Friday 10th November 2023 | Austin Ainsworth
Wakefield AFC, playing before the sides around them in a Friday night NCEL Division One fixture under the lights at the Be Well Support Stadium, had the chance to reach the summit of the league with fifth placed local rivals Nostell Miners Welfare the visitors who stood in their way.
On a run of irresistible form, Wakefield would have been confident ahead of the tie, but wary of a vastly improved Nostell side this season, who are well in the mix at the top of the table having lost just four matches prior to this meeting. There has been little need for Wakefield manager Gabe Mozzini to change anything with his side in such good form, but room was found for the returning Jaydan Sandhu, meaning Cameron Barnett was the unfortunate player to miss out in the only change from Wakefield’s recent 2-0 victory away at Louth Town.
With local bragging rights at stake between two good sides, in front of a bumper crowd of 684, not surprisingly the pace of the game was frantic from the off, with both sides appearing evenly matched. Aside from a Wakefield penalty shout for a nudge on Sandhu in the box after a crisp attacking move, chances were at a premium as the two rivals had a fairly even share of possession and territory.
Although there was nothing wrong with the start from Wakefield, after 14 minutes they were still seeking the spark in their performance that had seen them craft chances at will in recent games. However, that spark was completely lost when the ground was cast in to darkness after a flood-light fault.
Both sides returned to the pitch around 15 minutes later as light was restored to the ground, and with the re-start there was also a new-found brightness to Wakefield’s play as they quickly turned on the style.
Two goals followed in quick succession for the home side, with the first coming from in-form winger Oliver Rodriguez. That came after an ambitious through-ball from Sandhu was initially cut out, but won back well by Nathan Hawkhead, who played the overlapping Danny Youel in on the left. His teasing cross found its way to the back post, where Rodriguez’s determination saw him race ahead of the chasing defender to tap the ball home for his fourth goal of the season and first in seven games.
Almost straight from the ensuing kick-off Wakefield were back on the attack, and the suffocating high-press recently seen to great effect was on full show when they doubled their lead. Nostell had tried to play out from the back but were forced deep in to their own penalty area, where Rodriguez closed down well to nick the ball from the defender. With four Wakefield players in and around the Nostell box, Rodriguez played the ball back to Sebastian Losa, who in turn crossed toward the six yard line. Mason Rubie rushed ahead of the defender to execute a delicate flick back to Youel, whose composed finish from the penalty spot left the Nostell ‘keeper no chance as the ball nestled inside the post.
Nostell did show a response of sorts and had a couple of good chances to pull one back, their best after good pressure in the Wakefield box following a free-kick, when striker Harvey Booth turned and fired a shot that Wakefield goalkeeper Henry Kendrick was equal to with a good, low save.
Nostell wouldn’t test Kendrick again until stoppage time at the end of the match, as Wakefield controlled proceedings with a calm assuredness in a second half that could, and should, have seen more than the one Wakefield goal that it brought.
Recent signing Ben Gelder was introduced up-front in place of Losa at half-time, and should have been gifted the easiest of chances to open his Wakefield account when fellow substitute Kieran Ceesay showed blistering pace to attack down the left, but his decision making let him down when he opted to shoot – his shot saved by the onrushing goalkeeper – instead of squaring for Gelder who was unmarked in front of an open goal.
Gelder didn’t have to wait long for the first of what is likely to be many Wakefield goals however, when he rose high to nod the ball home from the resultant corner-kick from Sandhu.
With the home side out of sight, they continued to probe and press, and were particularly potent in transition, with the pace of their wide-men leaving an increasingly open Nostell more and more exposed. Sandhu nearly made it four for Wakefield when a searching diagonal ball was met by Rodriguez on the right. He completed a fine run by slipping the ball through to Sandhu in the box, but Nostell goalkeeper Rhys Toft, not for the first time, kept the scoreline respectable by bravely diving at the playmaker’s feet to deny him his eighth goal of the season.
Toft also made great saves to prevent both Youel and Rodriguez from each bagging their second goals of the game, whilst Gelder again missed out on a tap-in at the back post when this time Sandhu opted to shoot from the left side of the box when squaring to the striker was probably the better option. Those missed chances were ultimately irrelevant, and probably came from the fact the Wakefield players appeared to enjoy themselves so much that they had the confidence to take the more difficult option in attack.
Wakefield have now matched their best ever run in the NCEL, with six wins in succession. If that, and the fact they finish the weekend top of the league isn’t reason enough for celebration, the level of performance in those fixtures is. With four clean-sheets from those six victories, and an aggregate score of 23-2, Wakefield are starting to look like a well-drilled, cohesive and confident attacking, and defensive, machine. They currently don’t look out of place at the summit, but their challenge – with sides such as Parkgate, Wombwell Town and Beverley Town all having games in hand – is to remain there.
Wakefield manager Mozzini was rightly content: “What pleased me the most is the way we adapted to Nostell’s style of play. They were overloading us in the middle, which caused us problems. But within 30 minutes we adapted well to this problem and scored two goals, which put us in a comfortable situation to manage the rest of the game.
On the recent good run of form he also highlighted several key areas: “Having the right players playing at the right positions, I’d say [is key]. Earlier in the season Danny Youel was playing #4, when he’s actually a #8. Nathan played centre-back a few times, when he’s actually a CDM. Oli Rodriguez grew a lot and understands well what it means to play men’s football. Seb Losa found himself in that false 9 position. We finally managed to play our key players to their strengths. We were very fortunate with our latest signings, and they have been performing well and helping us win points! It’s a long season, and having both depth and competition in our team is paramount to be competitive.”
Wakefield now again turn their attention to The West Riding County Cup, with their first round tie away to Selby – re-arranged for the third time – hopefully due to be played on Tuesday 14th November; kick-off 19:45PM.
Match Stats
Half Time: 2-0
Full Time: 3-0
Attendance: 684
Wakefield AFC Starting XI:
Henry Kendrick – Aaron Pilkington, Jack Durkin, Jack Cairney, Callum Charlton – Danny Youel (C), Nathan Hawkhead – Mason Rubie, Jaydan Sandhu, Oliver Rodriguez – Sebastian Losa
Wakefield AFC Subs Used:
46m, Ben Gelder for Sebastian Losa
63m, Kieran Ceesay for Mason Rubie
89m, Ben Holmes for Oliver Rodriguez
Possession:
Wakefield AFC 53% – 47% Nostell Miners Welfare
Passes Completed:
Wakefield AFC 211 – 187 Nostell Miners Welfare
Goals:
19m, Oliver Rodriguez
21m, Danny Youel
70m, Ben Gelder
Wakefield AFC Assists:
19m, Danny Youel
21m, Mason Rubie
70m, Jaydan Sandhu
Wakefield AFC Cards:
Callum Charlton (Yellow)
Attempts
Wakefield AFC
First Half
Shots on Target: 3
Shots off Target: 3
Second Half
Shots on Target: 8
Shot off Target: 5
Nostell Miners Welfare
First Half
Shots on Target: 1
Shots off Target: 2
Second Half
Shots on Target: 1
Shots off Target: 0