Saturday 8th March 2025 | Austin Ainsworth
From the most unlikeliest of positions, Wakefield AFC – now second in the NCEL Division One – have eyes on the big prize as the season moves to the closing stages. The mantra has been to take one game at a time however, and that has served them well, with a run of 20 games unbeaten prior to this week.
The last two of those victories came in a double-game week against sides in the bottom half of the table, and saw another handful of goals for Wakefield, with none conceded. Such has been Wakefield’s form, the odds of Wakefield winning without conceding have become shorter and shorter. However, this past week saw two home fixtures against much stiffer opposition to mark the start of a much trickier run of games, meaning even the bravest of betting men may have thought twice about backing another unblemished week.
First up, on Tuesday evening, were Worsbrough Bridge Athletic, themselves occupying a play-off spot after a good season that had most recently seen them win seven out of their last 10 games.
Wakefield manager Steve Bodle saw no reason to change a winning formula and continued the side from the previous week, meaning Curtis Morrison continued at left-back, Billy mole in midfield and loanee Romario Dunne up-front.
With any extended run of good form, the anxiety around finally slipping-up gradually increases, especially with the increasing pressure of a title-race and the visit of strong opposition. Wakefield were having none of that as a barnstorming first half saw them race out of the traps with a goal after just two minutes.
And what a goal it was as Dunne showed excellent hold-up play to knock a header on, that eventually came back to Mo Gashi with a backtracking Worsbrough defence in front of him. He cut through them with a wonderful dink over for the inside run of Kelan Swales from the left. Swales let the ball bounce in front of him just inside the box, before lobbing the ‘keeper on the half-volley with a sublime finish to the far post for his fourth goal in five games.
Wakefield didn’t stop there, knocking the ball about the pitch with the utmost confidence, with the game played exclusively in the Worsbrough half. Several chances came for Wakefield who peppered the Worsbrough goal, before the lead was eventually doubled in the 27th minute.
Morrison, so adept with his in-swinging delivery from corners, took one from the right and executed the whip so excellently that the Worsbrough goalkeeper could only fumble the ball into the goal at his near post. After some doubt as to who would be credited with the goal, Morrison was rightly awarded the goal, as the corner would have found the net even without the touch of the ‘keeper.
Minutes later Gashi – having already bagged an eighth assist of the campaign – added his sixth goal of the season with a fine finish. He started the silky Wakefield attack with a pearl of a diagonal ball over for Kiyani Morris on the right wing. Morris weaved inside and initially looked to have missed what was – to untrained eyes – a more obvious cross across goal, opting instead to cut the ball back to the edge of the box. Gashi, having advanced to the box following his initial pass, met the ball perfectly with an exquisite first-time finish back across goal to the far post.
Minutes before half-time Morris and Swales combined to form a trio of Wakefield players to bag a goal and assist in the half when the former made it 4-0 to the home side. Wakefield initially exhibited some beautiful one-touch football on the right, before Dunne again held the ball well in the box. It came back out to Swales on the wing who accelerated away from his marker and delivered what is now a trademark cross for him to the six yard box, where Morris was able to ghost in and side-foot a volley into the net for what is now the winger’s ninth goal of the season.
With Wakefield four goals to the good at the interval, nobody inside the ground would have expected anything other than another three points for the home side. However, some jeopardy was added to the occasion when Swales, already on a yellow card, was shown another in the 48th minute for delaying the re-start from a Worsbrough free-kick. That meant the game shifted from free-flowing Wakefield dominance, and gifted the 245 spectators in attendance the chance to see the other side of Wakefield.
With a man advantage, Worsbrough predictably came back into the game and saw more of the ball; Wakey ‘keeper Owen Evans called into action several times, notably with a fine, stretching save at the beginning of the half and then when he somehow got his fingertips to a free-kick that was destined for the top corner in the 64th minute.
Aside from that, despite being down to 10, Wakefield themselves had good chances to extend their lead, with Dunne somehow missing out when his shot from close-range was tipped on to the post, after excellent work from the tireless Morris to initially win the ball from the goalkeeper who dallied with a back-pass.
But, it was the authority and composure of Wakefield that stood out in a second half that epitomised why they have conceded only two league goals since November. With an immovable backline and terrier-like performances from the rest of the outfield players, 10 man Wakefield looked almost comfortable as they saw the game out for another three points and another clean-sheet.
With The Falcons firing on all cylinders – excelling both offensively and defensively – they went in to a pivotal game on Saturday high on confidence. Wombwell Town – right behind Wakefield in third, and well in the title fight – were the visitors To The Millennium Stadium for what was a game of huge significance for both clubs. For Wombwell, three points behind Wakefield after the same amount of games, it was a chance to take back the position they have occupied most of this season as chief challengers to leaders Horbury Town. Whilst for Wakefield, a win would all but secure a play-off spot, whilst simultaneously giving them a cushion over Wombwell and keep them in striking distance of Horbury who have played three games more.
Bodle named an unchanged side, and the team picked up where they left off in midweek with a confident start that saw Wakefield hog the ball and create a few early chances; both Dunne and Morris finding themselves in good positions on the edge of the box but both firing over the bar.
Then, a huge advantage seemed to have been handed to Wakefield in the 13th minute when Wombwell’s Joshua Nodder saw red for a lunging, two-footed tackle, after he over-ran the ball into the path of Wakefield’s midfield patroller Scott Smith.
Wakefield didn’t really have a chance to press home that advantage, with further drama unfolding in the 20th minute when parity was restored for the visitors through a red card for Wakefield. Town had initially punted a long ball forward following a Wakefield corner, meaning Smith, as the covering player, was the last man, tasked with battling Wombwell striker Oliver Fearon. As the ball took a huge bounce over the halfway line, the two jostled and Fearon fell to the ground following a tug from Smith. Under heavy protest from the visiting players, the referee deemed it to be a denial of a goalscoring opportunity and showed a straight red card to Smith, despite there been a long way to goal and Wakefield captain Brad McGowan occupying a position in which he could have arguably covered from.
Nonetheless, the match became a game of 10 v 10 and that had a huge impact, with the contest becoming a tactical game of chess, with each side utilising differing formations with one man less. Wakefield opted to leave two up front, usually one of either Morris or Swales alongside striker Dunne, with a three man midfield behind. Both sides compacted themselves to the extent that for large periods, a blanket could have been thrown over all 18 outfield players. But, that served to leave space on the wings and in-behind for whichever of the two sides were able to find the switch with an accurate pass.
For the most part, that was Wakefield, who were propelled by the tireless energy and unrivalled vision of Mole and Gashi in midfield; whilst all three of Swales, Morris and Dunne ran their blood to water to provide attacking options. Wakefield could have taken the lead minutes after Smith’s red card when Dunne’s header saw Swales break free through the Wombwell defence, only for Charlie Dando in the Wombwell goal to make a fine save when one-v-one. Just after that, Wombwell themselves had a good shot from distance that struck the Wakefield post and somehow trickled back across the goal-line without going in. But that was as close as Wombwell came to troubling Wakefield’s goal, with Evans commanding his box expertly throughout the game and plucking every cross, corner and free-kick out of the sky.
That was of course when he was called in to action, which is a rare occurrence behind the domineering defensive partnership of McGowan and Chris Salt in defence. The two were again excellent in nullifying Wombwell’s attack, but Salt wasn’t satisfied with just a defensive contribution, as he had a decisive impact in the opposite box just after the start of the second half.
Wakefield again had the perfect delivery of Morrison to thank for their fortune, when he whipped in a free-kick from the right toward the back post, where Salt was able to tower over the Wombwell defence and bravely nod the ball in to the net for his second goal of the season.
In truth, Wakefield could, and should, have made it a much less tense affair in a second half where they were the clear frontrunners. Swales was unfortunate in the 54th minute when he was the victim of a bobbling Featherstone pitch; his first-time shot at the near post, after excellent work from Dunne to steal the ball from the ‘keeper and cross, going over the bar from just a few yards.
Dunne himself then saw an audacious volley, akin to an acrobatic kung-fu kick, go narrowly wide from the edge of the box, amidst a host of Wakefield attempts on goal that just missed the mark.
As the game drew to a close, Wakefield’s last big chance fell to Gashi on the counter-attack. As he did throughout the game, Morris pressured excellently to force the Wombwell defence into a mistake, before freeing Swales with a good pass. Swales passed to the overlapping Gashi on his left, who opened his body from the angle and looked to curl a shot past the goalkeeper, only for the effort to go just wide of the post.
That should have set up a nervy final few minutes, as Wakefield looked to hold their narrow lead. However, it is something that has become almost an art-form for Wakefield of late, and that again proved true as a stubborn Wakefield restricted Wombwell from even attempting a late flurry on goal.
The win – Wakefield’s sixth on the bounce and eighth successive clean-sheet – ensured they cleared their latest hurdle and leaves them second in the table, just five points behind Horbury Town with three games in hand.
Those games in hand form part of a challenging run of fixtures, comprising of tricky away ties and games against play-off pushing teams. However, focussing on one game at a time has now led Wakefield to 22 games unbeaten, so they will surely continue to do that and let the league take care of itself. The next of those games comes away to Worsbrough Bridge on Saturday 15th March; kick-off: 15:00PM.
Wombwell Town Match Stats
Half Time: 0-0
Full Time: 1-0
Attendance: 437
Wakefield AFC Starting XI:
Owen Evans – Igor Mlynarski, Chris Salt, Brad McGowan (C), Curtis Morrison – Scott Smith, Billy Mole – Kiyani Morris, Mo Gashi, Kelan Swales – Romario Dunne
Wakefield AFC Subs Used:
77m, Shay Evans-Booth for Romario Dunne
88m, Morgan James for Kelan Swales
Possession:
Wakefield AFC 55% – 45% Wombwell Town
Passes Completed:
Wakefield AFC 164 – 162 Wombwell Town
Goals:
48m, Chris Salt
Wakefield AFC Assists:
48m, Curtis Morrison
Wakefield AFC Cards:
Scott Smith (Red)
Billy Mole (Yellow)
Kiyani Morris (Yellow)
Attempts
Wakefield AFC
First Half
Shots on Target: 1
Shots off Target: 3
Second Half
Shots on Target: 1
Shot off Target: 7
Wombwell Town
First Half
Shots on Target: 0
Shots off Target: 1
Second Half
Shots on Target: 0
Shots off Target: 2
Worsbrough Bridge Match Stats
Half Time: 4-0
Full Time: 4-0
Attendance: 245
Wakefield AFC Starting XI:
Owen Evans – Igor Mlynarski, Chris Salt, Brad McGowan (C), Curtis Morrison – Scott Smith, Billy Mole – Kiyani Morris, Mo Gashi, Kelan Swales – Romario Dunne
Wakefield AFC Subs Used:
76m, Callum Brooks for Kiyani Morris
76m, Shay Evans-Booth for Romario Dunne
82m, Nana Nyarko for Billy Mole
85m, Morgan James for Scott Smith
Possession:
Wakefield AFC 50% – 50% Worsbrough Bridge Athletic
Passes Completed:
Wakefield AFC 147 – 115 Worsbrough Bridge Athletic
Goals:
2m, Kelan Swales
27m, Curtis Morrison
32m, Mo Gashi
40m, Kiyani Morris
Wakefield AFC Assists:
2m, Mo Gashi
32m, Kiyani Morris
40m, Kelan Swales
Wakefield AFC Cards:
Kelan Swales (Red/Yellow x2)
Kiyani Morris (Yellow)
Attempts
Wakefield AFC
First Half
Shots on Target: 4
Shots off Target: 6
Second Half
Shots on Target: 1
Shot off Target: 0
Worsbrough Bridge Athletic
First Half
Shots on Target: 1
Shots off Target: 1
Second Half
Shots on Target: 2
Shots off Target: 4