Saturday 25th January 2020 | Austin Ainsworth
A record crowd at The Dorothy Hyman Stadium saw the best and worst of Wakefield AFC, as Houghton Main were the visitors in the Sheffield and Hallamshire County Senior League. Wakefield, on a run of six matches without a win or goal, had the chance to get back to winning ways against a side lower than them in the table and with a similar record of four losses out of five.
It looked as though that win would come for Wakefield as a dominant first half, with chances galore, put them 3-0 up at half time. The performance would have had fans off their seats – if they had seats – as manager Chris Turner made the decision to switch the team from the stadium on to the 4G pitch. It was easy to see why as his young team responded with a lightning start, comfortable and more able to play their slick passing football on the artificial surface. However, the bubble burst as they turned full Jekyll and Hyde in the second half to unfathomably lose the game 4-3.
Turner did all he could to give the team the opportunity to get back some much needed confidence and form as, in addition to the change of pitch, he switched them to a simple 4-4-2 formation last seen at the beginning of the season during Wakefield’s purple patch. Quinaceo Hunt played in goal as Kyron Richards moved back in to central defence alongside Yemi Ayodele. That meant that make-shift centre back Cedric Kouakou moved to right back as Chris Sholu made a welcome return at left back. Deji Alabi also returned to his usual right wing position, Manny Katundu and Danny Kabeya were the central midfielders and Noah Hamelberg completed the midfield on the left wing. Arnie Grayson, scorer of three goals in his first two reserves games, made his first team debut up-front alongside Nathan Weekes.
The manager’s bold decision seemed vindicated as Wakefield looked like the young, vibrant and deadly side that started the season. The chances came thick and fast in a relentless first half, and the fans’ wait for a goal didn’t last long as Ayodele was first to a second ball following a corner kick and goal-mouth scramble in the 12th minute. A neat toe-poke saw his shot curl in to the top left corner and gift the team and fans their first goal in more than nine hours of football.
Wakefield didn’t let up and for once were creating chances from all types of football, even long punts up the field. One such chance came about in the 15th minute as the aggressive and industrious strike partnership of Weekes and Grayson combined to leave Weekes through on goal. The striker shot wide, however he didn’t pass up the opportunity for his first goal since August when his next chance came around in the 18th minute. Captain Katundu sprayed the ball out to the right and Alabi charged through on goal. He dummied and turned inside before squaring the ball to Weekes, whose first time shot rose in to the roof of the net to put the home side 2-0 up.
The chances kept coming, though not before a quite incomprehensible save from Hunt following a corner kick. In a rare chance for Houghton Main an unmarked player headed at goal from six yards out. Hunt somehow jumped and reached back to tip the ball on to the bar and over in a truly remarkable, Gordon Banks-esque, moment. Wakefield were back up the other end after that, when Katundu nearly had his eighth goal of the season after more good play from Hamelberg. However, for the third game in succession, he was denied by the woodwork. The third goal did come in the 40th minute when Alabi won the ball bravely with a rare Wakefield slide-tackle. The ball rebounded to Grayson who charged in behind and set Weekes up for his second goal of the game and third of the season.
Wakefield were given warnings in the minutes leading up to the third goal, as Hunt made another excellent save from distance whilst Kouakou was also booked for cynically, but smartly, stopping another counter-attack that had left the team exposed. Nonetheless, Wakefield were three up at half time and seemingly out of sight after an emphatic performance.
It’s always a roller-coaster ride with this exhilarating Wakefield team, and the car flew off the track in a horrific second half showing in which they were pegged back, continuously exposed in defence and second to nearly every ball. The proverbial switch had been flicked and fans witnessed the other Wakefield, who allowed too many balls to bounce, pulled out of too many challenges and gave away too many silly free-kicks. And they were punished in the 57th minute after a calamitous mix-up saw one defender’s clearance bounce off the other’s back. That put the striker clean through to pull the score back to 3-1.
Moments later another mixup left Richards having to make a last ditch tackle and Houghton Main players appealing for a penalty, whilst also testing Hunt with another shot on goal. The away side were resurgent and got their second goal in the 65th minute from another free-kick in a dangerous area. It was unfortunate as the Wakefield goalscorer Ayodele, turned the ball in to his own net when trying to clear.
That briefly woke the home side up with 15 minutes to go, who had two gilt-edged chances in quick succession to restore their cushion. Amos Kabeya, on for the injured Grayson, was on the end of both chances as he headed over the bar each time. Wakefield were made to pay, as Houghton Main equalised. The goal came from a free-kick on the halfway line that was nodded home by an unmarked and unchallenged player. As if things couldn’t get any worse, tragedy struck with the last kick of the game when a ball was again allowed to bounce on the edge of the area. Ayodele was subsequently turned and the Houghton Main player chipped to try and reach his teammate. Hunt came for the ball but was bullied and beaten in the air. Kouakou chased and reached the knock-on but his clearance could only hit the post and bounced in to the goal in what was an all-round horrific moment.
In a game of such promise, Wakefield were again exposed by the basics, not least that football is a game of two halves. Chris Turner agreed and offered this honest assessment: “Simple, the first 45 minutes were top class; 3-0 up and it should have been six. The second half was woeful, unprofessional and we deserved nothing. Football is about 90 minutes and you cannot afford to switch off. We have some players that don’t want to work hard when they haven’t got the ball and that neglect their responsibilities. Football is about having a strong mentality and unfortunately, with the run we are having, it’s showing that we don’t have enough players with the mentality to win. It’s proving to me that our squad as a whole cannot compete at this level; some can but very few others can’t. Results don’t lie – too many defensive errors every week are proving costly.”
The loss – Wakefield’s third in succession – drops them to 10th in the league, one above Houghton Main who move up to 11th. It also means that Wakefield are now on a run of seven games without a win, with only one draw coming in that time. The players, and fans for that measure, have no choice but to look to the positives. They are back scoring and the first half was as good as any performance this season, with Hamelberg, Weekes and the imperious Richards excelling. They will now look to right the wrongs on Saturday 1st February 2020 when they face Ecclesfield Red Rose 1915 away at Chaucer School; kick-off 14:00PM.
Half Time: 3-0
Full Time: 3-4
Starting XI:
Quinaceo Hunt, Cedric Kouakou, Kyron Richards, Yemi Ayodele, Chris Sholu, Deji Alabi, Manny Katundu (C), Danny Kabaya, Noah Hamelberg, Nathan Weekes, Arnie Grayson
Goals:
12m, Yemi Ayodele
18m, Nathan Weekes
40m, Nathan Weekes
57m, Houghton Main
65m, Houghton Main
76m, Houghton Main
90m, Houghton Main
Subs Used:
63m, Amos Kabaya for Arnie Grayson
Cards:
Cedric Kouakou (Yellow)
Nathan Weekes (Yellow)
Kyron Richards (Yellow)
Stats:
Wakefield AFC
First Half
Shots on Target: 6
Shots off Target: 6
Second Half
Shots on Target: 0
Shots off Target: 6
Houghton Main
First Half
Shots on Target: 3
Shots off Target: 2
Second Half
Shots on Target: 6
Shots off Target: