Saturday 2nd November 2024 | Austin Ainsworth
Wakefield AFC, even after a defeat in their last outing – a narrow 1-0 loss to higher league North Shields in the FA Vase – seem to be on an upward trajectory of late and, importantly, they had been impeccable in the league under the interim management of Iain Trearty.
It had been over two weeks since Wakefield last played an NCEL Division One game, and in that time Steve Bodle has come in as Wakefield’s fifth permanent manager. He didn’t have the easiest of fixtures for his debut, with the aforementioned FA Vase defeat his first game, and that trend continued when he finally tasted league action for the first time as Wakefield boss; high-flying Wombwell Town his opposition as Wakefield travelled to The Recreation Ground last Tuesday evening.
Bodle fielded a side that already looked to have his stamp on it, bold with his selection as fan-favourite Jack Durkin, Wakefield’s long-serving and ever-consistent captain, moved to the bench to make way for a new centre-back partnership of debutants Chris Salt and Josef Turner – the latter of whom was also made captain. Callum Brooks was another new signing that went straight into the side on the left wing in a 4-2-3-1 formation that also saw Akeel Francis continue as Wakefield’s lone striker, in front of an in-form Jaydan Sandhu in his favoured attacking-midfield slot.
Wombwell – starting the game third in the league but, on games played, arguably the league’s strongest side so far – knew they were in for a match almost immediately as Brooks raced down the left wing and crossed for Slater Barnes, who made a good run from his right-wing position to draw a save from the goalkeeper with a diving header at the back post.
That opening moment was indicative of how the early stages would unfold, as Wakefield looked the stronger side throughout the majority of the first half. They did escape going a goal behind however, when Turner was caught out by a long ball and spun in to a race he didn’t want against the faster striker. As the two ran back toward goal Turner did manage to get his foot to the ball, but that served only to play Wombwell’s forward in. Thankfully for Wakefield, goalkeeper Owen Evans continued his recent form and made an excellent save.
That scare was soon put behind the visitors when a minute later they took the lead through new-boy Brooks. The goal came from some concerted pressure on the right edge of Wombwell’s box, Francis doing well to harry the Wombwell defence and make sure they had no way out. The ball eventually fell to midfielder Scott Smith, who swung in a sublime cross from deep that Brooks met on the volley with the inside of his boot to divert the ball to the goalkeeper’s left.
The lead was no more than Wakefield deserved and they continued their good start with control of almost all of the half. Wombwell did come back into the game as the first period drew to a close and started to find themselves on the ball higher up the pitch. A series of corners resulted from that pressure with five minutes of the half to play. Salt – a commanding presence at the back throughout – made a good intervention from the first but Wombwell’s Edward Agnew managed to divert the second in for his side’s equaliser when he got in front of his marker at the near post.
Wakefield will probably have been disappointed to not have a lead to show for their performance and that feeling would have been compounded when, after again taking the initiative in the first part of the second half, they found themselves behind. Wombwell’s Owen Sykes gave his side the lead with a well-taken penalty kick, however that came from a questionable decision after Callum Charlton was penalised for seemingly pulling his man back in the box. The contact looked no more than is seen 99 percent of the time in crowded NCEL boxes, and the referee was perhaps fooled by the manner in which the Wombwell player went down.
With 20 minutes of the game to play, Wakefield had no time to feel sorry for themselves and, whilst they remained competitive, they struggled to create chances as the game ticked on. With the second half following a similar pattern to the first – Wakefield starting well before Wombwell came back into it – things weren’t looking good for the away side as the match went in to the final few minutes. They also had Evans to thank that it was just the one goal advantage to Wombwell, after he made an excellent save from a Wombwell free-kick.
Wakefield won this fixture last season 3-2 after some late heroics and that provided hope for Wakefield, and perhaps some nerves for Wombwell. Those nerves would have gone in to overdrive when Sandhu made it 2-2 in the 87th minute. Wakefield had started to see more of the play in Town’s defensive third and that led to a free-kick on the edge of the box. It looked too close to goal for Sandhu to get it up and over the wall, but it’s foolish to doubt the technical prowess of Wakefield’s star man – the kick was executed brilliantly, as it swerved over the wall and back down into the top corner to the goalkeeper’s left.
The goal started to beg the question: could Wakefield really repeat the heroics of last season, against many people’s favourites for the league? The 289 in attendance didn’t have to wait long to find out as, almost straight from kick-off, The Falcons went on the attack down the left. Charlton’s attempted through-ball was intercepted and the move looked to have come to nothing, but the excellent Brooks won it back and cut-in to the Wombwell box. The angle appeared to have presented itself for him to bend one to the far post, but he wisely chose to square the ball to substitute James Eyles on the edge of the box. With clinical precision, Eyles slotted the ball into the corner of the net to send all of Wakefield’s players, bench and fans into ecstasy – the goal enough to ensure a repeat of last year’s 3-2 victory and send Wakefield home with a huge scalp and the three points.
With their first win under Bodle, attention soon turned to Saturday’s home match against struggling Appleby Frodingham, who came in to the game with just seven points from 16 games. Wakefield have been known to lose focus in games such as these in the past, particularly after positive results in apparently tougher fixtures. That is something Bodle has been brought in to iron out, with his challenge to add the other necessary ingredients on top of Wakefield’s undoubted technical prowess that will make them a consistent, relentless NCEL winning side.
He made one change to the side from midweek, as Slater Barnes moved deeper to right-back, to allow for the introduction of match-winner James Eyles in front of him on the right-wing. The game was refreshingly comfortable from a Wakefield fan’s point of view; The Falcons never really getting out of second gear, but always maintaining the requisite focus and intensity to carve out enough chances to win the game, whilst restricting Appleby to absolutely no sight of goal.
Barnes in his new defensive role seemed to flourish with the greater space he was afforded to run in to and he was excellent throughout. It was also he who opened the scoring after 18 minutes when he drifted inside to get on the end of a Charlton cross on the edge of the box. His finish was textbook, high and beyond the stretch of the goalkeeper.
Further chances came and went for Wakefield before they eventually doubled their lead in the 30th minute. It came from a blistering counter-attack, initiated by Morgan James in midfield who excellently won the ball before setting Francis free on the right with a precise pass. Francis crossed for the run of Sandhu across the six-yard box, the midfielder getting things just right with a first time finish back across goal to see himself atop the Wakefield goalscoring charts with eight for the season – six of which have come in his last four games.
Half-time saw the introduction of new-signing Mo Gashi in midfield as he replaced Scott Smith, while Kiyani Morris also returned form injury shortly after the re-start. The two were excellent and created a number of goalscoring chances for Wakefield. One of those was eventually converted in the 68th minute when Eyles scored his eighth goal of the season to make it 3-0. The move saw Salt play a superb ball out to Barnes on the right. He then played Morris in on the underlap, who did well to ride a challenge before crossing to the back post. Eyles took a touch to set himself and then decisively curled the ball back into the far corner.
After Eyles made it two goals in two games, Brooks repeated the trick moments later when he completed the Wakefield rout. He initially played a long pass up to Eyles on the right, before sprinting upfield to receive the return inside the box. The Wakefield winger then showed great composure to dink the ball over the onrushing ‘keeper and into the net.
The scoreline could, and should have been greater, with Morris particularly unfortunate not to get the goal his performance deserved when he saw a fierce shot crash down off the bar and somehow stay out of goal in the dying embers of the match. 4-0 and a well-deserved clean-sheet was still enough to send Wakefield home happy, and it also completed a fine first week of work for Bodle in the NCEL.
Four league wins in succession moves Wakefield up to ninth in the league, breathing down the necks of the teams occupying the play-off spots, as they are now just four points off fifth. With confidence oozing throughout the side, new signings adding quality to the team and the obvious difference that Bodle has already made from a tactical and psychological point of view, the games can’t come quick enough. Good news then that Wakefield make the swift return to action on Tuesday evening when they play the re-arranged West Riding County Cup First Round match away to Club Thorne Colliery; that game now set to be played at Gainsborough Trinity’s The Northolme ground on 05/11/2024; kick-off: 19:45PM.
Appleby Frodingham Match Stats
Half Time: 2-0
Full Time: 4-0
Attendance: 190
Wakefield AFC Starting XI:
Owen Evans – Slater Barnes, Chris Salt, Josef Turner (C), Callum Charlton – Morgan James, Scott Smith – James Eyles, Jaydan Sandhu, Callum Brooks – Akeel Francis
Wakefield AFC Subs Used:
46m, Mo Gashi for Scott Smith
59m, Kiyani Morris for Akeel Francis
76m, Kenan McKenzie-Grey for Jaydan Sandhu
76m, Jack Durkin for James Eyles
82m, Sebastian Losa for Callum Brooks
Possession:
Wakefield AFC 62% – 38% Appleby Frodingham
Passes Completed:
Wakefield AFC 274 – 107 Appleby Frodingham
Goals:
18m, Slater Barnes
31m, Jaydan Sandhu
68m, James Eyles
73m, Callum Brooks
Wakefield AFC Assists:
18, Callum Charlton
31m, Akeel Francis
68m, Kiyani Morris
73m, James Eyles
Wakefield AFC Cards:
James Eyles (Yellow)
Attempts
Wakefield AFC
First Half
Shots on Target: 4
Shots off Target: 4
Second Half
Shots on Target: 5
Shot off Target: 8
Appleby Frodingham
First Half
Shots on Target: 0
Shots off Target: 1
Second Half
Shots on Target: 0
Shots off Target: 0
Wombwell Town Match Stats
Half Time: 1-1
Full Time: 2-3
Attendance: 289
Wakefield AFC Starting XI:
Owen Evans – Steve Smith, Chris Salt, Josef Turner (C), Callum Charlton – Morgan James, Scott Smith – Slater Barnes, Jaydan Sandhu, Callum Brooks – Akeel Francis
Wakefield AFC Subs Used:
68m, James Eyles for Slater Barnes
89m, Jack Durkin for Callum Brooks
90m+2, Nana Nyarko for Jaydan Sandhu
Possession:
Wombwell Town 37% – 63% Wakefield AFC
Passes Completed:
Wombwell Town 67 – 108 Wakefield AFC
Goals:
20m, Callum Brooks
40m, Edward Agnew
67m, Owen Sykes (Pen)
87m, Jaydan Sandhu
88m, James Eyles
Wakefield AFC Assists:
20m, Scott Smith
88m, Callum Brooks
Wakefield AFC Cards:
Callum Brooks (Yellow)
Morgan James (Yellow)
Callum Charlton (Yellow)
Owen Evans (Yellow)
Attempts
Wakefield AFC
First Half
Shots on Target: 2
Shots off Target: 7
Second Half
Shots on Target: 3
Shot off Target: 4
Wombwell Town
First Half
Shots on Target: 3
Shots off Target: 2
Second Half
Shots on Target: 3
Shots off Target: 2