Danny Young and Hammad Ali give Wakefield Athletic hard earned victory over Nostell MW

The opening half-hour did not see many efforts on goal as both sides defended well. For the visitors the quartet of Raymond Cheng, Kane Whitaker, Liam Norbury and Jack Rothery, plus custodian Logan Owen-Williams provided security.

The first half ended goalless with Danny Young's rasping effort forcing the only noteworthy save from the Welfare keeper.

After the break Kieran Young and Riyadul Islam proved effective on the flanks for Athletic and the former hit the side netting with an effort from a tough angle. Danny Young also went close as did Hammad Ali with a lob that sent the ball narrowly over.

The deadlock was broken on the hour mark as good combination play between Usman Mahmood, Ali and Kieran Young paved the way and the latter’s cute cut back sent his brother Danny Young through on goal to slot past an onrushing goalkeeper.

Nostell tried to respond, but found keeper Owen-Williams up to the task as he displayed good positional sense to nullify the threat.

Athletic doubled their lead when Rothery’s free-kick found Ali who sent a well directed header past the keeper at the near post.

Nostell battled to revive the game and striker Dillon Connelly raced through on goal only to find an applauded challenge from Liam Norbury stopping the effort.

A good team display of game management toppled any chances of a comeback for the Welfare side who battled to full-time whistle.

The Howdens MOM was shared by Kieran Young, Gavin Pearson and Owen-Williams.

Being back at home for the first time in a few weeks did not prove to be a lucky omen for Wakefield Athletic A as they went down 5-3 to Carlton Athletic in Premiership Two.

Athletic started on the front foot and deservedly took the lead when Dom Taylor, who had yet another fine game, beat two men on the left and teed up captain Dalton Holford who slotted home at the near post.

Carlton struggled to get a foothold in the game, but their speed merchant Waisu Adeniran up top was a real threat and some last ditch defending and goalkeeper Lee Mulligan being on his toes meant the threat was nullified.

They did level, however, with a worldie from Bryan Goodall, but Wakefield were soon back ahead through David Mitchell after a long range Taylor effort was fumbled by the keeper.

Athletic were unfortunate to not be further ahead at half-time with Taylor hitting the post with a cracking header and Jack Parlett being called offside twice when he lobbed the keeper, the second looking a dubious call.

Unfortunately for Athletic, the half-time whistle came at the wrong time and Carlton were back on level terms early in the second half, although Adeniran did benefit from a controversial call when looking offside before he managed to shrug off a retreating Joe Scargill to make it 2-2.

It was not long before Athletic were back in front with Taylor getting his just rewards for another good performance with a typically fine finish from a tight angle.

But Carlton then scored the first of three unanswered goals when a defensive mix-up led to Adeniran stealing in at the near post to bring the scores level at 3-3.

Athletic went searching for a winner which opened up space at the back and the Carlton right winger Luke Wilkinson profited twice with goals scored on the break.

Based on the first half performance, Athletic should have been three or more goals to the good and a draw would have been a fair result, but Carlton managed to hold on for maximum three points.

The On Track Coffee MOM went to Jacob Marsh, Taylor and Craig Holdsworth.

Wakefield Athletic B doubled their points tally for the season with a 3-2 win over Wrenthorpe Rangers in Championship One.

Athletic, used to charging into a lead and running out of steam as the game progressed, made a nervous start and looked disorganised with the visitors posting an early warning, forcing stand-in goalkeeper Aaron Dooley into a save in the opening minute.

However, three minutes later, a piece of good work saw Matthew Wootton find Kieran Noon who found target only for the goal to be ruled out for a dubious offside decision.

It was the Wrenthorpe side who began to dominate proceedings, forcing the hosts onto the backfoot, but they were to rue missed chances with Athletic goalkeeper Dooley foiling a glut of chances.

The visitors did finally go ahead in the 31st minute through Paul Curtis.

Athletic came out of the blocks at speed in the second half with Josh Noon drawing Athletic level with a classic acrobatic overhead kick in samba style just five minutes after the restart.

They then scored the goal of the game when a Matthew Wootton pass wide on the right found Alex Oldroyd who went on a surging run before hitting a thunderous strike that sent the ball arrowing into the far corner of the net from well over 30 yards.

In a period in domination, centre-back James Lewis fired home from 18 yards to make it 3-1 as Athletic looked to completely dominate proceedings.

However, a lapse of concentration saw their lead reduced to a single goal margin with Callum Bethel on target for Rangers.

A late rally by the visiting side saw Athletic living dangerously, but they managed to hold on for their second victory of the season.

The Wates MOM was shared by Kieran Noon, Oldroyd and Dooley.