Steels 1-1 Warrington Rylands (1-3 on penalties)
Written by Lemar Askarzada Safi
Scintillating Stocksbridge Park Steels knocked out of FA Cup in third round drama.
The son of a former Steel, Alex Kiwomya saved the day for Warrington Rylands with the winner in a penalty shootout which saw Warrington score 3 whilst Stocksbridge only managed to score 1.
Plaudits would also have to be given to what could only be described as a Ryland’s hero with goalkeeper, Luke Pilling making 3 big saves in the penalty shootout, to take his team to the next round.
Unfortunately for Bracken Moor, Warrington the team playing in a higher division, were dominant in the full 90. They held the ball for most of the game and had several chances.
The biggest chance they had was for a winner, which had taken place from a corner that was in the last minutes of the game. James Neild rised the highest to win the header and for all of the world it looked to be going in.
However Kurtis Turner, the captain of the Steels, managed to clear it off the line allowing for hope to bounce around the Jamie Vardy Stand.
The goal for Warrington came at the 37th minute from an incisive pass into the centre via James Baillie. Which then bobbled into Sam Burns’ feet allowing for the ball to chip over the opposing defender creating a one on one chance for Ntumba Massanka to capitalise. In which he calmly whipped the ball into the bottom left corner.
Despite the result though, Stocksbridge can look at a lot of positives. The main one can be taking the game to Warrington and even scoring the opener leaving the visitors shell-shocked. The goal was a direct play as Ben Townsend, the goalkeeper, hit a long ball into the presence of the physical striker Alex Hardwick, who then laid the ball on a plate for Dan Hernandez in the box. Hernandez hit it on his second touch with the ball passing Pilling before tucking into the near post.
As well as this, the Steels nearly found a winner in Alex Hardwick. The ball was played into the box after a long range free kick that had been somewhat cleared. The ball danced around Hardwick’s feet as he tried to take the shot on and ended up hitting the bar, missing a golden opportunity for Stocksbridge.
The game was very end to end despite the superiority that Warrington had in possession. Meaning with the chances each team had, the game was probably fair to be set out as a draw.
Bracken Moor despite the defeat cheered along the players supporting them to the very end. A loss for small Stocksbridge despite Vice Captain Jack Tinker who looked at the game with such optimism, saying pre game, ‘it’s a huge game for the club’ and ‘we’ve got nothing to lose.’
They may not have won however the Steels can look towards a performance they should be proud of.
