Saturday 9th August 2025 | Austin Ainsworth
Wakefield AFC went in to game-week three of The NCEL Division One second in the early league running, with the chance to go first.
That was after an opening day 4-0 thrashing of Glasshoughton Welfare was followed by a hard-fought draw with likely league challengers this season Harrogate Railway; and that left most fans optimistic of a positive season ahead, given The Falcons had looked excellent in patches but had also showed signs of being a new team with some areas for improvement.
Tuesday evening’s tie away to Dearne and District – a side that got the better of Wakefield on three occasions last season – was certain to test just how much progress Wakefield have made since pre-season, and any areas of weakness would no doubt be exploited by the so-often relentless, and well drilled South Yorkshire side.
Dearne hadn’t had the best of starts in the league, but it didn’t take long from kick-off for it to become apparent that they were still the same force that demolished Wakefield 3-0 at this ground last season.
Wakefield were forced in to changes, with centre-back Ashley Grayson missing through injury, and that meant midfielder Rhys Thomas filled in at centre-back; whilst young goalkeeper Logan Melville debuted in place of the absent Owen Evans.
Wakefield continued with the diamond formation seen in previous matches, and made a decent start as they moved the ball well. That lasted all of 26 minutes, before the game began its descent in to a sorry affair that all associated with Wakefield would wish to forget.
Wakefield’s defensive frailty and Dearne’s imposing strength was exhibited when a free-kick was delivered from the home side’s right to Wakefield’s back post. Wakefield were unable to get to grips with the ball, which was knocked in for the hosts to take the lead.
Wakefield did have chances to equalise, first through a well-hit and well-saved Billy Mole volley and then twice through striker Ash Flynn, who initially raced through on goal and looked to finish around the stranded Dearne goalkeeper but somehow struck wide, and then when he failed to connect with a header on the six yard line that looked destined to be his opportunity for an equaliser.
Those moments, and the fact the score remained just 1-0 at half-time, meant there was hope for Wakefield at the start of the second half. That lasted just over five minutes until Wakefield were exposed through midfield, as a long ball went unchallenged and was knocked around the corner, for Dearne’s Adam Baskerville to expose Wakefield’s isolated full-back with a good touch in to the box and an even better finish back across goal.
Dearne repeated the trick on the opposite side just a minute later, when a ball through midfield was played out to the right wing and left Wakefield running back towards their own goal. Two quick passes in to the box allowed Cian Guest to turn and fire his shot to the far post with a good finish. The move was slick from a Dearne perspective but one that was far too easy to complete when looked at from a Wakefield point of view.
It was unthinkable that the game could go as bad as it did for Wakefield last year, but things got even worse when Dearne stretched their lead to four goals in the 64th minute through a Jamie Austin penalty. The spot-kick was awarded after Wakefield were again split open, leaving captain Chris Salt to make a rash challenge in the box as their striker attempted to get his shot away. Melville dived the right way and got his fingertips to the penalty, but it was struck too well for the ‘keeper to prevent the goal.
He did prevent further embarrassment however, with two fine saves when one-v-one late on meaning 4-0 didn’t become 6-0. By that point Wakefield had completely lost any control of the game, unable to maintain possession and unable to prevent Dearne’s charge toward their own goal; their lack of a grasp on the game and inability to match Dearne’s intensity also evidenced by several yellow cards for petulant, late fouls.
So, instead of moving top of the league, Wakefield dropped to eighth, with some soul-searching to be done prior to their game away to South Leeds on Saturday.
Manager Steve Bodle made changes, namely ditching the 4-4-2 diamond formation that had been too easily exploited by Dearne and moving back to a conventional, 4-3-3 formation that saw Evans return in goal, the Thomas brothers switch positions with each-other in defence and Max Rhodes make his first start on the wing.
The formation and tactics would be an irrelevance if Wakefield’s desire, intensity and quality on and off the ball wasn’t improved from midweek. And, the early signs were there that Wakefield would put the midweek loss behind them as they started quickly, moving the ball with pace and purpose and nearly opening the scoring after a Tom Hinton drive from midfield on just five minutes saw his shot go just wide.
A spanner was thrown in to the works a minute later though when – against the run of play – South Leeds took the lead through Tyler Bussue. Wakefield’s defensive gremlins were again on show as they were caught out with a ball from midfield in behind Rhys Thomas at full-back, with Bussue controlling well and finishing around Evans from a tight angle.
Wakefield heads didn’t drop and they were immediately back on the front foot, peppering the South Leeds goal with good chances for Akeel Francis, Salt and Callum Nicell. Eventually their dominance bore fruit as a good cross from Igor Mlynarski found Francis in the box who smartly saw a lunging challenge coming and touched the ball around his man to win the foul, and a penalty. He stepped up and converted confidently to the ‘keepers right for his fourth goal in five games.
It was all Wakefield for the remainder of the half, the away side eventually taking the lead in the 37th minute through Rhys Thomas. The goal came after a wonderful passage of play that saw a dazzling interchange between Flynn and Hinton, with the latter squaring the ball in the box for Thomas to fire his shot in to the top corner.
Wakefield started the second half with a similar move, with Flynn fluffing his shot at the end after he was knocked off balance by the recovering defender. The South Leeds goalkeeper launched his goal-kick upfield and Wakefield got it all wrong in defence, failing to clear on several occasions before the ball eventually dropped in to the Wakefield box for ex-Wakefield stalwart Harley Blankley to fire past Evans and level the score.
After such a good first half, it was unthinkable that Wakefield wouldn’t push on, but South Leeds upped their game in the second period and just after the hour mark re-took the lead, again through Blankley. Wakefield were slow to stop the cross on the South Leeds right, and the ball came racing across the edge of the box, where Blankley fired first-time from the edge and in to goal.
The shock set-back, no doubt coupled with the memory of Tuesday evening may have startled Wakefield, who began to show signs of the nervousness that plagued them in midweek; rushing things in the final third and at times going too direct with their passes.
However, they did fight their way back on 69 minutes from a Hinton corner-kick, captain Salt imposing himself on the game with a brave header at the back post as he powered his way through the South Leeds defence and headed his side back level.
With the momentum again back with Wakefield, the away side were no doubt looking to win the game rather than see out a draw. Unfortunately for them it was to be neither, as South Leeds were awarded a free-kick 30 yards from goal with five minutes of the game remaining. Taylor Starkey stepped up with an effort worthy of winning any game, firing a swerving, rising shot the full distance to goal and beyond the stretching Evans in to the top corner.
There was to be no Wakefield response, as The Falcons made it two defeats in a week that sees them drop to 13th in the league. A position that is probably less of a concern so early in the season than the dented confidence of an increasingly fragile looking side.
There were positives in this game though, particularly in a first half that saw some silky Wakefield attacks. However, there is work to do for Wakefield defensively and another level to be found if they are to match the strength and discipline of many of the sides in this season’s NCEL.
Wakefield’s next opportunity to put things right comes with a Friday night fixture at home to 15th placed Louth Town; kick-off 19:45PM on 15/08/2025.
South Leeds Match Stats
Half Time: 1-2
Full Time: 4-3
Attendance: 173
Wakefield AFC Starting XI:
Owen Evans – Igor Mlynarski, Chris Salt (C), Owen Thomas, Rhys Thomas – Harry Mitchell, Callum Nicell, Tom Hinton – Max Rhodes, Ash Flynn, Akeel Francis
Wakefield AFC Subs Used:
63m, Tidiane Diallo for Ash Flynn
69m, James Tetley for Max Rhodes
Possession:
South Leeds 40% – 60% Wakefield AFC
Passes Completed:
South Leeds 98 – 171 Wakefield AFC
Goals:
6m, Tyler Bussue
24m, Akeel Francis (Pen)
37m, Rhys Thomas
51m, Harley Blankley
60m, Harley Blankley
69m, Chris Salt
84m, Taylor Starkey
Wakefield AFC Assists:
37m, Tom Hinton
69m, Tom Hinton
Wakefield AFC Cards:
Chris Salt (Yellow)
Akeel Francis (Yellow/Sin Bin)
Attempts
Wakefield AFC
First Half
Shots on Target: 3
Shots off Target: 6
Second Half
Shots on Target: 3
Shot off Target: 1
South Leeds
First Half
Shots on Target: 1
Shots off Target: 0
Second Half
Shots on Target: 4
Shots off Target: 1
Dearne & District Match Stats
Half Time: 1-0
Full Time: 4-0
Attendance: 268
Wakefield AFC Starting XI:
Logan Melville- Igor Mlynarski, Chris Salt (C), Rhys Thomas, Owen Thomas – Harry Mitchell – Callum Nicell, Billy Mole – Tom Hinton – Ash Flynn, Akeel Francis
Wakefield AFC Subs Used:
65m, Max Rhodes for Ash Flynn
73m, James Tetley for Billy Mole
77m, Aziz Diallo for Igor Mlynarski
81m, Tidiane Diallo for Akeel Francis
Possession:
Deane & District 50% – 50% Wakefield AFC
Passes Completed:
Dearne & District 127- 119 Wakefield AFC
Goals:
24m, Owen Fieldsend
51m, Adam Baskerville
52m, Cian Guest
64m, Jamie Austin (Pen)
Wakefield AFC Cards:
Harry Mitchell (Yellow)
Tom Hinton (Yellow)
Callum Nicell (Yellow)
Billy Mole (Yellow)
Attempts
Wakefield AFC
First Half
Shots on Target: 1
Shots off Target: 2
Second Half
Shots on Target: 1
Shot off Target: 2
Dearne & District
First Half
Shots on Target: 2
Shots off Target: 4
Second Half
Shots on Target: 6
Shots off Target: 2