Official Frickley Athletic Website 

www.frickleyafc.co.uk

Tuesday 11th March - Worksop Town 2-4 Frickley Athletic

A very much depleted Blues side gave a terrific battling performance to overcome Worksop Town 4-2. The Blues were without the suspended Gary Hatto, injured Steve Robinson and Curtis Bernard and Paul Marquis who were both ill. And to make matters worse, Gary Reece was forced off after 10 minutes through illness. Filling the gaps were Phil Sharpe, who lined up alongside Mark Hancock and Antony Jackson in central defence, Chris Newton, Remo Nesa, Matty Hull and Richard Bywater.

The home side had the better of the opening 15 minutes and went close on a couple of occasions with Kristof Kotylo seeing his 20 yard shot dip just over the bar whilst an inswinging corner from Steve Hawes was tipped onto the top of the bar by Mark Samways. The Blues slowly weathered the early pressure and Lee Morris, in particular, started to cause the home defence problems. But it was on 37 minutes when the Blues forced Worksop Keeper Dave McCarthy to make his first proper save when he saved Jackson's angled drive following a corner. However, less than three minutes later the Blues took the lead. Phil Lindley attacked the Worksop defence on the edge of the box and the ball broke, rather fortunately, for MORRIS who got clear in the box to roll the ball into the net under McCarthy's body.

Less than 30 seconds after half time the Blues increased their lead. A long ball forward was chased by Newton with McCarthy coming out of the penalty area to head clear. The ball fell kindly to MORRIS who lobbed it over the stranded keeper and two covering defenders in the the net. The joy was short lived as on 50 minutes the home side reduced the arrears. Samways fumbled a corner to his near post and Andy Todd forced the ball in from close range. This lifted Worksop who forced a bit of pressure which the Blues defence coped with admirably. On 57 minutes Kieran O'Brien found himself in space down the left and he sent over a deep cross which McCarthy was relieved to see drop inches over the bar. A minute later O'Brien sent over another cross which was aimed for Newton but Worksop's Mark Barnard met it with a great header from outside the box which looped over McCarthy and just under the bar to give the Blues a 3-1 lead. The Blues then had claims for a "goal" waved away when a goalmouth scramble following a corner looked as though it may have crossed the line but none of the officials were impressed. But the Blues did get a fourth goal on 68 minutes when the referee spotted a handball offence in the box and HANCOCK stepped up to score from the spot. Steve Woolford then saw his angled volley tipped around the post before the home side pulled a goal back through Muller on 85 minutes. A minute into injury time Worksop substitute Richard Peacock found himself unmarked in the box but Samways pulled off a great save to deny him. 

The win sees the Blues now just 3 points behind 4th bottom Blyth Spartans and seven points behind 5th bottom Gateshead with a match in hand and Gateshead to visit an week on Saturday.

Frickley Athletic : Samways, Reece (Nesa 10), O'Brien, Woolford, Jackson, Sharpe, Hancock, Richards, Morris (Hull 90), Newton (Bywater 88), Lindley

Attendance : 483

Click on the 'vote' banner to vote for this site in Yorkshire's Top 100 Football Sites...