Stocksbridge Park Steels hit holders North Gawber CollierY for six as they smashed them 6-0 in the opening round of the Sheffield Senior Cup.
The Steels opened the scored with a Josh Nodder free kick. Nodder would get a second with a smart finish in the box and the first half was capped off with a Lewis Whitham wonder goal. Joe Lumsden scored a close range finish to start off the second off and Nodder got a hat trick after spotting the goalkeeper off his line. The game was finished off with Nathaniel Crofts scoring his first goal since returning to the Steels with a close range tap in.
Stocksbridge were looking to get off to the best possible start and they could have easily had three in the first couple of minutes. Liam McFadyen’s long ball was latched onto by Whitham and he tested the goalkeeper Davies Glover who could only palm it away. Joe Lumsden would go on to have two chances but hit them both over.
After those chances, North Gawber couldn’t complain that the Steels took the lead. It was from a free kick just outside the box which Nodder curled into the top corner, leaving Glover with little chance.
Gawber to their credit did show some threat going forward but in the first half they were limited in their opportunities. Their only shot came from Lee Elsworth who curled a shot over. He would also get in the book for a late challenge on McFadyen.
Stocksbridge had plenty of chances and at times it felt like Lumsden was having a personal duel with the goalkeeper. It started when his point blank header was saved excellently by Davies. He did beat the keeper in the first half after Glover had initially saved another shot, but Gawber’s defence saved him on that occasion to keep it at 1-0. There were also two occasions when Lumsden was able to round the keeper but the first was eventually cleared after he went too wide and tried to cross it back in while the second hit the post.
There was some anxiety in the ground that if the Steels didn’t get their deserved second that they would be punished. Luckily, that wouldn’t be an issue. Whitham’s pass found Nodder in plenty of space in the box and he finished with aplomb.
There would soon be another goal. Presumably feeling left out with the winger on the other side already finding the back of the net twice, Whitham took off on the left wing and past two players as if they were statues before smashing it into the back of the net. It would be the second goal of the year contender of the day and looked like it would finish the game off as a contest by the end of the first half.
The second half was not much different from the first as Stocksbridge pressed and made chances for themselves. Lumsden wormed his way through before shooting straight at the keeper and Jordan Lemon was given time to think about it after cutting in before shooting over.
So it was no surprise Stocksbridge scored and it would be Lumsden this time. Ross Goodwin won the ball high up the pitch, sprayed it to Whitham who crossed in and Lumsden duly fired it in.
The Steels had all of the chances with Gawber making a dent up front. Scott Ruthven wasn’t far off when a well worked free kicked was sent to him on the edge of the box with his powerful shot just being tipped over by Glover. Whitham would also have another shot from distance and Glover fumbled that one wide.
Nodder continued to be an active presence and it was no surprise when he got his hat trick. The winger got the ball high up and spotted Glover high up so took his shot and it found its way into the back of net, giving him the match ball for the game.
Instantly, Stocksbridge got another! The Steels sent a shot in which Glover fumbled and Crofts just a minute after coming on, scored!
The game was marked by the debuts of two Young Steels. Both Taylor Mansell and Mason Ruiney came on at the end to get some senior minutes. Ruiney almost made an impact as his goalward shot looked like going in before a crucial block.
North Gawber’s night got from bad to worse when Jake Senior made a bad challenge towards the end of the game and got a straight red for his worries. It capped off a poor night for the holders but a fantastic one for Stocksbridge who progress into the next round to face Rossington Main.
MOTM: Josh Nodder
