Steels 3-0 Widnes

Stocksbridge Park Steels blew Widnes away to book a place in the next round of the FA Trophy.

Widnes started off as the better side and pushed forwards to try and get an early lead. A lofted cross from the right seemed to hang in the air forever until Paul Kyffin volleyed it goalwards for it to be blocked. The following shot from Liam Paton would be sent wide. Ben Townsend, making his second debut with the club, would make another key save in the early moments.

Eventually, Stocksbridge were able to get a foothold in the game and turn things around. And they were able to make their positive play reap awards. Tom Charlesworth got space on the right wing and put in a powerful cross. No one was in the area for it, but Ste Irwin would end up turning it into his own net and give Stocksbridge the lead.

In the second half, Stocksbridge were able to take complete control of the game. George Hassall had just come onto the pitch for Widnes and his first action was to lose the ball to Joao Silva. He was then able to outpace the defenders, go one-on-one with former EFL goalkeeper Mark Halstead before simply passing the ball into the bottom corner.

Widnes tried to rally and cause problems so they could get back into the game but they weren’t able to create much. The closest they came to scored was when a corner wasn’t properly cleared leading to some chaos in the box but Stocksbridge’s defence remained strong and blocked any shots.

The game would be finished off as a contest in the 80th minute. Kurtis Turner’s free kick evaded everyone and would eventually hit the post, almost sneaking in. But as the ball rebounded into the six-yard area and Elliot Owen reacted first to knock the ball in, sealing a place in the next round of the FA Trophy.