters and apologise for the performance. We next take on Bottesford Town away on Saturday the 28th of April.
Attendance: 125
Goals: Garside (5’), Walker (6’), Briscoe (28’), Hancock (36’, 67’); Husbands (30’), Phillips (81’)
ARFC: Jordan Greaves, Adam White, Cameron Clark, Bradley Kilner, Andrew McManus, Simon Poole, Jack Briscoe, Ben Walker, Ben Walker, Lee Garside, Danny South, Kai Hancock
Subs: Aiden Salmons, Ryan White, Lyle Wordsworth, Dan Vinten, McCauley Shillito
WTFC: Joshua Diggles, Alex Boyd, Michael Trench, Tyler Lysons, Charlie Baird, Dan Gardner, James Milner (Joel Phillips), Jack Holden, Mitch Husbands, Conor Higginson, Matty Overton (Luke Black)
Unused Subs: Christian Beaumont, Jamie Robinson, Igor Mlynarski
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