Mason Rubie sets Wakefield AFC on way to fifth straight NCE League win

That plan got off to a flying start with victory away to seventh-placed Brigg Town making it five wins on the spin in the league, writes Austin Ainsworth.

Manager Gabe Mozzini named a similar line-up to the one victorious against Armthorpe, with the added bonus of goalkeeper Henry Kendrick’s welcome return from injury seeing him make his first start since October. Recent signing Haydn Ward made his second appearance while Kaydan Henry made his first start in the heart of defence.

After a cagey start Brigg were first to threatened with Kendrick making the first of several fine saves as he reacted quickly to deflect a close-range shot wide with an outstretched leg.

Wakefield sparked into life with Billy Mole shooting over then they showed the clinical side to their game with two quickfire goals.

After Cory Woodward’s free-kick was tipped over by the keeper the resulting corner taken short brought the opening goal as Mason Rubie found the net with a great shot.

Wakefield went straight back on the attack with winger Kieran Ceesay going past several Brigg defenders before one of them tripped him to bring about a penalty put away by Mole who showed no lack of confidence despite missing a spot kick in the previous away game to score his 17th goal of the season.

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Despite that late gloss added to Wakefield’s first half, Mozzini still opted to tweak things slightly in the second as the away side shifted to a 3-4-1-2 formation; Ward moving in to a back three, Rubie and Woodward to wing-back and Ceesay into a more central attacking role alongside Stephens.

The shift brought more control for Wakefield, with Brigg largely kept at arms length except for a quick counter attack in the 53rd minute, which culminated in a fierce shot just kissing the outside of Kendrick’s post.

It was ultimately Wakefield who scored the third, though, as Lewis Stephens continued his fine form since joining from Maltby by bagging his sixth goal in six league appearances.

It was a sweeping counter attack initiated by Ceesay who had found space in the centre of the pitch. He drifted a ball out to the advancing run of Woodward down the left, whose teasing cross had the entire Brigg backline turned.

Stephens latched on and saw his initial shot blocked by the goalkeeper from close range. The ball fell back to him, though, to complete a simple tap-in to put Wakefield 3-0 up.

The game was not quite finished there, however, as Brigg won a contentious penalty in the 69th minute.

Ward had been jockeying his man in the box, who had seemingly given as good as he got. There was no obvious sign of a blatant push or shirt pull, but the referee stunned the away side when pointing to the spot as he blew his whistle for the most innocuous of incidents.

To compound matters Mole, so aggrieved at the decision, found himself yellow carded and sin-binned for his protestations to the referee.

The kick was well taken to Kendrick’s right, but the keeper capped a fine return to the side with an unbelievable lunge to tip the ball wide with his outstretched fingertip.

Wakefield’s celebrations were wild but they quickly composed themselves for the task ahead, faced with 10 of the final 20 minutes at a numerical disadvantage.

However, as the light faded, so did any hopes of a Brigg comeback; their numerical advantage barely noticeable as Wakefield – in contrast to recent victories – showed brilliant control and composure to see out the game without incident.

In addition to the three points, Wakefield also secured their first clean sheet since Kendrick’s last appearance in late October; a deserved man of the match the reward for his part in this one.

There were several contenders for the accolade, though, as Wakefield’s fine team performance put down a marker for the year ahead.

In the context of the league the victory is impressive, away to a Brigg side who are regulars in the play-off spots and one of Wakefield’s main rivals for one this year.

Wakefield remain fifth, but are now just one point shy of Horbury Town and four clear of Staveley Miners, both of who have played more games than Wakefield.

With confidence rightly booming, Wakefield now head to a midweek fixture at home to Ollerton Town tonight (Tuesday), kick-off 7.45pm at Featherstone’s Millennium Stadium. They host leaders Campion in a big game on Saturday.