Wakefield AFC continue impressive start to life in Pontefract with important back to back successes

Two more home games followed this past week, the first a challenging midweek fixture against Maltby Main – who came into the game off the back of four successive victories – and then a Friday night clash against South Leeds, who inflicted a chastening defeat over Wakefield earlier on in the season, writes Austin Ainsworth.

That result was the penultimate game in Steve Bodle and Lee Needham’s managerial reign and no doubt set the ball rolling for the decision to relieve them of their duties. Things have looked up since that depressing start to the season, with Jason Blunt presiding over 13 wins from 18 league games – with just two defeats in that time – to see Wakefield in fourth in the league.

Blunt restored the returning Bolton Makwedza to the starting line-up for the Maltby game, while Eliel Anku continued his return from injury up front in what was a now familiar, and increasingly consistent, 3-5-2 formation.

Maltby made a good start without threatening the Wakefield goal. The Falcons, with their footballing style so suited to the pristine, artificial surface at Pontefract, struggled to show that until a goal in the 18th minute settled them down.

It was a good move too as a period of good possession saw a ball clipped over to Anku on the right. He held the ball up expertly to then lay it off for Ethan Kachosa – making his third start in a row at right wing-back – who delivered a wonderful cross towards the back post. Akeel Francis, looking to climb his way back up the Wakefield goalscoring charts after injury curtailed his lightning start to the season, was on hand and unmarked to head home his 12th goal of the season.

From then on Wakefield were in the ascendancy, spraying the ball about neatly and seeing a number of close chances go amiss – the best just before half-time when Callum Nicell’s driving, off-the-ball run was found by Francis after a slick attacking move. However, the midfielder’s low, driven shot was well saved by ex-Wakefield striker Shay Evans-Booth in the Maltby goal.

The second period again saw Maltby make a good start and they levelled when an inswinging corner was greatly assisted by the vicious West Yorkshire wind to travel all the way to the inside of the far post, with a surrounded Drew Bremer in the Wakefield goal unable to get up for the ball.

In what would eventually become a game marred by the contribution of the officials, Wakefield had a couple of controversial offside calls go against them as they had the ball in the net through Anku and Tom Hinton.

The latter was not to be denied, however, as minutes later he restored Wakefield’s lead when he completed a brilliant move involving Francis and Anku with an audacious scissor-kick for his 16th goal of the season.

The game descended into chaos when Maltby thought they had found another equaliser. After a clear foul on Francis was not given, the away side progressed down the right, before their winger cut in a drilled a shot into the far corner of Bremer’s net. The ball clearly hit the back of the net, but bounced back out of the inner structure of the net-supports, with the linesman and referee seemingly oblivious to what everyone else had seen as the game continued without the award of the goal.

Maltby were incandescent with rage and lost their heads, seeing three players sent-off or sin-binned in the final 10 minutes. Wakefield too were affected by the chaos and complaints that followed, as their focus dwindled to allow Maltby – at one point with eight men – multiple attempts on goal; Bremer making a fine save to keep his side ahead.

Wakefield did eventually make sure of the points through a second Hinton goal on the counter-attack, Francis playing a wonderful diagonal ball over for him to dink inside on the edge of the box and curl a low shot past the keeper with his left foot.

His was an important goal too, as Maltby did indeed eventually bag a second in the dying moments of stoppage time, when their captain, Adam Watson, returned from his sin-bin to head a free-kick home amid some slack Wakefield defending.

Wakefield just about deserved the three points and that moved them nicely into Friday night when South Leeds came visiting. Blunt made just two changes to his side, as Owen Thomas made way for Matthew Swift in defence and Jerome Greaves made his first start in place of Anku up-front.

On another windy night in Pontefract, where the conditions led to two very different halves, Wakefield literally had the wind in their sails in the first half and all but had the points in the bag by half-time.

The goals were shared around too, as a dominant Wakefield saw their attackers struggle in front of goal – with several good one-on-one opportunities fluffed – only for the defence to step up when it mattered.

First came Swift in the ninth minute when he went to ground in the South Leeds box to poke Hinton’s half-cleared corner into goal from two yards out.

Then there was another debut goal for a relative newcomer, with Kachosa doubling Wakefield’s lead in sublime style. The ball was initially moved from right-to-left, through the imperious Billy Mole in midfield, before Kachosa stepped inside from the left-wing onto his right foot, where he swung a cross-cum-shot towards the back post. Both Greaves and Francis threatened to get on the end of it, and that perhaps distracted the goalkeeper, as the ball curled all the way to the inside of the back post.

Wakefield continued to dominate and pepper the South Leeds goal, but it was again one of their defenders that extended the lead, this time captain Chris Salt from another perfect Hinton corner.

That, and Swift’s earlier effort, will have been music to Blunt’s ears, who just two days prior had been left frustrated at Wakefield’s apparent difficulty in scoring from set-pieces.

The only blips in an imperious first half were the controversial booking of Makwedza for diving, after he appeared to have been fouled in the South Leeds box and a nasty looking injury for goalscorer Salt who had to be replaced by Lance Friedrich.

The wind seemed to play its part in the match with the Falcons somewhat on the back foot in the second period and subjected to a barrage of South Leeds efforts. Their finishing was wayward and when they did find the target Bremer was in fine form to make a number of crucial saves.

South Leeds did pull one back in the 64th minute, though when, after a tackle not dissimilar to the one Makwedza went to ground for when he was harshly booked, they were awarded a penalty which Mark Ferguson converted with a finish low to Bremer’s right.

That perhaps renewed Wakefield’s purpose as they upped the ante again and found a fourth goal. Nicell, excellent in his two games this week, finished a good passing move with a simple pass through midfield to release Friedrich. The substitute, on at right wing-back, drove toward goal and struck a bullet shot, low across goal and beyond the reach of the Leeds goalkeeper.

There was still time for more incident, as Makwedza was given his marching orders 10 minutes from time following the award of a harsh second yellow card, this time for what looked a good tackle.

Wakefield then had another penalty to defend, again for a similar challenge to those that saw the previous award, and non-award. This time Bremer read it right, as he somehow got himself down quick enough to get a strong hand low to his left and keep out the attempt.

The Falcons will be looking to keep up their good work when they are away to Louth Town this Saturday.