Saturday 13th September 2025 | Austin Ainsworth
Last week’s solitary NCEL Division One game for Wakefield AFC saw them make their second trip to Lincolnshire in as many weeks, as 16th placed Brigg Town welcomed The Falcons to their newly refurbished ground on Saturday.
Wakefield – third at the start of play after five wins in a row – were looking to extend that run against a Brigg side that has been inconsistent so far this year, but one that were coming off the back of a home win against Glasshoughton Welfare last time out.
With a newly installed artificial surface, Brigg will most likely look to make their ground a fortress this season given visiting sides’ probable unfamiliarity with the playing condition. However, for Wakefield at least – now with a renewed focus on slick, attractive football under new manager Jason Blunt – the pristine, flat surface will have been a welcome sight for them upon arrival and should have played to their strengths.
Blunt made one change to the side victorious against Armthorpe Welfare last time out, as Igor Mlynarski returned from injury to replace the suspended captain Chris Salt. That meant Bolton Makwedza moved to left-back and also meant Billy Mole – who captained the side – continued out on the left wing.
Soon after kick-off the rain came bounding down to create what appeared to be a very slippy surface, and any hope that Wakefield would flourish on the pitch evaporated, with the away side seeming to struggle greatly.
Footballers and fans love an excuse, but in truth it would be a stretch to blame the artificial grass for what was a very flat performance from Wakefield and one which failed to match the intensity seen in recent matches.
Brigg took an early lead when some slack Wakefield defending saw the home side progress too easily down the left wing, before a cross was swung in unopposed to the back post. Wakefield failed to track the run of Mason Ellender, who was left with a simple finish to open the scoring.
There was a chance for an immediate Wakefield response with the award of a penalty kick for a high boot on Mo Conteh in the Brigg box. The ever-reliable Ash Flynn stepped up, but slipped as he struck the ball, subsequently managing only to direct it at the post.
Another moment to forget came for Wakefield on 29 minutes when goalkeeper Owen Evans mis-controlled a simple back-pass to send it out for a corner. The resultant kick was whipped into the six yard box, where Evans – perhaps trying too hard to atone for his error – came rushing out and failed to reach the ball. That allowed the Brigg player to divert a header over him and to the back post for Joshua Jordan to nudge in.
Wakefield started the second half better than they did the first and immediately threatened a comeback when Flynn reduced the deficit just two minutes after the restart. It was a superb move, with Mole drifting into the hole just behind Flynn to receive the ball and play a wonderful pass through the Brigg backline for the striker’s run. Flynn was initially denied by a good save from the ‘keeper but nicked the rebound, rounded the floored goalkeeper and a backtracking defender, before finishing into an open net for his seventh goal of the season.
Blunt, as was probably planned at halftime after a poor first half, soon made a triple substitution and whether coincidental or not, Wakefield failed to maintain any flow about their attack from then on. They saw good possession but, aside from a couple of blocked shots, never tested the home goalkeeper in what was a frustrating display.
Too often, The Falcons were drawn into playing Brigg’s game instead of their own, and that meant too many forced long balls and a bit too much scrappiness for the Wakefield faithful’s liking. There were consequences to that too, as Grayson – already booked for a ridiculous incident that saw him punished for delaying the restart, when in-fact he could do nothing about the Brigg player who ran into him after the ball had gone out for a throw – was shown a second yellow card five minutes from time to see Wakefield finish the game with 10 men for the second match in succession. The defender could have little complaints about the second card, after he felled a man who was set to break free towards the Wakefield goal after a rare Brigg attack.
The numerical disadvantage did little to help Wakefield achieve what, on the basis of the day’s performance, was becoming an unlikely comeback. And so it proved, as the match finished 2-1 to Brigg who became the first side to inflict defeat on Blunt, as Wakefield’s winning streak came to an end.
There were always likely to be setbacks for Blunt’s Wakefield, who could take solace from only dropping one league place to fourth. They will be glad there is a quick opportunity for a response too, with what is another tough fixture when promotion-pushing Club Thorne Colliery visit The Millennium Stadium on Tuesday night; kick-off 19:45PM on 16/09/2025.
Match Stats
Half Time: 2-0
Full Time: 2-1
Attendance: 328
Wakefield AFC Starting XI:
Owen Evans – Igor Mlynarski, T’Nique Fishley, Ashley Grayson, Bolton Makwedza – Mo Conteh, Callum Nicell, Tom Hinton – Max Rhodes, Ash Flynn, Billy Mole (C)
Wakefield AFC Subs Used:
57m, Lorenzo Tejada for Igor Mlynarski
57m, Lance Friedrich for Tom Hinton
57m, Zante Rose-Campbell for Max Rhodes
Possession:
Brigg Town 37% – 63% Wakefield AFC
Passes Completed:
Brigg Town 193 – 333 Wakefield AFC
Goals:
13m, Mason Ellender
29m, Joshua Jordan
Ashley Flynn 47
Wakefield AFC Cards:
Igor Mlynarski (Yellow)
Bolton Makwedza (Yellow)
Ashley Grayson (Yellow x2 / Red)
Attempts
Wakefield AFC
First Half
Shots on Target: 1
Shots off Target: 2
Second Half
Shots on Target: 4
Shot off Target: 0
Brigg Town
First Half
Shots on Target: 2
Shots off Target: 1
Second Half
Shots on Target: 0
Shots off Target: 1