Match Reporter: Austin Ainsworth
Picture Credit: Mathew Marsden | MM10 Sports Photos
Wakefield AFC returned to Hepworth United F.C. – the scene of their first ever competitive game as a football club – in the Sheffield and Hallamshire Country Senior League, hoping to make it four wins on the bounce after a run of good form, that last saw them achieve a pulsating 3-2 win over Wombwell Main F.C.
Hepworth – starting the day in sixth position, but on the back of two losses – appear much improved this season from the side that drew twice with Wakefield last year. And it showed, as a dogged performance saw them come away 3-2 victors, after Wakefield – missing the chance to move up one place from third to fourth – had initially fought back from 1-0 down to lead 2-1 in the second half.
Adam Lockwood again opted to name an unchanged side, sticking with the now familiar 3-4-1-2 formation that had seen his side win their last three, scoring 11 goals in the process. The first 10 minutes nearly saw Wakefield increase that tally; with captain Greg Hunter curling a good free-kick just wide and top-scorer Dan Palmer almost hitting his fourth goal in five starts with a header wide from an excellent Jed Wilkinson cross.
Despite those two chances, it was Hepworth – more at home in the challenging conditions – who made the better start and they nearly got their reward in the ninth minute when a defensive mix-up between Patrick Hoyle and goalkeeper Hemir Lopez allowed their striker a shot at an open goal. In almost comical fashion though, it was the backside of Hoyle that saved Wakefield’s blushes as the ball rebounded off him before a second Hepworth shot was skied high in to the moors.
That marked the start of an uphill struggle for Wakefield – figuratively and literally – as they went a goal down seconds later against the home side, who were playing downhill on the heavily slanted pitch. It was the pitch – slippery as well as lopsided – that played its part as Gervas Chipasha chased a good Hepworth ball in behind the Wakefield defence but slipped at the crucial moment, allowing the Hepworth player to cut-in from the left and fire his shot past the helpless Lopez.
Wakefield, struggling to play their usual style of football, took time to get back in to the game but started to craft some good opportunities approaching the 30 minute mark. Midfielder Tom Raithby’s was the pick of the bunch, when he fired a wicked left-footed shot from distance that was well saved by the home goalkeeper. And, despite playing uphill, as half-time approached the away side had Hepworth boxed inside their own defensive third.
That pressure appeared to have resulted in an equaliser on 40 minutes, when wing-back Jed Wilkinson drifted infield to pick out a sumptuous pass for the unmarked Bryce Orsini. Orsini gathered it well and nonchalantly chipped over the home goalkeeper, only for the linesman to somehow flag for offside in what appeared to be a very bad call from the official.
Wakefield had two more good chances before the whistle, the best from one of the many free-kicks awarded to Wakefield when Hoyle headed straight at the ‘keeper. It was Hoyle that did grab the equaliser straight after half-time though, when he again used his head to latch on to a perfectly executed Wilkinson corner-kick, this time leaving the goalkeeper no chance.
Wakefield – now with the sloping pitch in their favour – smelled blood and Hepworth were unable to get out in the first period of the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before the second goal would come for the away side, and it was Wilkinson and midfielder Jack Burton – two of Wakefield’s standout performers in this, and previous, games – who combined to give them the lead. The goal was similar to the first, with Burton this time the one to profit from another excellent Wilkinson set-piece delivery as he headed in at the back post for his second goal in as many matches.
It seemed impossible that Wakefield wouldn’t go on to win the match with ease after the goal, with all of the momentum, scoreline and pitch in their favour. However, the game returned to scrappiness in the ensuing minutes and was broken up by numerous fouls. That played in to the home side’s hands, and their resilience showed when they equalised against the run of play with 15 minutes remaining. Their goal came from a deadly, albeit unchallenged, cross that Lopez was unable to hold, before an unmarked striker was then on-hand to tuck the ball in to the back of the net.
Despite that, Wakefield still had good chances to win the game. The first came almost immediately after the equaliser, when substitute Dean Makunike found himself in-behind the Hepworth backline but could only hit a soft shot straight at the goalkeeper. Controversy then struck again, with another poor offside decision, this time from the opposite linesman. The unlucky recipient of the call on this occasion was Hunter, who stole a run on the defender from a Wilkinson free-kick to powerfully head home; the linesman strangely denying him his first goal of the season and what would have been Wilkinson’s third assist of the match.
The busy home goalkeeper kept things level not long after, when he dove well to get his fingertips to a powerful Jack Burton shot. Wakefield, increasingly frustrated, couldn’t find a way through and were perhaps lulled in to playing Hepworth’s game instead of their own. The result of that was a predictable first yellow card of the match for Wilkinson, compounding the visitors’ frustration after the referee had allowed a host of bad challenges from Hepworth to go unpunished.
Hunter did have another good chance to seal the points with a minute to go when he headed straight at the ‘keeper from another good corner, leaving Wakefield ruing those earlier disallowed goals and missed chances. Unfortunately there was still time for some salt in Wakefield’s wounds when Hepworth – who to their credit never gave up – left them with nothing to show for their efforts with nearly the last kick of the match. Infuriatingly the officials were again at the heart of it – this time failing to flag for what did appear to be a clear offside – as the Hepworth winger in question was able to receive the ball from his unlawful position, before crossing-in for a tap-in and all three points.
Wakefield – now sixth in the league – only need wait a week to exact some revenge on Hepworth. The uncertainty of new Covid-19 restrictions for South Yorkshire means the two sides – now prevented from welcoming or visiting a South Yorkshire team – will instead play the only remaining league fixture they currently can against each other, when Hepworth travel to The Millennium Stadium in a re-arranged fixture on Saturday 31st October 2020: kick-off, 14:00PM.
Half Time: 1-0
Full Time: 3-2
Starting XI:
Hemir Lopez – Jake Dickinson, Gervas Chipasha, Patrick Hoyle, Greg Hunter (Captain), Jed Wilkinson – Tom Raithby, Jack Burton – Bryce Orsini – Samuel Amissah, Dan Palmer
Goals:
10m, Hepworth United F.C.
47m, Patrick Hoyle
60m, Jack Burton
74m, Hepworth United F.C.
90m, Hepworth United F.C.
Assists
47m, Jed Wilkinson
60m, Jed Wilkinson
Subs Used:
59m, Tom Davies for Gervas Chipasha
62m, Dean Makunike for Bryce Orsini
82m, Mason Rubie for Jake Dickinson
Cards:
Jed Wilkinson (Yellow)
Stats:
Wakefield AFC
First Half
Shots on Target: 4
Shots off Target: 7
Second Half
Shots on Target: 6
Shots off Target: 2
Hepworth United F.C.
First Half
Shots on Target: 3
Shots off Target: 4
Second Half
Shots on Target: 4
Shots off Target: 0