Saturday 18th October 2025 | Austin Ainsworth
Fourth placed Wakefield AFC had two more NCEL Division One games this past week, seeing the end of a four match stretch of away fixtures when they visited Doncaster City on Wednesday evening, before finally returning to The Millennium Stadium to face off against Leeds UFCA on Saturday.
Wakefield have found comfort away from home, with two wins and then – having led right up until injury time – a draw against second placed Worbsrough Bridge Athletic last time out. So, confidence was no doubt high when they travelled to 14th placed Doncaster City – newly promoted this season, and largely inconsistent this season with three wins and two losses in their last five – on Wednesday evening.
Wakefield manager Jason Blunt was able to hand Akeel Francis his first start since returning from injury and, with competition for places fierce, opted to play him on the left of what was essentially a traditional, 4-4-2 formation. That meant Eliel Anku retained his place to partner top-scorer Ash Flynn up-front, whilst Tom Hinton occupied the right midfield slot. Other notable changes saw Igor Mlynarski make way for Bolton Makwedza at right-back, whilst Callum Nicell returned to the side to partner Billy Mole in a midfield two.
The system worked well for The Falcons, who dominated possession throughout to control the game and – on the rare occasions they didn’t have the ball – were deadly on the counter-attack. The away side took an early lead through the in-form Flynn, when a quick-fire move saw Mole flick on a long ball forward from captain Chris Salt. Anku dropped off to harry the Doncaster defender from behind to steal the ball, before slipping Flynn into the box, who touched and finished with lethal accuracy back across goal.
Similar attacks came to nothing in the intervening minutes, before Flynn doubled his, and Wakefield’s, tally in the 36th minute. Francis was key to the move as he showed what Wakefield had been missing in the near eight weeks he has been absent through injury. Every facet of his game was on display as he showed exquisite skill to control the ball with his back to goal, and then strength to barge away a defender. He followed that up with a wonderful, dinked pass through to Flynn who smashed the ball past the goalkeeper at the near post.
As was the pattern of the game, Wakefield were clinical with the chances they had as, in reality, chances were at a premium despite Wakefield’s domination; their best in the remainder of the half saw Nicell meet the ball on the edge of the box with a first-time shot that rattled the crossbar.
The start of the second half saw Doncaster threaten a resurgence, with Wakey ‘keeper Drew Bremer making a fine, reaction save at his near post to deny the attacker from just three yards from goal. That came amidst further shots that went wide of the target for Doncaster.
However, Flynn continued his devastating form when he completed his hat-trick in the 70th minute from Wakefield’s first attempt at goal of the half. Mole, imperious in midfield with the quality of his play equally matched by his tireless endeavour, rose to head clear a long ball, but was smart enough to direct it over the Doncaster backline to set Flynn off, as he raced off the shoulder of the last man. Flynn controlled the ball under pressure from the chasing defence, before opening his body to slide the ball past the ‘keeper to make it 15 goals in 20 appearances so far.
Wakefield were comfortable from then on, with substitute Oli Robinson capping an eye-catching display with his first goal for the club deep into injury time. The pacey winger was in the right place at the back post as the ball was only half-cleared as far as Anku, who got in the way to see the ball bounce off him to Robinson, who touched calmly inside before firing his shot into goal.
The performance, another comprehensive display under Blunt, saw Wakefield move to within one point of the top three as they headed into the weekend fixture at home to Leeds UFCA – another team new to the NCEL but one who have fared better than Doncaster, as they went into the match one place behind Wakefield in fifth.
With no real reason to change a winning formula, Blunt made just one change to his side; Kenneth Effah making his first start to partner Salt in defence, with T’Nique Fishley absent.
Just as in midweek, Wakefield made the perfect start with another early Flynn goal – his 16th of the season. It was again Anku who provided the bullet for him with his second assist in as many games, as a deadly counter-attack first saw Francis set his side off with a deft flick for Anku to drive forward towards the Leeds defence. Anku then fed Flynn, who received the ball on the half-turn in his natural position off the shoulder of his marker. Flynn’s touch was perfect as he raced toward goal, held off his marker and lofted a shot around the ‘keeper, off the underside of the bar to give his side the lead.
Wakefield never ran away with the game and struggled to get to grips with a fluid, unconventional Leeds UFCA system that largely saw them utilise a back three with their wing-backs often the furthest players forward when in possession, before reverting to a back six with one of their three man midfield dropping in when out of possession. Key to Leeds’ system was former Wakey fan-favourite Jaydan Sandhu who saw lots of the ball, and was perhaps afforded too much time and space as he drifted around the pitch.
He almost played a hand in grabbing an equaliser for Leeds, with some good play seeing him slip a team-mate in who somehow missed the target from close range.
The equaliser did come on 30 minutes however, when confusion engulfed the Wakefield defence as Salt stepped-up to play offside whilst the rest dropped off. That allowed Leeds striker Omar Sanyang to smartly collect a good through ball from Leeds’ no. 8, before firing an unstoppable shot high, past Bremer.
Hinton, struggling to get into the game off the right-hand side was still able to maintain his ridiculous numbers so far this season though, when he put his side back ahead almost immediately. Penalty shouts were dismissed for Wakefield on the left edge of the box, with the award of a free-kick instead after a tackle right on the line. That didn’t matter as Hinton, with his right foot, fooled the ‘keeper who was expecting a cross. Hinton instead whipped a perfect strike towards the near post to bag his 10th goal of the campaign.
That saw Wakefield head into half-time with the lead, but in the knowledge they were in for a tough second half against a good Leeds side. That transpired, with two substitutions for Leeds seeing them switch to what most closely resembled a 4-3-3 formation. Whatever it was – and it was hard to discern given the constant rotation of the away side – Wakefield couldn’t get to grips with it.
Wakefield weren’t helped by the loss of Anku just before half-time, as Mole – again impressive for his quality and physicality in midfield – was moved further upfield to allow Mo Conteh to come on in place of Anku. That saw Mole, Wakefield’s best player in the first half, starved of the ball and, as a result, Wakefield unable to retain possession.
Wakefield appeared flat, lacked intensity and were unable to get close to their opposition. That again allowed Leeds’ no. 8 Oliver Clarke to play a pin-point ball over the Wakefield backline for Sanyang to race on to, just as in the first half. This time from the right of the box, he touched calmly and finished with aplomb to leave Bremer no chance.
Things went from bad to worse for Wakefield minutes later when Makwedza was caught the wrong side of a Leeds player on the attack, resulting in the award of a penalty after Makwedza tripped him just inside the Wakefield box. Predictably that allowed Sandhu – after a fine performance on his return to Wakefield – to come back and haunt his side. He did so coldly, sending Bremer the wrong way as he slotted the ball to the right to give his side the lead.
Wakefield went through about three different formations for the remaining 35 minutes of the match, with players shifted around the pitch to make way for substitutes. But, the home side – perhaps pushing too high out of desperation – always seemed short of numbers in midfield and lacked the requisite width and precision to punish Leeds.
Chances did still come for The Falcons, however the Leeds ‘keeper made two world-class saves to deny Makwedza from range and then Flynn from inside the box. Ultimately, Wakefield could have no complaints when the final whistle went and Leeds claimed all three points.
Manager Blunt put it down to a bad day at the office after the match, with standards having briefly slipped from the usual excellence and effort seen since his arrival at the club. It is no time for panic, with Wakefield still occupying fourth spot even after the defeat.
Wakefield will also have a quick opportunity to bounce back with yet another Wednesday night fixture, this time in the first round of the West Riding County Cup at home to Eccleshill United, before they travel to Appleby Frodingham on Saturday 25th October; kick-offs 19:45PM and 15:00PM respectively.
Leeds UFCA Match Stats
Half Time: 2-1
Full Time: 2-3
Attendance: 313
Wakefield AFC Starting XI:
Drew Bremer – Bolton Makwedza, Chris Salt (C), Kenneth Effah, Owen Thomas – Tom Hinton, Billy Mole, Callum Nicell, Akeel Francis – Ash Flynn, Eliel Anku
Wakefield AFC Subs Used:
45m+2, Mo Conteh for Eliel Anku
54m, Igor Mlynarski for Kenneth Effah
67m, Oli Robinson for Tom Hinton
67m, Lance Friedrich for Akeel Francis
81m, Zante Rose-Campbell for Callum Nicell
Possession:
Wakefield AFC 53% – 47% Leeds UFCA
Passes Completed:
Wakefield AFC 204 – 168 Leeds UFCA
Goals:
12m, Ash Flynn
30m, Omar Sanyang
32m, Tom Hinton
52m, Omar Sanyang
56m, Jaydan Sandhu (Pen)
Wakefield AFC Assists:
12m, Eliel Anku
Wakefield AFC Cards:
Billy Mole (Yellow)
Bolton Makwedza (Yellow)
Attempts
Wakefield AFC
First Half
Shots on Target: 3
Shots off Target: 3
Second Half
Shots on Target: 3
Shot off Target: 2
Leeds UFCA
First Half
Shots on Target: 1
Shots off Target: 3
Second Half
Shots on Target: 3
Shots off Target: 1
Doncaster City Match Stats
Half Time: 0-2
Full Time: 0-4
Attendance: 157
Wakefield AFC Starting XI:
Drew Bremer – Bolton Makwedza, Chris Salt (C), T’Nique Fishley, Owen Thomas – Tom Hinton, Billy Mole, Callum Nicell, Akeel Francis – Ash Flynn, Eliel Anku
Wakefield AFC Subs Used:
46m, Igor Mlynarski for Bolton Makwedza
63m, Lance Friedrich for Akeel Francis
70m, Oli Robinson for Ash Flynn
83m, Kenneth Effah for T’Nique Fishley
83m,
Possession:
Doncaster City 36% – 64% Wakefield AFC
Passes Completed:
Doncaster City 138 – 244 Wakefield AFC
Goals:
15m, Ash Flynn
36m, Ash Flynn
70m, Ash Flynn
90m+4, Oli Robinson
Wakefield AFC Assists:
15m, Eliel Anku
36m, Akeel Francis
70m, Billy Mole
Wakefield AFC Cards:
Billy Mole (Yellow)
Attempts
Wakefield AFC
First Half
Shots on Target: 3
Shots off Target: 3
Second Half
Shots on Target: 2
Shot off Target: 2
Doncaster City
First Half
Shots on Target: 0
Shots off Target: 1
Second Half
Shots on Target: 1
Shots off Target: 3