Abubakary Touray sets Wakefield Athletic on way to win that lifts them into top four

Despite difficult playing conditions, it was Athletic who took the lead in the sixth minute with a gem of a goal.

Defender Kane Whitaker drove into midfield before his exquisite pass found Abubakary Touray who flicked the ball over a closing down defender before refiling in a venomous volley from 12 yards out into the top corner of the net.

The rearguard of Hammad Ali, Joe Dack, Whitaker and Jack Rothery restricted the Mirfield-based side to any meaningful threat to their goal and at the other end wasteful opportunities saw both sides go in at half-time with a lone goal the difference.

The introduction of Liam Norbury and Banta Darboe gave the Wakefield side a more controlled flow into the game with midfielder Hugues Musenge a standout perfomer in a dominant second half display.

The home side doubled their goal tally early in the second half start when Whitaker beat two players charging forward, combined with Josh Harrison before firing in a low drive across the Navigation goal that found James Holman at the back post who steered his chance home.

A flowing move in the 61th minute saw Rothery, Harrison and Musenge link-up swiftly before a drilled effort by Harrison forced the visiting goalkeeper into a parried save. The ball fell into the path of leading marksman Danny Young who bundled the rebound in to make it 3-0.

Navigation pulled a goal back, but Athletic had the last word as another flowing movement involving Rothery, Darboe, Harrison, Masenga and back to Darboe led to the latter’s fierce effort being saved.

Darboe, however, pounced to fire home his side’s fourth goal and secure maximum three points.

The Howdens man of the match award was shared by Musenge, Whitaker and Logan Owen-Williams.

Wakefield Athletic A lost out 3-2 to higher division AFC Royal after switching their Seymour Memorial Trophy semi-final to their opponents’ ground.

The early exchanges saw both sides trade blows with neither side having a clear sight of goal until Royal forced a corner that led to keeper Will Rushforth having to make a good save.

Athletic continued to pose a threat down both flanks and when they forced a corner of their own, striker Ash Downing delivered a wicked ball onto the top of the goalkeeper who fumbled straight to fellow striker Jack Longley who made no mistake from close range to give his side a 1-0 lead.

The Doncaster-based outfit were clearly rattled and even went to the length of substituting their centre- back who Jack Longley had been getting the better of for the first 30 minutes.

Although Royal were top of the Premiership One table, any neutral bystander would not have noticed the difference in league standings as both teams competed well and were very evenly balanced with Athletic taking their slender 1-0 advantage into half-time.

The second half saw Royal make further substitutions and took the game to Athletic. They made their increased efforts count with a well taken header by Jake Holdsworth who rose above his marker to nudge past Rushforth for the equaliser.

Athletic did not let their heads drop and continued to try and play football and put together a great team move that saw them win another corner. Set-piece specialist Ash Downing again delivered a quality ball that Royal failed to deal with and saw Danny Carter was alert, reacting sharply to bundle the ball over the line.

On the hour mark, Athletic suffered a jolt when forced to withdraw their captain and midfield maestro, Dalton Halford, following a dangerous tackle from a Royal winger who went unpunished by the referee.

Royal's Brachan Steele was never far away from drama in the second half and his equaliser was not chalked-off when it seemed he had controlled the ball with his hand.

Athletic took this latest set-back in their stride and continued to seek a winner with the hard-working midfielder Sean Lawson forcing the Royal keeper into a fingertip save that somehow went unnoticed by the officials who awarded a goalkick.

With only a few seconds left Royal booked their place in the final when a cross was fired in across the face of the Athletic box. Rushforth managed to get a hand to it, but Jake Holdsworth was the first to react for his second goal of the game with virtually the last kick.

Athletic had more than matched their opponents and on another day may have got something out of the game.

The On Track Coffee man of the match award was shared by Ash Downing, Jack Longley and Sean Lawson.