Goals:
5m Thomas Eclapier
14m Rayjon Moore (pen)
23m Manny Katundu
25m Manny Katundu
Starting XI:
Quinaceo Hunt, Jean Merour, Adeyemi Ayodele, Marvin Emmanuel, Jack Enkh, Manny Katundu (capt), Kyron Richards, Jamie Hardwick, Thomas Eclapier, Nathan Weekes, Rayjon Moore
Subs Used:
58m Deji Alabi for Nathan Weekes
72m Noah Hamelberg for Thomas Eclapier
Bookings: None
Wakefield AFC maintained their unbeaten home record this season with an impressive 4-0 win over Ecclesfield Red Rose 1915 on Saturday. Around 45 fans turned up on one of the last warm and sunny Saturdays of the year and their number grew by one when the opposition manager was sent to the stands in the first half. The main talking point for the fans though was not so much the score line, but the performance that accompanied it. Despite losing only one game this season, some of the Wakefield performances so far have shown clear areas for improvement. The way the lads played on Saturday though showed the great work that manager Chris Turner and his team have done, as the organisation and communication was head and shoulders above when they started the season.
Turner himself said in his post-match interview “When you have a group of players that have only been together for three months, you’re going to have up and down performances. I though the first sixty minutes today were marvellous. I thought they pressed them, put them under pressure, obviously got goals and could have got a lot more goals. Today they showed what I think is that they’re learning how to play the game, they are learning how we want them to play and I think they will be exciting because it’s a high-pressing game. We’ve got a lot of pace around the team; some good footballers and the concentration level was better today”.
The great thing about watching Wakefield AFC isn’t just that we are watching a club grow and evolve from the very beginning but also a group of players who are learning how to play together, to work as a team and to play against teams that have been together week in, week out for years.
The win was on the cards as early as the fifth minute, when French winger Thomas Eclapier cut inside from the left flank and powered a low shot under the Ecclesfield keeper for the first goal. Rayjon Moore doubled the tally ten minutes later after Eclapier was pulled back in the box and the striker, who celebrates his twentieth birthday on Thursday, scored the penalty. It’s the Peckham striker’s third goal of the season and he had chances to add to that tally twice in the second half.
Manny Katundu then wrapped up the win with a brace of goals just three minutes apart mid-way through the first half. The first was a delightful set piece from the edge of the box on the left, exchanging short passes with Moore before rifling a low, curling shot in at the far post. The fourth Wakefield goal came from a long pass from Kyron Richards, which the captain tucked away neatly at the far post after the ball went over everyone else.
There were great performances all over the pitch, but also a piece of history as the team recorded its first clean sheet of its maiden season, with Quinaceo Hunt saving well when the Ecclesfield striker was through one on one late in the second half. The back line in front of the Bermudan keeper was the most organised and solid that we’ve seen all season. The midfield controlled the match and it was Katundu’s partner in the middle, Jamie Hardwick, who picked up the fans man of the match award after another measured display. The 22-year-old was unlucky not to score his third goal in three games when he hit the bar from thirty yards out in the second half. It was also good to see the return of winger Deji Alabi after a three-match injury absence and the 20-year-old hit the post after a great run following his introduction from the substitutes bench.
The team must now build on this great result, first when facing Burngreave away in the League Cup on Saturday and then the following weekend when they entertain Jubilee Sports on 5th October 2019 when we hope to see even more Wakefield AFC fans cheering the lads on.
Next five fixtures:
Sat 28/9/19 – Burngreave GV First Team (away) LEAGUE CUP
Sat 5/10/19 – Jubilee Sports First Team (home)
Sat 26/10/19 – Houghton Main First Team (away)
Sat 16/11/19 – Wombwell Main First Team (away)
Sat 23/11/19 – Stocksbridge Park Steels FC Reserves (home)
WAKEFIELD STATS
Played: 7
Won: 3
Drawn: 3
Lost: 1
For: 18
Against: 13
Points: 12
Goals:
3: Moore
2: Alabi, Eclapier, Hardwick, Katundu, Owiredu
1: Emmanuel, Enkh, Hamelberg, Okalo, Weekes