Goal poacher Ash Downing is four star finisher as Wakefield Athletic side reaches semi-finals

Goal poacher Ash Downing led the way as he struck four times, the first coming after Alverthorpe had made the better start as he came up with a sublime finish that kissed the bar on its way in.

Alverthorpe did not let their heads drop and continued to play to their strengths with long balls over the top that were well dealt with by the Athletic back line with Lee Mulligan in the Athletic goal not being tested.

A brief change in tactic saw Ted Dunning and Ash Downing swap positions which reaped instant reward when Dunning came up with a typically well finished strike after beating his opposite number for pace to give his side a 2-0 lead.

An injury to key player Danny Carter forced Athletic into an early substitution at the centre of defence with David Mitchell coming on in his place and although this may have unsettled Athletic, it was not long before Downing added his second with a well placed side foot shot past the helpless Alverthorpe keeper.

Defender Mitchell then showed how dangerous he can be at the opposite end of the pitch when he rose like a salmon to score arguably the goal of the game with an unstoppable bullet header from a Downing corner which finally broke the Alverthorpe spirit.

Hungry for more goals before the break, Athletic kept pushing and saw goal-hungry Downing secure a first half hat-trick with a sublime left footed volley that found the bottom corner to make it 5-0.

With the game already looking safe, Athletic made use of their strong substitutes bench by introducing teenage striker Luke Barraclough and Luke Midgley.

It was not long before Luke Barraclough scored his first Athletic goal, in only his second appearance, when he rounded both the centre back and goalkeeper to slot a calm finish into the back of net.

To make way for more substitutions, Downing was moved to the left wing but this did not stop him from getting in on the scoring act once again, taking his personal tally to four goals and Athletic’s tally to seven with an exquisite lob over the Alverthorpe keeper.

With Alverthorpe being overrun in their final third, Barraclough doubled his tally with a clinical finish following a fine through ball from fellow substitute Midgley.

The hard-working visitors got reward for their efforts when defender Joe Scargill dwelled on the ball too long and was pick pocketed by their midfielder who fired an unstoppable shot past home goalkeeper Lee Mulligan who rarely had anything to do so will be disappointed not to have kept a clean sheet.

With an opportunity to create history, Athletic sent on Tim Robins onto play alongside his teenage son Kailub, who turned provider when he squared a perfectly weighted ball to his father who fired in a first-time lightning strike, leaving the Alverthorpe keeper with no chance for his side’s ninth goal of the game.

The On Track Coffee man of the match award was shared by Downing, Luke Evans and Mitchell.

A fine hat-trick from Adrian Parker helped Premiership One runaway leaders AFC Royal to a well drilled 6-0 win over a disjointed third-placed Wakefield Athletic outfit.

Heavy playing conditions perfectly suited the visitors’ direct playing style with their physicality and aerial dominance proving to be masterful in their vital success over one of their nearest title challengers.

The Doncaster-based outfit opened the scoring in the eighth minute when a long punt over the top saw Parker cash in on the bounce before drilling a powerful effort on target.

The lead was doubled 10 minutes later when a corner kick produced a melee and saw Jacob Toomer bundle the ball over the line.

The hosts fought back gamely with Danny Young, Hammad Ali and Abubakar Touray all going close before home teenage goalkeeper Logan Owen-William kept his side in the game with an excellent double save from a spot kick as the visitors held on to their 2-0 lead at half-time.

Any comeback chances the home side fostered evaporated in the 54th minute when a mis-communication in defence saw them unfortunately concede an own goal that saw them trail 3-0 before Ethan Wheeler was gifted a goal following a rasping long-range effort spilled over the line.

Two late goals from the powerful Parker saw him complete a fine hat-trick to compound the hosts misery.

The Howdens man of the match award was shared by Owen-William, Liam Norbury and Kane Whitaker.

College FC came back from being behind at half-time to overcome Wakefield Athletic B 3-1 in a Championship One six-pointer relegation tussle.

Wakefield were the dominant side but would rue missed chances that proved to be costly with a collapse in the second half.

The visitors started the game more brightly of the two sides and looked to test the opposition early but both Aaron Dooley and Jacob Laskowski failed to cash in on their opportunities.

At the other end, Athletic goalkeeper Ali Jamegay was forced into a couple of smart stops from isolated College chances in the first period.

However, the deadlock was broken in 20th minute as Abdul Mohammedkair headed on a long ball from goalkeeper Jamegay in the path of Mohammed Abou who showed his pace, going past two players before finishing comfortably to give the visitors a deserved 1-0 lead.

Abou could have had a second minutes later but he could not compose a finish after jinking through three players.

It would be a poor opening start to the second half by Athletic that would turn the game. Seconds from the restart, College pulled level through Joe Travis before a Matty Wootton finish would compound a shocking opening five minutes for visitors.

Wakefield pushed forward in numbers for an equaliser but could not find the back of the net and as the game wore on, College found a third when Tom Land had space to turn and shoot to make it 3-1.

The Waite man of the match award was shared by Simon Poole, Josh Hemmingway and Abou.