Saturday 5th February 2022 | Austin Ainsworth
Wakefield AFC’s fine start to 2022 came to an end against Silsden AFC WY in the West Riding Challenge Cup on Saturday, as the Millennium Stadium was the rain-trodden setting for the quarter-final fixture.
Gabriel Mozzini, tasting defeat for the first time since joining the club, had named a strong side; the only change from the impressive away victory at Oughtibridge last week being Josh Craig in at left-back as Luke Blackburn moved to midfield. It wasn’t enough, as Silsden – a tier lower than Wakefield in the national league pyramid, but visiting having already taken the scalps of higher league opposition – were the deserving victors after a clinical performance.
Neither side threatened in the opening stages as Wakefield looked to keep possession, often choosing to play-out from the back. They were punished for that in the seventh minute when Silsden pressed high and snatched the ball on the right edge of the penalty area. The ball found Silsden no. 10 Josh Eastwood close to the penalty spot, whose crafty first touch created the space for a first time finish that was executed perfectly, low to Henry Kendrick’s right hand side.
Wakefield looked to respond immediately and won themselves a corner almost straight from the restart. Winger Red Bates, who scored direct from a corner-kick in his last match, nearly repeated the trick when his in-swinger almost fooled the Silsden goalkeeper, who scrambled to parry the ball away.
Disappointingly, that moment proved to be the only real occasion that the Silsden ‘keeper was worked in the first half, as Wakefield were limited to several long-distance efforts that left him untroubled.
Wakefield’s best chance actually came from an attempt that never was, as Danny Youel played an inch-perfect pass through to Owen Kirman who ran clear on-goal just shy of the half-hour mark. Unfortunately for him the whistle was blown after the referee was too slow to evade a Silsden player, who knocked him to the floor when trying to steal the ball. The moment – comical, bordering on farcical – left the 185 strong crowd at their most animated, in what had been a flat first half.
Requiring a strong start to the second half if they were to have any chance of getting back in to the game, Wakefield suffered the worst possible fate when Silsden grabbed their second goal within a minute of kick-off. The ball was played down the right to the Silsden winger who was given too much space to cut-in on to his left foot. He passed the ball to Jacob Seward who took one touch before firing the ball in to the roof of the Wakefield net.
Wakefield were again briefly sparked in to life by the setback and pulled one back from Youel in the 52nd minute. He scored his third of the season with a simple tap-in after good work from Bates down the right who crossed for his 13th assist of the season.
10 minutes later the Silsden no. 10 was sin-binned for dissent and, for a moment, with one goal back and a man advantage there appeared to be hope that Wakefield’s cup dreams were still alive. It wasn’t to be as Brad Swain was sin-binned for dissent himself minutes later to level the playing field; thereby delaying his imminent substitution for Mason Rubie.
By the time Rubie did come on it was too late, as Silsden stunned the home side with two quick-fire goals from Luke Brocksbank in the 68th and 71st minutes. The first, direct from a free-kick on the edge of the box, was impressively curled over the Wakefield wall and crept just under Kendrick’s crossbar, who was unable to reach it.
Silsden had gone looking for the fourth immediately after the kick-off, and were denied only by a desperate, two-footed challenge from Morgan Butcher on the Wakefield six yard line for which the referee pointed to the spot. Brocksbank was on hand to fire the ball straight down the middle of the goal to compound Wakefield’s misery.
It was a disappointing end to a disappointing day, as Wakefield lost the opportunity to grab a first trophy in their fledgling years. The home side, despite dominating much of the possession, had lacked any real threat or aggression and could have no complaints with the result; Silsden, not for the first time, showing that their own league standing belies their true capability.
All sides have blips and, in what has been a fine season so far, Wakefield will now look to return to their usual high standards when they are next in league action away to Houghton Main at the M-Tec stadium on Saturday 12th February 2022: kick-off 14:00PM.
Stats
Half Time: 0-1
Full Time: 1-4
Attendance: 185
Man-Of-The-Match: Luke Blackburn
Starting XI:
Henry Kendrick – Bradley Swain, James Morris (C), Cory Woodward, Josh Craig – Red Bates, Morgan Butcher, Luke Blackburn, Owen Kirman – Daniel Youel, Billy Mole
Goals:
7m, Josh Eastwood (Silsden AFC WY)
46m, Jacob Seward (Silsden AFC WY)
52m, Daniel Youel
68m, Luke Brocksbank (Silsden AFC WY)
71m, Luke Brocksbank (Pen) (Silsden AFC WY)
Assists:
52m, Red Bates
Subs Used:
72m, Mason Rubie for Bradley Swain
72m, Wilberforce Ocran for Billy Mole
82m, Josh Lockwood for Morgan Butcher
Cards:
Billy Mole – Yellow
Bradley Swain – Yellow (Sin-bin)
Wakefield AFC
First Half
Shots on Target: 1
Shots off Target: 3
Second Half
Shots on Target: 2
Shot off Target:3
Silsden AFC WY
First Half
Shots on Target: 4
Shots off Target: 0
Second Half
Shots on Target: 4
Shots off Target: 0
Correction: The match report following Wakefield AFCs game against Oughtibridge W.M.S.C. on 29/01/2022 stated Red Bates has nine goals this season. This was an error, his two goals took him to 10 for the season.