Worth while journey.

Sat 22/02/14

LONG AWAY DAY SUCCESS

LEEK CSOB FC 1 HOLKER OLD BOYS’ AFC 3

THE NWCFL 1st DIVISION 22/02/14

Holker returned from their long round trip to Leek with 3 valuable League points. On a heavily sanded and “sticky” pitch Holker took time to settle, having to adjust their passing game to the conditions but once in their stride there was only ever going to be one winner. Two goals from Dave Swarbrick in the final 10mins of the first half set up the victory and although Leek briefly rallied after the break and reduced the arrears on the hour Paul Southward restored the two goal advantage soon after coming on as a substitute and but for the heroics of Leek keeper Brad Moorhead the margin of victory would have been much bigger.

With Danny Pattinson on a half term break Guy Heffernan moved to right back, Mark Daly took his spot alongside Phil Coombe in the centre of the back four allowing Martin Grundy to come into midfield. Gaz Smith was preferred to JP Stanway on the left of midfield and Paul Southward stepped down to the bench with him as Manager, Gary Fawcett, rotated his squad with so many League games coming up in the next two months and the two legs of the Divisional Cup semi-final against Hanley on the 1st and 15th of March.

Holker almost got off to a flier in the 9th min when Smith played a nice one two down the left before unleashing a left foot pile driver from the edge of the 18yd area which crashed off the right hand angle of Moorhead’s goal frame with the keeper well beaten. Holker were in control of the game but not the pitch which was proving to be a leveller as passes went astray and footholds were hard to come by. It took Leek 20mins to mount a serious attack whilst at the other end Moorhead did well to tip over a Smith free kick from wide on the Holker right and punch clear the resultant corner then pluck the ball off Swarbrick’s toe from a Grundy cross as Holker pressed for the opener. They finally broke the deadlock in the 37th min when Coombe put Swarbrick through the back four and from a narrow angle he cut the ball across Moorhead into the right hand corner of his net. Tom Lowe came close to levelling things in the 42nd min as Leek pounced on a loose ball created by the poor playing surface but Holker doubled their advantage bang on half time when they were awarded another free kick out wide on their right. Smith sent in an almost identical ball to the one that troubled Moorhead earlier but this time Swarbrick got a glancing header on it that left him flat footed as it flew into the net from the edge of the 6yd box.

Half time: - Leek CSOB FC 0 Holker Old Boys’ AFC 2

Holker should have put the game to bed in the 52nd min when Hubbold’s shot was blocked and the ball came to Smith who rolled it into the path of Shields who from 3yds out managed to find Moorhead instead of the back of the net but credit to the keeper for making a good save. Holker were made to pay for the miss on the hour when Ryan Green broke through three tackles in the middle of the park and sent Karl Miller on his way. The No 9 bore down on goal before firing an unstoppable shot from the edge of the area which curled away from Bell into the back of the net and Leek were back in the game. For 10mins Leek were on the offensive spurred on by the goal and Holker did well to keep them at bay. Southward replaced Shields and within 6mins of coming on made an impact. A poor Leek clearance was picked up by Smith who laid the ball forward for Southward to round Moorhead and roll the ball into an empty net to restore Holker’s two goal advantage in the 72nd min. After this Leek’s resistance faded and it became Holker versus Moorhead as the keeper single handily kept the score respectable with outstanding saves from a Southward header, a Hubbold drive and another Southward effort that he somehow pushed onto his bar. Their problems increased in the 83rd min when in a game devoid of yellow cards until Miller objected to receiving one and threw the ball at the Referee, Matt Rickard, only to receive a red instead. Holker coasted to the final whistle with a job well done.

A good three points earned on a difficult surface after a long journey made the return home a lot sweeter. They have it all to do again next Saturday when they travel even further, deep into the potteries, to face Hanley Town in the 1st leg of the Divisional Challenge Cup but sandwiched in between is the small matter of a League game on Tuesday night at home to Widnes Vikings KO 8.00pm. The 2nd leg of the semi-final will be at Rakesmoor on the 15th of March KO 3.00pm.