Steels 1-3 Dunston
Three minutes of chaos cost Stocksbridge Park Steels in a 3-1 loss to Dunston.
Dunston got off to the better start and were disappointed not to be ahead within a few minutes. Dale Pearson got onto a ball over the top but steered his shot wide of the near post. The same thing would happen again minutes later with David Robinson getting the ball on the right hand side but this time, Harry Garman made the save.
The team would settle down and both teams would have opportunities to score. Alex O’Connor tried to contend for the Goal of the Season award but his effort from outside of the box cracked off the top of the bar.
The Steels would get their first goal through. Jack Haslam got off his marker and Aaron Steavens hauled the forward over. This allowed Alex Hardwick to step up and while Steavens guessed the right way, Hardwick’s effort was powerful enough to beat him.
The Steels did come close on a few occasions to doubling their lead. Joao Silva did well to turn two defenders before his close range stop was well saved by Steavens. A few minutes later, Hardwick also turned on the edge of the box but Steavens was able to stop that.
Stocksbridge started slow in the second half and would be punished for it. The Steels failed to clear a corner and on the third attempt, it was blocked by Michael Pearson and it would loop into the back of the net.
Three minutes later, Dunston had completely turned the game around. Again, Stocksbridge failed to clear and the ball was played back into the box and Jack Walker volleyed the ball which couldn’t be stopped.
Stocksbridge struggled to get a hold of the game following going behind and weren’t able to create many more clear cut chances. And as they pushed forward, they were caught out at the back. Dunston sent a big long ball over the top top and Stuart Robson got to it first and headed over an onrushing Garman. This confirmed that the three points would be heading back to Dunston.
