Saturday 29th March 2025 | Austin Ainsworth
For a time in the NCEL Division One Wakefield AFC had appeared unstoppable at one end of the pitch, and unbreakable at the other, with an unbeaten run of 23 games propelling The Falcons to an unlikely title charge.
Things can change in an instant in football however, and that has proven the case in recent weeks; with the goals drying up and small signs of vulnerability at the back surfacing. Just as it seemed time for Wakefield to pounce on league leaders Horbury, a disappointing defeat at home to Ilkley Town was followed by an equally disappointing draw away to strugglers Appleby Frodingham; the point in that game only clinched with a last-gasp goal from Billy Mole.
That likely took Wakefield into another pivotal week with a long-forgotten feeling of doubt and lack of confidence creeping in. The start of the week saw Wakefield visit play-off challenging Dearne & District on Tuesday night to replay the original fixture from December which was abandoned in the 69th minute. Wakefield were coasting to a routine victory in that original game, with a two goal advantage and Dearne down to 10 men, before a floodlight failure saw a controversial and premature end to the game.
With Wakefield’s luck having changed for the worst in recent times, it was typical that this replay would now come at a time of numerous injuries, a drop in form and against a fully-firing fourth placed Dearne side looking for their fourth win in five league matches.
Wakefield manager Steve Bodle handed winger Alex King his first league start as a makeshift left-back, whilst new signing Nathan Whitehead made his debut in midfield alongside Scott Smith. The side had a more familiar look up-front, with Shay Evans-Booth leading the line in front of the attacking midfield trio of Kiyani Morris, Mo Gashi and Kelan Swales.
With this the second of the three original games in hand Wakefield held over Horbury and, after recent slip-ups had placed the destiny of the title back into their rival’s own hands, the game was must-win. However, whether by pressure, fatigue or Dearne’s own excellence, Wakefield’s performance was disappointingly short of the level require for a game of this magnitude.
The home side flew out of the traps and trampled all over a Wakefield side who couldn’t get to grips with the pace of the game. Dearne were first to every ball, won nearly every header and pressed Wakefield so aggressively that Bodle’s shell-shocked men were unable to hold any meaningful possession.
With alarm bells already ringing for Wakefield, they fell behind after 13 minutes when a poorly defended corner was eventually converted when an unmarked Bayley Lowe sprung to convert a rebound off the crossbar into the back of the net, with it unclear as to whether he or Wakefield’s scrambling Morris had the final touch of the ball.
Wakefield’s attempted response to the goal saw Whitehead and defender Chris Salt receive bookings for late challenges that only served to evidence the fact that Wakefield were finding it difficult to get close to the rampant home side.
Dearne’s lead was deservedly doubled less than 10 minutes later when a poor pass out from the back was intercepted by the snappy Dearne left-back. A quick interchange down Dearne’s left saw their winger cut-in, with his goal-bound, curling effort cleared by the head of Wakefield captain Brad McGowan. Another Dearne shot followed from the edge of Wakefield’s box, which was deflected into the path of Jamie Austin, who poked the ball into goal with his stretching leg to leave Wakefield and their vast contingent of away fans stunned.
That goal came from Dearne’s dominance of their left-wing, and at least three more similar attacks should have resulted in further misery for Wakefield; the away side only having Dearne’s profligate finishing to thank for just the two goal deficit at half-time.
Nonetheless, with it just the two goals, there was bound to be some belief that a turnaround was possible. Bodle tried to affect that, bringing on Josef Turner and Morgan James at half-time as Wakefield shifted to a back three, with defensive midfielder Whitehead – on his debut – moving to the no. 9 position in place of Evans-Booth.
The change did somewhat stem Dearne’s onslaught of Wakefield’s backline, with Evans having little to do in the second half. However, despite Whitehead having marginally more success at winning headers in Dearne’s half than Evans-Booth did in the first period, Wakefield were lacking cohesion and had no real goal threat.
There was a desperate feel to proceedings, with Wakefield forced into going long too often – a tactic that Dearne appeared comfortable defending. As a result, a comeback never looked like becoming a reality; Whitehead’s easily saved shot from the edge of the area in the 86th minute Wakefield’s first, and only, attempt on target in the game.
That meant Dearne deservedly ran out comfortable victors on the night, a chastening blow to Wakefield given the circumstances surrounding the playing of the fixture and – more importantly – the further ground lost to Horbury in the league.
The result meant the weekend’s fixtures started with Wakefield seven points behind Horbury having played one game less. It also brought third-placed Wombwell Town back into the equation, with goal difference the only thing keeping Wakefield above them in the table.
13th placed Armthorpe Welfare were the visitors to Wakefield on Saturday; on paper good opposition for Wakefield to bounce back against, with The Falcons having won four of the previous five matches between the two sides by an aggregate score of 18-4.
Bodle made further changes to his side, Callum Charlton making a welcome return from injury at left-back, whilst Jaydan Sandhu started alongside Gashi in attacking-midfield, in what was a 4-2-2-2 formation; Kelan Swales and Kiyani Morris the most advanced attackers as Evans-Booth dropped to the bench.
The changes worked, with Wakefield better on, and off, the ball and the two forwards a constant threat in and around Armthorpe’s box. Morris in particular had a blistering first half that saw him miss an unbelievable chance at the back post from Swales’ in-swinging cross, before eventually giving his side the lead in the 19th minute when he raced on to Gashi’s perfect thru-ball to finish excellently past the Armthorpe ‘keeper.
The only negative for Wakefield in what appeared to be a return to form was the further injury problems experienced. First Evans dislocated a finger punching clear an Armthorpe set-piece, which meant yet another appearance in goal for striker Evans-Booth. Then, Morris was later removed having injured his hamstring.
His withdrawal came shortly after his, and Wakefield’s, second goal of the half. It was another quick break that saw Salt impressively head the ball clear of his own half, deep into Armthorpe territory. Swales ran from deep to chest the ball down in the Armthorpe box, where Morris – who had raced from even further back – watched it down and slotted his shot beyond the reach of the goalkeeper.
The injury moments later was a real blow for Wakefield and Morris himself, with the partnership between him and Swales proving a constant thorn in Armthorpe’s side. Nevertheless, his goals – which took him to 12 for the season and atop the Wakefield goalscoring charts – were enough to separate the two sides at half-time.
Whether the disruption to the shape of the side that Morris’ withdrawal caused was a factor, Wakefield did experience a slight drop-off either side of half-time as Bodle searched for a new solution. The formation was changed several times, with Whitehead briefly moving up-front and then, when that didn’t work, Sandhu joining Swales in attack. Eventually, as in midweek, Turner was brought on from the bench and Wakefield moved to a back three, with wing-backs and a midfield three.
That allowed Wakefield to re-assert their dominance in midfield and brought about a progressively better second half in which Wakefield gave glimpses of the free-flowing football that had sent them on their previous winning run.
A third goal eventually followed in the 69th minute with Sandhu moving to 10 for the season, after some excellent play concluded with a sharp turn from Swales on the left of the Armthorpe box, upon which he slid an exquisite, reverse pass through the defensive line for Sandhu to slide in and stab home.
Not content with a second assist of the game, Swales capped off his electrifying performance with a goal of his own six minutes from time when Sandhu returned the favour by driving from midfield and slipping him into the box with a perfectly weighted pass. Swales’ touch was good and his finish even better, as he picked his spot to the ‘keepers right for his sixth goal of the season.
The result saw Wakefield retain their second-placed position in the league and brought about confirmation that they will definitely finish the season no lower than third, which could prove pivotal when the play-offs come around. Although, there is still the dream of more than the play-offs for Wakefield, after Horbury were beaten in their game away to Ilkley Town, which saw their advantage drop to just four points.
That should give Wakefield the impetus to go on and win their remaining games – which is all they can do – and hope that there is a further slip-up from Horbury. The four goal showing here, a return to form for The Falcons, will no doubt set them up nicely for that challenge as the season draws to a close.
Wakefield now have a free midweek before they visit Athersley Recreation on Saturday 5th April 2025; kick-off: 15:00PM.
Armthorpe Welfare Match Stats
Half Time: 2-0
Full Time: 4-0
Attendance: 284
Wakefield AFC Starting XI:
Owen Evans – Igor Mlynarski, Chris Salt, Brad McGowan (C), Callum Charlton – Scott Smith, Nathan Whitehead – Mo Gashi, Jaydan Sandhu – Kelan Swales, Kiyani Morris
Wakefield AFC Subs Used:
28m, Shay Evans-Booth for Owen Evans
38m, Morgan James for Kiyani Morris
58m, Josef Turner for Callum Charlton
78m, Alex King for Chris Salt
Possession:
Wakefield AFC 49% – 51% Armthorpe Welfare
Passes Completed:
Wakefield AFC 121 – 148 Armthorpe Welfare
Goals:
19m, Kiyani Morris
35m, Kiyani Morris
69m, Jaydan Sandhu
84m, Kelan Swales
Wakefield AFC Assists:
19m, Mo Gashi
35m, Kelan Swales
69m, Kelan Swales
84m, Jaydan Sandhu
Wakefield AFC Cards:
Jaydan Sandhu (Yellow)
Attempts
Wakefield AFC
First Half
Shots on Target: 3
Shots off Target: 1
Second Half
Shots on Target: 4
Shot off Target: 3
Armthorpe Welfare
First Half
Shots on Target: 1
Shots off Target: 0
Second Half
Shots on Target: 1
Shots off Target: 1
Dearne & District Match Stats
Half Time: 2-0
Full Time: 2-0
Attendance: 413
Wakefield AFC Starting XI:
Owen Evans – Igor Mlynarski, Chris Salt, Brad McGowan (C), Alex King – Scott Smith, Nathan Whitehead – Kelan Swales, Mo Gashi, Kiyani Morris – Shay Evans-Booth
Wakefield AFC Subs Used:
46m, Josef Turner for Alex King
46m, Morgan James for Shay Evans-Booth
Possession:
Dearne & District 50% – 50% Wakefield AFC
Passes Completed:
Dearne & District 118 – 125 Wakefield AFC
Goals:
13m, Bayley Lowe
22m, Jamie Austin
Wakefield AFC Cards:
Nathan Whitehead (Yellow)
Chris Salt (Yellow)
Attempts
Wakefield AFC
First Half
Shots on Target: 0
Shots off Target: 1
Second Half
Shots on Target: 1
Shot off Target: 2
Dearne & District
First Half
Shots on Target: 3
Shots off Target: 10
Second Half
Shots on Target: 0
Shots off Target: 3