Wakefield 0 - Garforth Town 0

25.3.2008

Garforth Town’s recent run of form continued on a cold Tuesday night at the College Grove Stadium as they held Wakefield FC to a goalless draw, enhancing their ledger to only a single loss in nine games. The local derby fell short of temperamental but was still largely dominated by physical play, with neither side capable of converting the few chances painstakingly forced by their team.

Wakefield pressured early but the reunited centre back pairing of Richard Carrick and Brett Renshaw is proving to be a formidable one, with only four goals conceded in five games against sides at the top of the table, one of which was a against pace setters Curzon with only ten men. With an altered line-up from the last game that saw the introduction of an FDS Brazilian Soccer Schools central midfield pairing of Duncan Williams and Mark Harding, Town showed the guile and bile to claw their way back into the fare, and would survive the early pressure to mount their own.

Williams pushed and surged from the midfield area, and was the most industrious player on the pitch in this half. Aided and abetted by Harding, the youngster showed inclination to run at the opposing defence and invite challenges that invariably led to the award of free kicks in dangerous areas. One such set piece was curled narrowly over by Greg Kelly; another drifted into the danger zone by Williams and commandingly claimed by Wakefield goalkeeper Andy Woods, who would demonstrate his ability later in the half.

Town looked to find Chris Brown with high balls, the admirable Geordie centre back currently used as a workhorse forward. Bobby Stevenson on the Wakefield right was a firm deterrent, but the visitors had more luck on their own right wing where the home outfit were pierced and penetrated at will. Harding blazed through into the interregnum between defence and midfield, but his delicate through ball was intercepted into the path of Woods, who gratefully claimed it. Wakefield responded with an eye catching zigzag of volleys from centre circle to right wing, from wing cross-field, back to the edge of the box before being wastefully blazed over the Garforth goal and a relieved Spratt by former Town man Delroy Ferguson. That’s why we sold him!

Garforth pressed fruitlessly for a lead on the brink of half time, and looked to have found it when Chris Brown was cynically and horrifically hacked down twenty yards from goal when shaping to shoot. Williams’ chipped dink into the danger zone was met by a redirection from ? towards Chris Brown, who in the words of Gordon Nicholson, father of Wakefield right back Steve; ‘left our boys for dead’, before powering a header to the top right hand corner. What followed was the defining moment of the match, as Woods breathtakingly clawed the ball away and the chance went begging.

The last play of the half saw Town retaining possession, before the ambitious Williams found a gap and burst to goal before firing a left footed drive inches wide of the post. This served as the climax of an engaging first that Garforth should have ended having inflicted a deficit on their hosts, but wasn’t to be.

Garforth swiftly reclaimed the impetus at the commencement of the second period, as a right wing attack penetrated the lethargic home side and the cross was scarcely prevented from reaching its intended target, Brown five yards from goal. Two minutes later another cross was cleared, and ell to Mark Harding whose chest and volley from twenty yards was saved by the outstanding Woods.

A period of scarce opportunity succeeded this brief incursion, as Town dominated possession but face fierce defensive exertion from the Wakefield defence – numbering six. The revolutionary 6-1-2-1 formation employed by the hosts successfully extinguished any attacking fire that Kelly, Harding or Brown might have harboured in the cold Yorkshire evening, and one sensed that it would take either great fortune or ability to create the decisive chance.

With twenty minutes to go, Kelly ran from the left corner across the edge of the box and cut a low, left footed shot back but the effort was saved with ease by Woods. Soon after the utility man was released by Renshaw but the alert Woods claimed the ball before the unusually subdued Greg could reach it.

Luis de Melo was brought on in an attempt to provide a fresh threat to the tiring Wakefield back line, and the Portuguese playmaker showed his undoubted aptitude with the ball when receiving a throw from Small, he fed a defender the dummy before deftly sidestepping him and playing in Harding on the edge of the box. Mark shaped and curled but his effort sailed over the head of the lurking Chris Brown, who had once again evaded his marker at the far post and had Woods at his mercy.

On 83 minutes, a surprisingly inept clearance from the goalkeeper was toweringly met by Mark Harding, and the ball fell kindly for Kelly. With the defenders wrong-footed, a goal seemed inevitable for the visitors but when forced slightly wide, Greg’s slid low shot narrowly flew the wrong side of the post, letting Woods and Wakefield off the hook. This would ultimately be the best chance of the game to open the scoring.

In the dying stages of play, Garforth displayed the urgency and winning mentality which sets them apart from their Unibond counterparts, and almost carved the defence apart when a Duncan Williams through ball almost found substitute Lee Ryan, who was denied by desperate defence. Craig Harding, solid throughout, embarked on a marauding surge that eventually overran, but was commendable for the decisiveness with which it was made. Ultimately there was to be no goals and no victors, though a young Garforth Town side once more proved their mettle against a characteristically strong side. The aforementioned Nicholson opined; ‘Skelmersdale and yourselves are the best footballing sides we’ve had here this season. In terms of ability you are superior to everyone else’. When asked of his opinion on whether Garforth could survive and prosper in the leagues immediately above our current position, Nicholson concurred with; ‘Oh, definitely. Definitely.’

Garforth remain in sixth place, one below the play-off’s they hope to gatecrash in their steady march upwards. The FC United end of season climax looks increasingly like the proverbial six pointer for the Miner’s, who will need to slaughter their enemy or fall on their swords in the attempt to keep alive the dream of 2007/08.