Pontefract Collieries 5:3 Hemsworth Miners Welfare
Wilkinson Sword Trophy, 2nd Round
Tuesday 1st March 2011

Pontefract won their place in the quarter-finals of the Wilkinson Sword Trophy thanks to a fine attacking performance against local rivals Hemsworth, but were made to sweat after a 5:1 margin was reduced to 5:3 by a resurgent Welfare side.

Pontefract started strongly, with Jason Bentley forcing a corner in the first minute through a good run down the left flank. Although Poskitt’s corner was headed home by Lee Garside, the referee had already blown for an infringement against the goalkeeper. However, as Pontefract applied all the early pressure, they were not to be denied for too long.

With wingers Bentley and Ryan Poskitt featuring heavily in most of the Colls attacks, it was little surprise when the two combined to lay on the opener: Bentley’s tricks and turns freeing himself in space to drive at the heart of the Hemsworth area, feeding Poskitt on the right, who surged past full-back Mike Spencer before crossing for Duncan Bray to clip home.

Bray almost turned provider within a minute, when he beat a man and drove goalwards, spurning the opportunity to shoot in favour of feeding his strike partner, Lee Garside. Unfortunately for the pair, the pass was intercepted by Hemswort skipper Jon Impey, and the threat subsided. But not for long. Pontefract pressed forward again, Bentley releasing Bray with a delightful ball behind the full-back that faded like a Lee Westwood approach shot, perfectly into the path of the goal-bound striker. When Bray glanced up to see Hemsworth ‘keeper Dale Walstow advancing off his line, he lifted the ball over the ‘keeper’s head. Despite Walstow getting his fingertips to the ball, he could only take the pace off the shot, and watch the ball agonisingly win the race against his centre-halves to the goal.

At 2:0 with over 80 minutes to play against an already-demoralised opposition, it seemed that Pontefract were determined to go on and score a hat-full.  Skipper Luke Smith instigated a good move when his throw was headed on to Bentley by Lee Garside – the first of many headers won by Garside throughout the course of the game. The excellent Bentley drove at the Hemsworth back line before, again, releasing Poskitt to his right inside the box. Poskitt crashed a powerful drive against the underside of the bar – the second time in two consecutive local derbies that “Posi” had been denied by the same piece of timber.

Paul Haigh – marshalling the engine room alongside Andy Broadbent -  fed Luke Smith with a fine pass to spread the width of play. The skipper curved an excellent cross into the vicinity of Garside, whose header seemed destined for the net before the diving Walstow turned the ball around the post. From the resultant corner, the home side again struck woodwork, when a powerful header from Johnny Forsyth – who did well to direct the effort goalwards despite running in the opposite direction to meet the cross – dissected the angle between upright and cross-bar.

Buoyed by their host’s inability to put the tie beyond their grasp, Hemsworth started to seek a foothold in the game. As is often the case when a team is so dominant and doing everything except score, when the visitors broke, they scored with their first meaningful attack. Colin Williamson displayed all his quality to turn Forsyth, cutting inside from the right before crashing a fierce left-foot shot into the roof of the net at the near post. Suddenly, bets could be taken on which team would triumph, rather than the size of the host’s goal-haul.

To their credit, Pontefract did not allow the halving of their lead to destroy their confidence, and pressed on with purpose. When Poskitt played Bentley in behind the Hemsworth defence, Ross Haywood did well to get back and nip the ball off his toe just as the winger shaped to fire home. The excellent Bray – who rightly received the Man of the Match trophy at the end of the night following his sharpest display in a Ponte shirt – escaped down the right flank, whipping a low cross into the no-man’s land between the retreating centre-halves and their ‘keeper. Walstow read it well, diving at full stretch to tip the ball away from the boot of the incoming Bentley and deny a certain third goal.

Bentley repaid the compliment, sliding a measured ball into the path of Bray, who slipped his shot beyond the despairing ‘keeper, only to see his hat-trick attempt drift inches wide of the upright. Hemsworth responded as the interval neared, Spencer cutting inside from his left flank before sending a right-foot shot wide of the post.

Trailing by just a single goal, the visitors started the second half on the front foot. However, it was a comedy of errors in the Ponte defence that almost presented them with an equaliser. Firstly, the ever-reliable Smith allowed Andrew Hayward to pick up a loose ball in the area when he allowed the ball to run into his opponent’s path. When Hayward shot Andrew Joburns – restored to the starting line-up to the delight of his young fan club in the stand – fumbled, and the ball bounced towards the gaping net. Both were relieved to see Dean Twibey hook the ball off the line and deny the visitors parity.

With momentum swinging towards the visitors, Pontefract needed something to re-light their fire. Ryan Poskitt duly obliged, scoring one of the most incredible goals of the season. When Walstow ran out of his area to clear a ball intended for Garside, his clearance failed to “find touch”, falling at the feet of Poskitt, hugging the touchline a mere five yards inside the Hemsworth half. Poskitt, aware that the ‘keeper was stranded, curled a perfectly-flighted ball over Walstow’s head and into the back of the net from a full 50 yards. Sadly, there were no TV cameras present to capture the “Goal of the Season” contender.

The goal changed the momentum of the game, stripping Hemsworth of their belief, while releasing a pressure valve in the collective mind of the Colls. Bentley chested a ball down, allowed it to bounce, and sent a 30-yard effort goalwards, forcing a good save from Walstow. Bentley then drove down his flank, beating two men before cutting the ball back from the goal-line. The Hemsworth defenders cleared, but the loose ball was picked up by Smith on the left, who sent a trademark curling cross onto the forehead of Garside, whose effort was tipped over by Walstow.

Garside was not to denied for long. When Poskitt sent in an equally teasing cross from the opposite flank, the Colls striker headed the ball inside the near post and into the net.

Two minutes later, it was five. It was all Duncan Bray and Ryan Poskitt. Bray scrambled down the right flank, doing well to retrieve a ball that seemed destined for a throw-in, before laying it back to Poskitt. Poskitt repaid the compliment, playing Bray in with a ball between the centre-half and full-back. Bray fired the ball across the face of goal, and Poskitt met the cross to slide home his second of the evening, from 45 yards closer than his first!

At 5:1, the result seemed in no doubt. However, Hemsworth had other ideas. To their credit, they drove forward, substitute Danny Wilkes striking a powerful shot over the bar following a corner, before Ian Robinson fired in what appeared to be a consolation goal.

When skipper Jon Impey headed in a third for the visitors two minutes later, the deficit was down to two goals with around twenty minutes to play. The comeback seemed to be on. Poskitt was denied the chance to bag a hat-trick and put the victory beyond doubt when a bobbling ball caused him to sky a shot at the end of a trademark driving run. When substitute Stefan Furness had a powerful shot saved by Walstow, the visitors were again reprieved, and drove forward. When Williamson fed Hayward to his right, the excellent winger’s low shot missed by a matter of inches, and the visitors sensed that their chance had gone.

The late introduction of Leon Guest and Warren Redford from the Academy side capped an eventful night for the Pontefract side, with Redford making his debut for the first team. When Guest’s last-minute volley was saved by Walstow, it marked the end of an eventful game, for which both teams should be credited – although their coaches may have something to say about the defending in a game which contained eight goals.

Pontefract go on to face NCEL First Division leaders Staveley in the quarter-finals, with a tantalising prospect of a semi-final against Glasshoughton as their reward, as the team’s search for silverware continues.

Pontefract Collieries:

Andrew Joburns, Dean Twibey, Luke Smith (captain), Johnny Forsyth, Luke Forgione, Paul Haigh, Ryan Poskitt (repl. Leon Guest, 85), Andy Broadbent, Lee Garside, Duncan Bray (repl. Warren Redford, 79), Jason Bentley (repl. Stefan Furness, 73)

Subs not used: Danny Frost, Sam Dobbs

Goals: Duncan Bray (5, 8), Ryan Poskitt (53, 58), Lee Garside (57)

Bookings: none