Resurgent Wakefield AFC up into play-off spots after sixth successive NCE Division One victory

Wakefield’s upward turn in performance continued – for the most part – in the past week, when the Millennium Stadium saw cup and league action, writes Austin Ainsworth.

First up on Tuesday evening Step 5 Barnoldswick Town visited for a second round clash in the West Riding County Cup.

As if the opposition did not pose enough of a challenge – memories of an 8-3 drubbing in this competition two years ago lingering in the minds of Wakefield’s fans – manager Steve Bodle had to make do with a threadbare squad to choose from.

With just 13 players available on the night, Bodle stuck with the spine of goalkeeper Owen Evans, central defenders Chris Salt and Josef Turner, and midfielders Scott Smith and Jaydan Sandhu. However, with Akeel Francis absent, Kiyani Morris took up the unfamiliar position of striker, while Kenan McKenzie-Grey and Nana Nyarko were made makeshift full-backs.

Despite the challenges, the Falcons were excellent and largely dominated their apparently superior opponents. The home side had the better of the chances early on but the game was finely balanced. That was until a moment of pure genius from Smith in midfield gave Wakey the lead on the half-hour.

Callum Brooks, as he has been since arriving to the club, was a constant menace down the left and he remained so in the build-up to the goal, with some fine work eventually seeing him drill a cross into the box. The cross was cleared to Smith 25 yards out and he chested the ball down to his right-hand side and unleashed a spectacular, dipping volley that looped over the keeper and under the bar.

The spectators that were present are unlikely to ever see a goal of that quality again live, but they should have been treated to more Wakefield goals of the more ordinary variety. The trouble was Wakefield were a touch wasteful in the final third, with finely crafted chances failing to find the back of the net through wasteful finishing or a missing final pass.

They were made to rue those missed chances as the game turned on its head in the only five minutes of the match that Wakefield did not dominate. Barnoldswick were awarded a penalty and for a moment it looked as though it would be Wakefield’s night when keeper Evans sprung low to his left and made a fine save from the spot-kick. However, barely a minute later, following a Barnoldswick corner the away side had their equaliser.

The ball came in and the initial shot was cleared off the line, though only as far as the right-wing, where a pinpoint ball was drifted back in towards the near post and directed into the roof of the net by Gareth Hill.

Barnoldswick quickly struck again when a perfectly placed cross was sent over to the back post, where the ball was nodded down across the goal-line for a simple tap-in by Will Proctor.

In a game in which Wakefield were arguably the better side, their five-minute drop-off saw them behind and chasing to stay in the cup. Their race was made harder on a night where the officiating was questionable at best. While losing sides will inevitably always find fault, or even excuses, in refereeing decisions, there were some that were hard to ignore.

Frustration had already began to creep in with a series of “minor” calls, with throw-ins and corners not given, and every dramatic fall by a Barnoldswick player seeing the award of some questionable fouls.

With Wakefield pressing for an equaliser, things took a controversial turn when captain Turner raced out from defence to execute what appeared a fair, if not crunching, tackle, in which he won the ball, did not raise his studs and did not leave the ground.

A melee ensued with the Barnoldswick players confronting him, with pushing a shoving from both sides. After the officials took a number of minutes deliberating, adrenaline turned to incredulity when Turner was shown a straight red card for the tackle.

To compound matters, goalkeeper Evans and attacker Morris were also shown reds for their part in the aftermath, while Barnoldswick were only shown a single red.

With that pivotal moment taking the game past the 90 minute mark, Wakefield continued with eight men against Barnoldswick’s 10. Despite that, the home side were back pressing for an equaliser when the officials hammered the final nail in Wakefield’s coffin by blowing after just three minutes of injury time. Following a game that saw a lengthy injury stoppage and that mad five minute incident that saw four red cards, the time added on was the final injustice for the home side.

Ultimately Wakefield paid for not taking the myriad of chances they had in the near 80 minutes of the game they dominated, and the end result saw them out of the last cup competition available to them.

As has been the case recently, Wakefield were given a quick opportunity to get back to winning ways when they were back in league action on Saturday against a much improved Athersley Recreation side who came into the game eighth in the league.

Left-back Callum Charlton returned to the starting line-up, as did top-scorer Francis up front. There were also debuts for defender Brad McGowan and forward Jacques Etia on the right-wing; the former, as was always Bodle’s plan, instantly made club captain with Turner having to make do with a spot on the bench.

Wakefield again did not quite reach their full potential for the entirety of the 90 minutes, but a moment of quality from Brooks in the first half was enough to give them the lead at half-time despite a somewhat lethargic performance by their standards.

That goal came after just seven minutes when Salt found himself upfield and picked Brooks out on the edge of the Athersley box. Brooks displayed fine footwork to work his way in to the box, before he shifted the ball on to his right and slotted it low, into the corner of the goal.

Athersley were limited on the ball, but did apply pressure via the direct route, attempting to load the box and forcing Salt and newcomer McGowan into displaying their aerial and positional prowess. Wakefield’s solidity was enough for them to hold the 1-0 lead at the start of the second half, which commenced after a rocket from Bodle and assistant Lee Needham up Wakefield’s proverbial at half-time.

Whatever was said worked, with Wakefield back to the levels of intensity and precision displayed in recent goal heavy performances. Three more goals followed in what eventually became a class, cohesive and convincing performance.

Unsurprisingly, Francis added to his tally in the 51st minute with the timing of his run on point to allow for a tap-in from Mo Gashi’s drilled shot-cum-cross across goal. That came after more fine work from Brooks down the left.

Minutes later McKenzie-Grey, again excelling in his new right-back position, scored his fourth goal of the season after Brooks slalomed inside and then skinned the defender on the dead-ball line. The exceptional winger passed diagonally across the box, with the ball eventually rolling to the right edge of the penalty area where McKenzie-Grey met it first time with the inside of his right boot for a shot that left the keeper no chance.

Just after the hour mark another dominant performance from Smith in midfield saw a crucial intervention from him to preserve Wakefield’s third clean sheet in five games, after he chased back to slide in with a perfectly-timed tackle in the box to prevent a goal on the counter-attack from Athersley.

In a game that saw a goal and assist from Brooks, and a number of other brilliant performances, the fact that Smith was the clear man of the match in the eyes of the Wakefield fans spoke volumes for his performance, and continued a trend of accomplished, all-round displays from him in recent weeks.

As the game came to a close, there was time for a second debut for Wakefield for right-back Aaron Pilkington. The young defender, who rejoined in the past week, received a reception worthy of his now 79 Wakefield appearances – a statistic that actually makes him the third most experienced player in Wakefield’s current squad.

That fact shows the vast change that has engulfed Wakefield in recent months and it was one of those changes to the side who added Wakefield’s fourth seven minutes from time. Gashi – on his fourth appearance for Wakefield in midfield – scored his first goal for the club after some relentless pressure from Francis and substitute Sebastian Losa up front eventually led to the latter cutting the ball back for Gashi 20 yards from goal. The goalscorer turned on to his left foot and opened his body up for a fine, curling effort to the far corner.

The 4-0 win did not flatter Wakefield based on their improved second half performance, with that now the Falcons’ sixth league win in a row.

With five of those wins coming by at least a four goal margin and the other away to title-contenders Wombwell Town, the improvement in Wakefield is undeniable.

And, it is an improvement that now catapults them up to fifth in the league and in the play-off positions, just five points behind Wombwell in third place.

The games cannot come quick enough for Wakefield at this juncture, but there is now a rare midweek free of competitive football, with Wakefield returning to NCEL Division One action on Saturday, away to Brigg Town.