Saturday 25th July 2026 | Austin Ainsworth
The NCEL Division One finally sparked back into life over the weekend, after three long months in which fans of non-league had only the Fifa World Cup to replace their football fix. Hydration breaks, half-time shows and heartache – for all but those of a Spanish persuasion – no doubt left fans of the real deal pining for the return of the NCEL.
That day came to pass on Saturday, with Wakefield AFC starting their fifth season at step six of the national football pyramid away to Winterton Rangers. Each of the past four seasons have seen heady highs and languishing lows for Wakefield; the good times far outweighing the bad as The Falcons have come close to promotion in each campaign.
Last season saw Wakey go closer than ever before as they missed out in a disappointing play-off final, again ultimately paying the price for a slow and inconsistent start to the campaign that confined them to a play-off position, rather than the place atop the league that sees automatic promotion.
In previous campaigns constant changes in terms of the squad, management and home ground have arguably hindered Wakefield’s efforts, given the stability and consistency required of those teams that generally go on to win the league. This summer has felt different for Wakefield however, with subtle changes to the squad compared to previous seasons – which is noticeably slimmer in terms of size – and a focus on team-building rather than “marquee signings”.
Perhaps intentionally with the above in mind, several of manager Jason Blunt’s new recruits are players arriving for a second stint with the club, with fan-favourites Josh Lockwood, James Eyles, Shay Evans-Booth and Curtis Morrison returning to the club. The former started in a backline comprising of key retentions goalkeeper Drew Bremer and central defender Matthew Swift, alongside new signings at full-back Zak Cottle and Craig Nellthorpe; the latter bringing a wealth of footballing experience, having played as high as League One in his earlier years.
Callum Nicell – a key cog in midfield last year – returned to the side having missed the end of last season due to injury, alongside debutant Sam Drake. Oli Robinson, the returning Morrison and another debutant Kenzie Dillon formed the attacking trio behind the retained Ify Ofoegbu up-front, with Eyles starting on the bench after missing the end of pre-season.
Winterton, who finished last season in 20th position compared to Wakefield’s third, belied the apparent gulf between the sides and made a much better start than a sluggish and slack-looking Falcons side.
For a long time in the first period the away side struggled to get to grips with the pace of the game as Winterton’s aggression and speed of play left Wakefield looking vulnerable to going a goal behind, whilst their troubles were also apparent on the ball; barely completing a sequence of three passes in the opening stages.
Bremer made a crucial intervention after 11 minutes when he dove bravely to intercept a low cross to the near post after a slick Winterton move, with another block on the line preventing a goal from the ensuing goalmouth scramble.
Midway through the half, after repeated calls from Blunt for Wakefield to relax and show patience, The Falcons began to gain a foothold in the game through better possession, and they nearly took the lead when Wakefield’s player of the first half – Robinson – raced down the right and thundered a half-volley towards goal that skimmed the top of the crossbar.
Robinson was in again minutes later and this time crossed for Dillon, whose smart run saw him control well then arrow a low shot across the goal that drew a good save out of the Winterton ‘keeper.
Wakefield continued to show more control after the break and, albeit narrowly, always looked the more likely of the two sides to score. Dillon found himself in on goal on a couple of occasions, going very close on the hour mark when the goalkeeper made another good save.
With Wakefield often lacking a cutting-edge and struggling to hold the ball up in the final third, Blunt made changes midway through the second half; Eyles and Wakefield’s most recent signing Emmanuel Amissah coming on in place of Robinson and Ofoegbu. Eyles, with an excellent goalscoring pedigree at this level – including 8 goals in 14 appearances for Wakefield in his previous spell – made a real difference after his arrival. He was able to stretch Winterton with well-timed, penetrating runs whilst simultaneously holding possession with strength and skill in equal measure.
With Wakefield now playing the game in the Winterton final third, the added pressure brought about the award of a penalty for Wakefield after some good play led to Nicell twisting and turning in the box before being brought down by a clumsy challenge.
Nellthorpe stepped up and bagged a goal on his debut with a wonderfully executed spot-kick that curled high into the side netting from the inside of his left boot.
Wakefield had been better and perhaps just deserved the lead, but the cobwebs hadn’t fully blown off as, at times, their management of the game brought about a bit too much anxiety for the travelling contingent. With less than five minutes to go the game was still end-to-end, with one phase of play seeing strong shouts of a penalty for each side within the space of a few seconds.
Both were waved away, before Winterton had good chances to equalise when a thundering shot from a dangerous area went just over the bar, and then when their unmarked striker let Wakefield off the hook when his header from six yards went straight into the arms of Bremer.
During a frantic five minutes of stoppage time Mason Rubie – Wakefield’s record appearance maker – made his long awaited 134th appearance after a long injury lay-off, and he was nearly on the scoresheet when he showed exquisite control on the edge of the box to create the angle for a shot which was curled towards the far post that the goalkeeper tipped away.
A goal for Rubie would have been the icing on the cake for Wakefield, but nonetheless they survived injury time to make a winning start to the season. Three points was all that mattered for Wakefield in what will no doubt be their quest this year for the relentless consistency required of champions. There is clearly room for improvement so early in the season, as there will be for the rest of the league, with the league’s runners and riders likely to reveal themselves in the coming weeks.
Wakefield will hope to be in the equation, as they have been in every previous season, but their attention will next turn to cup completion, when they welcome Hemsworth Miners Welfare to The Hunters Stadium on Wednesday evening for the first round of the NCEL League Cup; kick-off: 19:45PM on 29/07/2026.
Match Stats
Half Time: 0-0
Full Time: 0-1
Attendance: 203
Wakefield AFC Starting XI:
Drew Bremer – Zak Cottle, Josh Lockwood, Matthew Swift (C), Craig Nellthorpe – Sam Drake, Callum Nicell – Curtis Morrison, Kenzie Dillon, Oli Robinson – Ify Ofoegbu
Wakefield AFC Subs Used:
73m, James Eyles for Ivy Ofoegbu
73m, Emmanuel Amissah for Oli Robinson
90m, Mason Rubie for Kenzie Dillon
Goals:
75m, Craig Nellthorpe (Pen)
Wakefield AFC Cards:
Curtis Morrison (Yellow)
Craig Nellthorpe (Yellow)
Attempts
Wakefield AFC
First Half
Shots on Target: 1
Shots off Target: 2
Second Half
Shots on Target: 3
Shot off Target: 1
Winterton Rangers
First Half
Shots on Target: 2
Shots off Target: 1
Second Half
Shots on Target: 1
Shots off Target: 2