Frickley Athletic 0-2 Steels

Stocksbridge Park Steels advanced to the semi-final of the Sheffield Senior Cup for the first time since 2013 after beating old foes Frickley Athletic 2-0.

The Steels got off to a great start. With the wind at their backs, Kurtis Turner curled in a ball from outside the box. Luke Rawson got to it and with the outside of his boot, curled it over the line. Callum Bradbury clawed it out but Ross Goodwin would then tap it in to make sure. There was some confusion as the goal was initially ruled out, but eventually it would count and Stocksbridge had the lead.

Stocksbridge looked to press home their advantage to try and make this a less tense night for the travelling Steels fans. Jack Tinker continues his search for a first goal for the club after his header was palmed away by Bradbury and when Tomas Poole tried to curl one in, Bradbury was there again with another impressive save. The Frickley goalkeeper was having a great game and was keeping Frickley in the match.

And Stocksbridge were almost punished for it. At the other end, a Frickley cross into the box was caught into the wind and hung perfectly for Luke Collier at the far post. His header though was well saved by the outstretched palm of Ben Townsend.

In the second half, Frickley were now the team with the wind at their backs and were looking to use that to their advantage. While they had a lot of the ball though, they did struggle to create clear cut opportunities and Stocksbridge were able to resist their attacks.

And unlike at Grantham last time, Stocksbridge were able to extend their lead to ease their nerves. An initial corner from Poole was poor and went out of the box. But the ball was recycled well and Ryley D’Sena’s low ball evaded everyone and fell back to Poole. He drilled his shot low into the bottom corner, doubling Stocksbridge’s lead.

Following this goal, Stocksbridge were able to control the ball and they barely allowed Frickley a kick of the ball. The wind continued to disrupt play for both sides but it mostly favoured the Steels who rarely saw the ball enter their own half. That meant they were able to coast into the semi-final without too much trouble in the latter parts of the game.