Friday 21st November 2025 | Austin Ainsworth
More than a month has passed since Wakefield AFC last played a home game in the NCEL Division One. The sudden shift in weather has played some part in that but, even taking account of cancelled fixtures, Wakefield – who still picked up two impressive away wins as October turned to November – have maintained their place in fourth position.
One thing has changed however, as this past week finally saw two home fixtures for The Falcons, only not at The Millennium Stadium, which has been their home for over a year now. Recent problems off the pitch for Featherstone Rovers have meant – for the second time – Wakefield’s residence there became untenable.
Positives have stemmed from the negative though, with promise of progress on a home they can call their own looking like it may not be as far off as once thought; whilst in the here and now an agreement has been made for Wakefield to play out of Pontefract Collieries newly re-developed facility.
With a state-of-the-art, artificial pitch that was sure to suit Wakefield’s technical strengths, The Falcons had two midweek games to settle into their new home; two games that were vastly different and, as a result, produced vastly different results.
First up, on Tuesday evening, was the visit of Route One Rovers. Newly promoted this season, the Bradford side have done well, always hovering around mid-table and also boasting the league’s top-scorer by some distance – Zak Khan with 31 goals already at the season’s midpoint.
Wakefield manager Jason Blunt remained consistent with his side, making just one change to the team that went out of the cup away at Tadcaster in the previous week by handing a debut to centre-back Matthew Swift. That meant Bolton Makwedza moved to right wing-back in what is now Wakefield’s signature 3-4-1-2 formation.
Perhaps aided by the pristine surface and by the fact both sides like to keep the ball on the ground, the game was played at a frantic pace and had a real zip to it – particularly in the first half. Unusually for Wakefield, they were outpassed by the away side and gave up large chunks of possession, but The Falcons retained a real edge and incisiveness to their play and were by far the better side.
Route One bore striking similarities to the Wakefield of old, looking to pass the ball out from the back. And, just like the Wakefield of old, there was a glaring vulnerability to Route One, who took too many risks and too often played themselves into trouble.
Wakefield took advantage and pressed well throughout, almost taking the lead through an audacious effort from Tom Hinton in the early stages that saw him intercept a pass out from the back and strike a first time shot from near the halfway line just wide of goal – the midfield magician a step ahead of everyone as he noted the goalkeeper way off his line. The goal wasn’t to be, but the 286 fans in attendance would have been thrilled with the effort and hopeful of more magic from Wakefield’s star man – hold that thought for later.
Hinton, and the two strikers in front of him – Akeel Francis and Oli Robinson – all had good chances to score in the ensuing minutes as the ‘keeper – Hagie Damba, ex of Wakefield AFC – made good saves with his goal under constant attack.
Hinton looked the most likely to score and he did so on 32 minutes when he completed a scintillating move with an even better finish. He started it with a wonderful, sweeping ball out to Francis on the left wing. The striker drove towards the box as Hinton sprinted the length of the field to meet the return pass across the edge of the box. Hinton tamed the bouncing ball and, as he was running away from goal to the right, struck a delightful half-volley back across the goal that went in off the inside of the far post.
The best was yet to come minutes later as Hinton somehow bettered the skill of that goal, and of his effort that narrowly missed earlier on. He was again on hand to pounce on a loose ball from Route One and, like the best players, already had a picture of the game in his mind before he met the ball on the halfway line. Hinton struck it first time, looping a truly world-class effort over the goalkeeper and into goal – incredibly the second time he has completed the feat this season amongst what is now his 14 goals for the club.
Route One did manage to take some of the gloss off Wakefield’s first half performance with a goal just before half-time. Predictably it was their striker Khan who got himself on the scoresheet, after he found himself perfectly positioned to finish a good move out to the wing from midfield that was squared back to him for what is no doubt a bread and butter finish for him.
The start of the second half could have seen a real reversal in fortunes as Route One had strong appeals for what looked to be a penalty waved away by the referee. Wakefield did get over that near miss and recovered their dominance of the games crucial moments.
Francis had another excellent chance from point blank range that somehow went wide, before Makwedza capped an impressive display with a goal – his second in three games. As if Hinton hadn’t already entered two efforts into Wakefield’s goal-of-the-season competition, Makwedza served up another as he latched on to an incredible diagonal ball from Francis to progress down the right wing. He moved towards the box and then, instead of opting for the more predictable route of crossing, thundered a wicked, swerving shot past the goalkeeper that crashed into goal just inside the far post.
As the game drew to a close, Francis finally found the goal his performance deserved as Wakefield again pounced on Route One’s suicidal play at the back. Makwedza pressed like a mad man as their defender resorted to trying a square pass across his box. Francis telegraphed it and ran onto the penalty spot to intercept, where he finished cooly for his ninth goal of the season.
The result and performance made for a wonderful new-home celebration for Wakefield, with little time to reflect on the success as Glasshoughton Welfare came to visit just 72 hours later on Friday evening.
Logic would state that, if Wakefield can so nonchalantly dispatch a good Route One side, then bottom-placed Glasshoughton would no doubt also be put to the sword. Similarly if, at the start of the week it was foretold that Wakefield would win just one of the two midweek fixtures, a betting man would have no doubt put it all on this game.
Football does’t work like that though and, though Wakefield certainly paid Glasshoughton the full respect they deserve, The Falcons’ performance fell just short in the face of a defensive masterclass from the away side.
Only one change was made to Wakefield, again in defence as Makwedza made way for Ethan Kachosa to make his debut at right wing-back, with the formation and remaining personnel unchanged from Tuesday’s big win.
This time Wakefield saw all of the ball and played the game exclusively in Glasshoughton’s half. Chance after chance came as Wakefield probed from every angle to try to find their way through what was in effect a 5-4-1 formation from Glasshoughton.
In reality the extra possession hindered Wakefield who, as a result, were starved of the ability to counter-attack. The Falcons were so deadly in transition against Route One but this time had to think of another way to goal. They tried and tried, with 18 attempts on goal to Glasshoughton’s zero, but continued to hit a brick wall.
Francis had Wakefield’s best chances, seeing the goalkeeper somehow save his shot from two yards out early on after great work from debutant Kachosa down the right to beat his man and cross, then midway through the first half when a brilliant through-ball from Callum Nicell played him in on goal but his shot went just wide of the post.
The quality of Wakefield’s chances in the second period were somewhat diminished, as they were guilty of forcing things. However, a brilliant reverse-pass from Hinton in the 51st minute almost led to a goal from Robinson, who opened his body up to curl a shot to the far post but came up against the inspired Glasshoughton goalkeeper who somehow stopped the shot.
Another debutant, second-half substitute Jerome Greaves, was also similarly denied late on when Francis and Billy Mole combined for the former to burst into the box. Francis squared but in a goal-mouth scramble an initial shot was somehow cleared before the ‘keeper made another point-blank save from Greave’s close-range shot.
It wasn’t meant to be for a frustrated Wakefield as they were made to settle for a share of the spoils, with the score remaining an incredibly rare – for Wakefield at least – 0-0; their first result of the kind this season and just their fourth in their four seasons in the NCEL.
That meant four points from the week cemented Wakefield’s fourth placed position in the league; well clear of the teams below the play-off spots but also some way back from the teams above them.
Nonetheless, there is certain to be an ongoing spring in Wakefield’s step as they settle into their new home, with the facilities on hand to provide them with a solid foundation for success in the short to medium term.
The Falcons’ next game again comes at home, and will prove to be their toughest test yet as Dearne & District – the league’s dominant side, and a team that have had the beating of Wakefield in recent times – make the visit to Pontefract on Saturday 29/11/2025; kick-off 15:00PM.
Glasshoughton Welfare Match Stats
Half Time: 0-0
Full Time: 0-0
Attendance: 279
Wakefield AFC Starting XI:
Drew Bremer – Matthew Swift, Chris Salt (C), Mo Conteh – Ethan Kachosa, Callum Nicell, Billy Mole, Owen Thomas – Tom Hinton – Oli Robinson, Akeel Francis
Wakefield AFC Subs Used:
53m, Jerome Greaves for Oli Robinson
71m, Nathaniel Muenda for Owen Thomas
77m, Lance Friedrich for Tom Hinton
Possession:
Wakefield AFC 65% – 35% Glasshoughton Welfare
Passes Completed:
Wakefield AFC 445 – 184 Glasshoughton Welfare
Wakefield AFC Cards:
Billy Mole (Yellow)
Chris Salt (Yellow)
Tom Hinton (Yellow
Attempts
Wakefield AFC
First Half
Shots on Target: 2
Shots off Target: 5
Second Half
Shots on Target: 8
Shot off Target: 3
Glasshoughton Welfare
First Half
Shots on Target: 0
Shots off Target: 0
Second Half
Shots on Target: 0
Shots off Target: 0
Route One Rovers Match Stats
Half Time: 2-1
Full Time: 4-1
Attendance: 286
Wakefield AFC Starting XI:
Drew Bremer – Matthew Swift, Chris Salt (C), Mo Conteh – Bolton Makwedza, Callum Nicell, Billy Mole, Owen Thomas – Tom Hinton – Oli Robinson, Akeel Francis
Wakefield AFC Subs Used:
74m, Austin Vicenzio for Oli Robinson
83m, Jerome Greaves for Akeel Francis
86m, Lance Friedrich for Tom Hinton
Possession:
Wakefield AFC 40% – 60% Route One Rovers
Passes Completed:
Wakefield AFC 245 – 348 Route One Rovers
Goals:
32m, Tom Hinton
40m, Tom Hinton
58m, Bolton Makwedza
83m, Akeel Francis
Wakefield AFC Assists:
32m, Akeel Francis
58m, Akeel Francis
Wakefield AFC Cards:
Billy Mole (Yellow)
Chris Salt (Yellow)
Attempts
Wakefield AFC
First Half
Shots on Target: 6
Shots off Target: 5
Second Half
Shots on Target: 4
Shot off Target: 3
Route One Rovers
First Half
Shots on Target: 1
Shots off Target: 2
Second Half
Shots on Target: 0
Shots off Target: 1