Steels 1-2 Stockton Town

27/08/2022Last Updated: 30/08/2022

283 2 minutes read

Stocksbridge Park Steels suffered their first loss of the season after a last minute winner from Stockton Town.

The Steels took the lead when Elliot Murray headed in a from kick. Stockton got a quick equaliser as Mikey Roberts scored from close range. Stockton then won the game in the last minute from a Roberts header.

Stockton started off the better as they looked to get an early lead to continue their perfect start to the season. They weren’t too far off when Nathan Mulligan hit a half volley towards goal but it would be comfortably saved by Harrison Davison-Hale. The better chance came later when the ball fell to Elliott Beddow in the box but he sliced hit shot and it went well wide.

Stocksbridge took their time to grow into the game but eventually got a massive chance to take the lead. Kurtis Turner got the ball down the right wing and sent a low cross into the box. It went under Callum Roberts and Ross Goodwin stretched to try and get to it at the far post but he missed out by just a few inches.

The Steels did get the lead though. A free kick was earned close to the right hand side of the box, and Tomas Poole has been emerging as a set piece expert in recent weeks. He whipped it in and Murray was able to peel off his marker to get a free run at the ball. He then headed it in to give Stocksbridge the lead.

Stocksbridge were not ahead for long though as Stockton soon equalised. A corner was knocked to the ground in the box and it was an almighty scramble for the ball. Roberts was the first onto the ball and he was able to turn it in to get the game level.

Both teams looked to cool the game off for a bit to avoid it being a manic scoring affair, meaning chances were limited for the rest of the half. Stockton weren’t too far off when Mulligan’s free kick was flashed just wide but the game would be level going into half time.

Either side could have had the lead at the start of the second half. Firstly, Stocksbridge came close. Charlie Oglesby beat the defence to get a header off from a corner but a diving save from Roberts denied him his first goal. Not long after, Mulligan was teed up well but his volley went just wide with Davison-Hale looking beaten.

Both teams would press for the rest of the game as either side felt like they could go on to win the game. Stocksbridge just couldn’t get that final pass right, though Lewis Macaskill caused problems after he came on. Stockton were the ones with most of the possession though like Stocksbridge, they struggled to break through and make the chance to win the game.

In the end though while a draw may have been the fairest result, Stockton got the dramatic win. Stocksbridge struggled to get the ball after giving away foul after foul close to their own box. Eventually they were punished, with Mulligan whipping a free kick in for Roberts to head in his second of the game. Stocksbridge had no time to get back into the game and they slumped to their first loss of the season.

MOTM: Kurtis Turner