Marske United 2-1 Stocksbridge Park Steels

Marske United took advantage of Stocksbridge Park Steels mistakes to win 2-1.

Adam Boyes made the most of a defensive error in order to go clear on goal before finishing. Five minutes later, Stocksbridge were level when a free kick rebounded to Ross Goodwin in space who had the time to finish smartly. The wind got the winner for Marske as Ryan Catterick’s long ball went over everyone for Junior Mondal to finish into an empty net.

The Seasiders had the better of the early moments as they showed why they were challenging at the top of the division. Ed Hall had to be alert to stop a Kevin Burgess header from a corner before making another impressive save from Jason Kennedy later on.

Marske did get their goal though and frustratingly, it was given to them by the Steels defence. A Reece Fielding pass skewed very wide and right into the path of Boyes. The league’s top scorer didn’t need an extra invitation and he raced through before finishing past Hall to score his 40th goal of the season.

The Steels got their equaliser just five minutes later though. Sam Finlaw’s free kick was cleared right into the path of Goodwin. He was in plenty of space in the box and took the chance to fire it into the bottom corner as he scored his fourth goal in the North East.

The second half started with much more fire and creativity from both sides. Captain Adam Wheatley got a free header from a corner but would be denied by another great save from Hall. At the other end, Josh Nodder did well to open his body up to get a curling shot off in the box but Catterick was equal to it. The save almost fell to the feet of Luke Mangham but it just had enough on it to get away from the striker.

Marske’s goal will be another one that will be frustrating for the Steels to watch back. Catterick’s clearance bounced over everyone and Mondal managed to get a touch onto it to get the ball past Hall. This would leave a narrow angle for the former Forest Green man but he managed to finish it and give Marske the lead again.

After this, the Seasiders took charge of the game and looked more likely to get the next goal. Glen Butterworth had a few attempts which had they gone in would have been goal of the season contenders. Curtis Round and Craig Gott also had opportunities but they were either blocked or went wide.

Stocksbridge did have the ball in the back of the net though. Finlaw’s free kick had the perfect delivery and Fielding was on hand to knock the ball into the back of the net. The linesman quickly had his flag up for the offside, though anyone of a Stocksbridge nature will insist that it was a definite goal.

From there, Marske were able to close the game out and make sure that they got a crucial three points for their promotion battle.