Dunston UTS 0-0 Steels (Steels win 5-3 on penalties)

Stocksbridge Park Steels were promoted to the Northern Premier League Premier Division after beating Dunston UTS on penalties.

The first chance of the game would go Dunston’s way. The home side swung in a corner that was headed back across the box for Craig Baxter who would volley over from close range.

Stocksbridge would have have to withstand the early Dunston barrage but they were able to resist and started to make opportunities of their own. Elliot Owen couldn’t keep his free header under the bar while Luke Rawson claimed for a penalty when it appeared that Dunston keeper Dan Lowson went into the back of his ankles.

In the second half, the game opened up more with both teams looking to grab a winner. Stocksbridge thought they had the lead when Jack Tinker’s deflected effort fell to James Morris who tucked the ball in at the near post, only for his celebrations to be cut short by the linesman’s flag. And at the end of the 90 minutes, Jude Swailes hit the bar for Dunston with his back post header. But despite these attempts, extra time would beckon.

In extra time, mistakes started to creep into both teams games as tired legs started to weight the players down. This stopped many attacks from being able to progress and there wasn’t a big chance until the very end when Sado Djalo’s overhead kick went over the bar. The match would go to penalties.

Luke Rawson started the penalties by sending Lowson the wrong way, but the key moment was JJ O’Donnell’s spot kick being saved by Ben Townsend’s knees. There would then be a streak of successful penalties for both sides before it fell to Tommy Marshall. He stepped up and fired home, promoting Stocksbridge in the process.