Maltby Main 1-1 Steels (6-5 on penalties)

Stocksbridge Park Steels’ Sheffield Senior Cup run is over after losing to perennial bogey team Maltby Main.

While it took a while for both teams to warm into the fixture on a chilly night in Rotherham, Stocksbridge came close to taking the lead following a mistake. A long ball forward was misjudged by Dylan Parkin who thought it would drop into the box. Instead, it fell short and he was forced to head it away. It fell to Tomas Poole who hit it first time only for it to go just wide.

Unfortunately, Maltby were able to take the chance they got relatively early into the game. They earned a free kick close to the box and Aaron Sennett-Neilsen stepped up. He it the ball well and it flew past debutant Alex Wyatt-Ingram to give Maltby the lead.

Stocksbridge would press as they looked for an equaliser. Lewis Macaskill was continuing his form from previous games by giving his full-back Jack Birks a torrid time but he couldn’t get his aim right, either hitting shots over or having them blocked. Kurtis Turner wasn’t far off getting a goal on his 100th appearance when hit shot went just wide from the edge of the box, while Dylan Youmbi making his first start forced a smart save from Parkin with a powerful shot from the right wing.

At the other end, Maltby weren’t far off from getting their second in the game. Their big chance came with a good cross being headed back across goal by Callum Walton but Wyatt-Ingram made an impressive reflex save to get keep the scoreline at just one going into the end of the first half.

In the second half, Stocksbridge continued to press and eventually they got their goal. The initial corner was cleared but it went back to Youmbi on the left wing. His cross went over most of the players in the box to find Charlie Oglesby at the other end, who headed the ball back over Parkin and into the goal.

Both teams fought to try and get the winner to make sure the game would not go to penalties. For the Steels, Poole got a free kick in an ideal position. His strike seemed to hang in the air forever but when it came down, it cracked the bar before Maltby were able to clear it. For the Main, Brandon Bagley’s powerful strike almost made it’s way despite Wyatt-Ingram getting some good hands to it. Bagley battered into the young goalkeeper as he tried to knock in the rebound, causing a free kick to be given. With neither team being able to score, it was time for penalties.

It started badly for Stocksbridge with Ify Ofoegbu missing his spot kick. However a few penalties later it was all even when Jordan Lonchar sent his shot wide of the post. After a series of great penalties, it went to sudden death which meant the situation became tougher with unusual penalty takers stepping up. Unfortunately for us, Bailey-Tye Baker would be the one to miss, his penalty being well saved by Parkin to send the Steels out of the Sheffield Senior Cup at the hands of Maltby Main for the third time in six years.