Saturday 18th April 2026 | Austin Ainsworth
Saturday was the day everyone with an interest in the NCEL Division One had been waiting for, as – for Wakefield AFC at least – a promotion play-off semi-final came around for the fourth season in succession.
The Falcons have been here before, but so far have stumbled at this stage every time, failing to score a goal in the process. Demons of the past aside, this season may have felt different for many Wakefield fans; the West Yorkshire side having experienced a positive NCEL season with a new management team and a squad togetherness not seen since their last promotion in 2022.
Wakefield, having finished third in the league, secured home advantage for the game and welcomed fourth placed Harrogate Railway Athletic. Ominously – just as with all of the other sides in the play-offs – Wakefield had failed to beat Harrogate in three previous games this season.
Nevertheless, last week’s victory over Route One Rovers and a strong end to the season saw Wakefield go into the game full of confidence, and that meant manager Jason Blunt made just two changes to his line-up, with regular right-winger Basile Zottos replacing Ify Ofoegbu and Matthew Swift coming in at centre-back in place of Mo Conteh – The Falcons lining up in the 4-4-2 formation seen in recent weeks.
As expected, the game was a largely cagey affair, with little by way of goalmouth action but a real competitive edge nonetheless. Wakefield predictably bossed possession and moved the ball well enough through midfield, whilst Harrogate always looked a threat on the break and from set pieces.
Wakefield goalkeeper Drew Bremer was excellent throughout and was first called into action after just two minutes, when he made a good low save after Harrogate exposed Wakefield with a quick counter-attack. That was the only real save Bremer had to make, but his command of the area and collection of threatening crosses saved Wakefield on numerous occasions throughout the match.
Either side of that early chance for Harrogate, Wakefield’s Eliel Anku screwed a difficult effort wide from an angle, and top-scorer Tom Hinton launched a rocket-like shot from midfield that stung the Harrogate ‘keeper’s palms.
Aside from that early action, the first half was largely a battle of attrition, with Wakefield lacking the final touch near the opposition goal that would have helped them make the most of their superior possession.
That meant it was goalless at half-time with the nerves and tension amplifying amongst the raucous crowd of 586 at The Hunters Stadium.
The second half went much the same way as the first, though both sides did begin to carry a greater threat. Wakefield’s best chance came in the 53rd minute when the home side’s signature, ferocious press – led by the as-ever animated Blunt on the sidelines – led to Anku snatching the ball from a Harrogate defender on the left. He turned towards the penalty box and attempted to open his body up to place a shot to the far corner, though didn’t quite connect with it and the goalkeeper made a comfortable save.
Equally, Harrogate looked increasingly dangerous from set-plays, where their size and stature came into play. Bremer, aided by captain Chris Salt and Swift in front him, dealt with everything up until the 54th minute – just after Anku had seen Wakefield’s best chance go begging – when a long throw came in from the right. Harrogate won the first header and that allowed Alex Ingham to direct a second header into the top corner to make it 1-0.
The ground fell flat and those feelings of anguish so familiar for Wakefield in the play-offs no doubt started to flood the crowd. As a result, Wakefield began to throw more at the game and that saw Salt moving forward at every opportunity.
And Wakefield’s captain showed his character when he levelled the score in the 69th minute with his fourth, and most crucial, goal of the campaign.
The goal was in fact a brilliant Wakefield move that saw Ethan Kachosa fly out of defence before slipping a perfect ball through for Zottos to chase on the right. The winger won his race and swung a brilliant cross to the back post, where Salt was on hand to drive a header into the centre of goal and send the crowd wild.
Inexplicably for Wakefield, not long after the re-start they were back to square one from another long throw – this time from the right. Harrogate launched the throw into the box and Wakefield failed to clear, with the ball eventually bouncing back for Ingham again, who arrowed a shot into goal.
With that sucker punch and the clock ticking down, a sense of foreboding crept in, particularly as some cynical time-wasting from Harrogate led to greater frustration for Wakefield and added to the feeling that history was to repeat itself.
Blunt threw the kitchen sink at it, moving wingers to full-back and sending on extra attackers in the hope of turning the tide. Substitute Ify Ofoegbu had a good effort on the half-volley saved, and then another – as the game moved into stoppage time – when he swivelled in the box to shoot just over the bar from a difficult chance.
Wakefield continued to push forward until the fourth minuted of the allotted seven minutes of injury time when Wakefield’s biggest moment of the season arrived so far. Kachosa, now at left-back, commenced a mazy run from the back, gliding past several players as he moved infield 30 yards from goal.
Adding precision to his pace, he then executed a perfectly-weighted, reverse through-ball for the run across the backline of substitute Jerome Greaves from the right. The big man, on the sidelines of late and without a goal since the beginning of February, stepped up at the most crucial moment to touch perfectly, hold his marker off and slot the ball past the goalkeeper to send the home crowd into a frenzy.
Even after that, Wakefield continued to push forward and for a brief moment looked as though they may go on to snatch a winner at the death too, though ultimately the game moved into the nail-biting lottery of penalties.
Wakefield had already showed a determination, composure and resilience not previously seen in a play-off game to drag themselves back into contention. They would now need all of those hallmarks in abundance to progress through the gauntlet of a shootout.
Akeel Francis stepped up first and slotted his shot perfectly beyond the reach of the ‘keeper who dove to the right.
Harrogate then tried the same but their man saw his shot go just wide of the post, which meant the early advantage went to Wakefield who sent Hinton up next. He cooly sent the goalkeeper the wrong way and placed the penalty in the same spot Francis had.
Harrogate then repeated that trick to leave the score at 2-1 as the game moved into the third round of penalties.
Ofoegbu stepped up and again chose the same spot as all the other penalties, perfectly placing it into the corner.
That corner of the goal was blessed, which perhaps made it unwise for Harrogate’s third penalty-taker to choose the other side of goal, which he did. Bremer, capping off his vital contribution to the game, guessed correctly and brilliantly saved the effort.
That meant Wakefield had the chance to win the game with their fourth effort and Greaves, after rescuing Wakefield in stoppage time, again showed the strength of his personality to step up for the crucial kick.
He wrong-footed the goalkeeper, who didn’t even dive, and side-footed his effort straight into the middle of goal to cement his incredible mark on the game.
The Hunters Stadium erupted into scenes of jubilation as the demon’s of Wakefield’s past were banished, with The Falcons now daring to dream that they may finally realise their hope of promotion at the fourth attempt.
The win moves Wakefield into uncharted territory, with their opposition confirmed as Worsbrough Bridge who won their match against Leeds UFCA 3-0. With Worsbrough having finished second in the league, they will get home advantage in the final, meaning Wakefield will have the added challenge of Worsbrough’s infamous sloping pitch. The contest should prove to be a closely fought match in front of what is certain to be a bumper crowd – all set to play out on Saturday 25th April 2026; kick-off: 15:00PM.
Match Stats
Half Time: 2-0
Full Time: 1-0
Attendance: 312
Wakefield AFC Starting XI:
Drew Bremer – Bolton Makwedza, Chris Salt (C), Matthew Swift, Owen Thomas – Basile Zottos, Tom Hinton, Max Rayner, Ethan Kachosa – Eliel Anku, Akeel Francis
Wakefield AFC Subs Used:
70m, Ify Ofoegbu for Eliel Anku
76m, Samuel Pashley for Bolton Makwedza
78m, Oli Robinson for Owen Thomas
85m, Jerome Greaves for Matthew Swift
Possession:
Wakefield AFC 73% – 27% Harrogate Railway Athletic
Passes Completed:
Wakefield AFC 274 – 108 Harrogate Railway Athletic
Goals:
54m, Alex Ingham
69m, Chris Salt
73m, Alex Ingham
90m+4, Jerome Greaves
Wakefield AFC Assists:
69m, Basile Zottos
90m+4 Ethan Kachosa
Wakefield AFC Cards:
Ethan Kachosa (Yellow)
Attempts
Wakefield AFC
First Half
Shots on Target: 1
Shots off Target: 3
Second Half
Shots on Target: 6
Shot off Target: 4
Harrogate Railway Athletic
First Half
Shots on Target: 1
Shots off Target: 0
Second Half
Shots on Target: 2
Shots off Target: 0