Liversedge 1:2 Pontefract Collieries
West Riding County Cup, 2nd Round
Tuesday 14th December, 2010

Pontefract Collieries reached the quarter-finals of the West Riding County Cup with a pulsating win against Premier League Liversedge in a match filled with controversy. Having lead from goals by Craig Stephens and Jason Bentley with seven minutes remaining, a freak goal from a Liversedge cross set up a thrilling finale, with the home team being denied the opportunity to take the tie to extra time when the referee did not spot the ball crossing the Ponte line.

The clash – which pitted the leaders of the NCEL First Division against the bottom club from the higher league, was dominated by the away side from the start. Despite both teams coming off the back of long weather-enforced breaks – three weeks in the case of Ponte and five for the opponents – there was little evidence of rustiness from either side, as the match started in feisty fashion, with both sides intent on taking the game to their opponents.

Pontefract created the first near-miss, when Luke Smith’s left-sided free kick was headed onwards by Luke Forgione, and just evaded Jason Bentley at the far post. Bentley followed this by cutting in from his berth on the left wing, beating two men before shooting powerfully goalwards. Liversedge ‘keeper Mark Bowers fumbled the shot, but his defence were sufficiently alert to win the race to the rebound and clear the danger. Bentley continued his strong opening with a jinking run through the middle of the park before being floored with a clumsy foul as he bore down on the penalty area. From the resulting free-kick, Ryan Poskitt sent a powerful shot over the wall, but it dipped into the ‘keeper’s arms.

As Pontefract turned up the heat on their hosts’ defence, they won a series of corners, which the ‘keeper struggled to deal with, flapping and misjudging several crosses. With their visitors pinning them back, Liversedge sought release through a series of long balls, one of which almost led to a classic counter-punchers goal when Jamie Wesley was released, beat skipper Nicky Handley to the ball, but allowed a heavy touch to take the ball too close to Andrew Joburns, secure as ever in the Ponte net.

Bentley also spurned a one-on-one with the goalkeeper, when a delightful ball from Craig Stephens – slid with slide-rule accuracy into the gap between centre-half and full-back – played him in. Bentley’s effort to slide the ball under the ‘keeper was well-saved by Bowers, who blocked the shot with his legs. Shortly before the interval, Stephens found himself running through on goal, before being unceremoniously hacked down a mere yard from the edge of the box. Perhaps aware that any card would need to be of the red hue owing to the foul being perpetrated by the last man, the referee settled for the award of a free-kick. Stephens himself took the free-kick, curling it towards the near post, but was denied a spectacular goal when Bowers clawed it away for a corner.

With his team in the ascendancy before the interval, Simon Houghton resisted the urge to change any personnel, and his players rewarded him within three minutes of the re-start. The goal owed a great debt to Carl Fothergill, who harried and hassled the Liversedge defenders until they sacrificed the ball to the striker, who drove goalwards before sliding the ball across the face of the goal and into the path of Jason Bentley. The wide man selflessly eschewed the chance to shoot himself , instead passing to Craig Stephens, who made no mistake with his finish.

Within seconds of taking the lead, Pontefract were denied an iron-clad penalty claim, when Fothergill was clearly hacked down while running in on goal. The referee waved the appeal away and, to his shame, the assistant – who had initial flagged for a penalty – responded to the referee’s reluctance to award the spot kick by putting his flag back down. Incensed, the Pontefract team channelled their anger into positive energy, driving forward in search of the second goal they had been unfairly denied.

As Pontefract poured men forward in search of a second goal, they left space behind them for Liversedge to exploit, which they threatened to do with a measured ball into the path of Darren Fletcher. However, the striker was denied by a last-ditch challenge by Rian Sykes, who had worked tirelessly throughout. Sykes was replaced shortly afterwards, when a clattering challenge left him with an injured foot, by Matt Wilkinson, who slotted into the centre of the defence alongside captain Handley, with Luke Forgione being pushed into the midfield alongside Paul Haigh. Forgione did not let his team down – with a faultless pass ratio which augured well for the team as they sought to control the ball. Wilkinson also excelled, making a series of timely interceptions to deny the home side a route back into the match.

Craig Stephens – drifting wide in search of space – picked up the ball on the left flank, and wriggled free of two markers before finding Fothergill with a precise pass. Fothergill drove goalwards, drawing defenders towards him before feeding the over-lapping Dean Twibey, who was finding increasing space in the opponents half of the pitch as the match opened up. Twibey’s shot was, on this occasion, wayward and the chance passed.

Further tireless work from Fothergill to recover the ball from the Liversedge defenders was followed by a deep cross to Jason Bentley, who timed his arrival at the far post to perfection. However, his leap for the ball was less well timed, and he was unable to keep his header down. He was not to be denied for long.

The second goal was made by Luke Smith, who picked up the ball on the left before driving infield, and drawing the centre-half towards him and creating space for Bentley. As Smith slid the ball outside to his left-sided partner, Bentley curled a delightful ball beyond the ‘keeper and inside the far post.

Liversedge responded with positive intent. Andy Phillips had a goal-bound shot bravely blocked by Smith, before the excellent Rob Boardman shot through a crowd of players, only to find Joburns denying him with a good save. Craig Stephens showed that whatever his strike partner could do, he could equal, harrying the hapless ‘keeper until he won the ball, feeding Fothergill who shot inches over the bar.

Paul Haigh – whose tidy and composed performance throughout rightly won him the Man of the Match trophy – had a powerful 30-yard shot beaten away by Bowers into the path of the onrushing Poskitt, whose shot was deflected away for a corner.

For their second away cup fixture in succession, the Colls then had to deal with a floodlight failure, although this time it was only partial. However, the poor light level in the Ponte box seemed to cause edginess in the defence, while giving hope to the hosts as they strove to get back into the match. Boardman’s shot was deflected away for a corner, which was in turn headed goalwards by Chris Hanney – Joburns doing extremely well to judge the bounce of the ball and clutch it into the safety of his chest.

Bentley played a measured ball into the path of Poskitt, who jinked inside his marker before sending a left-foot shot over the bar. It was the last action of the night for Poskitt, who was replaced by young Connor Rollinson as the match entered its final ten minutes. Despite great work in the midfield from Haigh, Pontefract lost the ball, and found their lead halved when a left-sided cross floated beyond Joburns before going in off his far post.

Unsurprisingly, Liversedge took hope from the goal, and set about finding an equaliser. When Boardman headed against the bar from another left-sided cross, it seemed that their best chance had gone. The result was almost confirmed seconds later when Fothergill, who had been a real threat from start to finish, cut inside from the right wing, beating two men with combined skill and pace, before shooting beyond Bowers. However, the powerful shot crashed back off the far post, and the hosts thrust back into the Ponte half as the game entered injury time.

The finale was a thriller! Liversedge believed they had equalised when a cross from the right was headed goalwards. Joburns did well to get down and save the ball at his feet. As he grasped the ball into his control, Fletcher poked it goalwards, kicking Joburns into the bargain. Joburns dragged the ball back into his midriff, although it had clearly cross the line. With the home crowd baying for a goal – and the visitors appealing for a free-kick for a foul on their ‘keeper – the referee gave neither, allowing play to continue. As the anger threatened to boil over, Pontefract broke, with Fothergill racing through a static defence, before his shot was saved by Bowers. It was the final action of a game that had excited both sets of fans although, in truth, Pontefract’s superiority should have insured against a tense finish.

Pontefract’s reward for their win is a quarter final against Conference North side Guiseley, and a chance to get re-acquainted with former manager Steve Kittrick, now in charge of the side in their push for promotion to the Blue Square Premiership.

Pontefract Collieries:

Andrew Joburns, Dean Twibey, Luke Smith, Nicky Handley (captain), Luke Forgione, Paul Haigh, Ryan Poskitt (repl. Connor Rollinson, 80 mins), Rian Sykes (repl. Matt Wilkinson, 57 mins), Carl Fothergill, Craig Stephens, Jason Bentley

Subs not used: Sean Hammonds

Goals: Craig Stephens (48), Jason Bentley (62)

 Bookings: none