Wakefield AFC rediscover goal touch as they hammer in 14 goals under caretaker manager Iain Trearty

The Falcons are nothing if not newsworthy, with recent struggles on and off the pitch garnering attention and making the task of reporting on the club more of a challenge than usual, writes Austin Ainsworth.

It is no easier this week, but this time for all of the right reasons, the challenge now somehow condensing Wakefield’s week in the NCE Division One in to a single report; after two wins, 14 goals and several stand-out performances among two excellent team displays.

With the sudden resignation of Junior Roberti last week, and the hunt for a new manager still ongoing, assistant Iain Trearty stepped up to guide the club through turbulent waters.

With home games to Swallownest and Yorkshire Amateur – both sides below Wakefield in the league – it was imperative that, in light of all of Wakefield’s recent performance issues, they found form from somewhere and got some points on the board.

First up were Swallownest – going better this season in the NCEL, with four wins prior to Tuesday evening’s game – and Trearty was decisive in ensuring positivity to bring three points at the Millennium Stadium.

He reverted to a 4-3-3 formation, with Steve Smith coming in at right-back, Jaydan Sandhu back in his natural attacking midfield slot, Mason Rubie and Kiyani Morris as out-and-out wingers and Akeel Francis down the middle.

The side looked instantly more confident, balanced and dangerous; that evidenced by Francis opening the scoring in the second minute.

Wakefield’s wing-play played a big hand in the goal, first when Smith and Rubie combined down the right to stretch Swallownest, before Morris raced in at the back post to get his head to Rubie’s excellent cross.

Morris’ effort was saved, with the Wakefield winger somehow reacting quickly enough to contort his body to flick the rebound back into the path of the lurking Francis, who duly tapped in to put Wakefield ahead.

He doubled his, and Wakefield’s, tally minutes later, again after some beautiful, quick play from the right that saw the passing triangles so synonymous with Wakefield sides of the past bamboozle Swallownest.

Sandhu was at the heart of it and eventually latched onto the ball just inside the right of the box, where he crossed for Francis to finish coolly.

Wakefield continued to pepper the opposition goal and made it three after 23 minutes. Smith did excellently to break out from his defensive position before feeding Sandhu, whose excellent touch and turn in the box provided him the space to fire a cross-cum-shot across the six yard box. The ball was dangerous enough that an unfortunate Swallownnest defender could only divert it in to goal when trying to intercept it.

The only negative in an electric first half was the withdrawal of Rubie – arguably Wakefield’s best player until then – in the 33rd minute due to injury. However, that also provided the opportunity for previous fan favourite Slater Barnes, recently re-signed by the club, to make his second Wakefield debut.

There was time for one more goal before half-time and that came from an unlikely source. Although Wakefield’s defensive shape was changed by Trearty, both Kieran Haigh and Jamie Allsop retained their spots at centre-back and left-back respectively. The two have been shining lights for Wakefield amidst much gloom this season and they combined to make it 4-0.

Allsop got his in-swinging corner spot on from the left, where Haigh was on hand at the back post to score his first Wakefield goal.

Wakefield’s second half was not quite as authoritative as the first but they still managed two more goals either side of Swallownest consolations.

Half-time substitute James Eyles scored Wakefield’s fifth in the 71st minute, when some excellent play down the right saw Scott Smith – Wakefield’s stand-out player for his industry, use of the ball and work rate off it – thread a pass through to Eyles on the right edge of the box.

The striker took the ball in his stride before sitting the Swallownest defender down with a smart dummy, shifting the ball on to his left before guiding a shot through a forest of legs to the inside of the far post.

Swallownest pulled one back moments later after a mishap in Wakefield’s midfield saw Samuel Foulds break free in to the box for an easy finish past Wakefield’s Owen Evans in goal.

Wakefield almost immediately restored their five-goal cushion when Eyles latched on to a brilliant pass from Steve Smith on the right, to chop inside on his left foot and play a pass through to Barnes in the middle of the box.

He bagged a “debut” goal – the second time he has done so – with a rising finish into the net.

There was time for one more Swallownest goal in a better second half from them, Foulds again firing home from a rebound in the box to make the final score 6-2 in Wakefield’s favour on a much-needed night of positivity for the Falcons.

With a spring back in their step, Trearty again took charge of Wakefield on Saturday at home to basement club Yorkshire Amateur. He made just two changes to the side due to injury – Abdul Asamoah returning in midfield to partner Scott Smith, while Barnes occupied the right-wing slot from the start after Rubie’s injury in midweek.

Wakefield picked up where they left off, but were more precise, potent and polished on and off the ball – this time eight goals and a rare clean-sheet reward for their efforts.

Sandhu got the ball rolling on what was an outstanding display from him, putting his side ahead in the ninth minute with a first-time finish after Morris’ excellent run and cross from the left.

Haigh then repeated his trick from midweek in the 12th minute when he was again on hand at the back post to clip the ball into the back of the net, after captain Jack Durkin’s initial header from Allsop’s corner was saved.

The 406 fans in attendance were then made to wait over 20 minutes for Wakefield’s next goal, but it was well worth the delay, with Sandhu bagging a goal of the season contender.

He initiated the move with an outside-of-the-boot pass up to Francis that broke the Yorkshire Amateur line. Francis deftly flicked the ball back for Sandhu’s advancing run and he controlled the ball with his knee before impressively lobbing the keeper on the volley from 20 yards out.

After becoming Wakefield’s outright assist-maker with six, Francis then saw himself to the top of the goalscoring charts straight from the resulting kick-off; the striker grabbing his third goal of the week, and seventh overall, when he robbed the dithering goalkeeper in the box and finished into an open net.

With another four-goal, first half showing, this time Wakefield kept up their focus and ferocity in the second half.

Sandhu bagged his hat-trick not long into the second period when Allsop completed a fine run down the left to pass to him just on the left-edge of Amateur’s penalty area.

Morris, excellent on the left for Wakefield in both games this past week, finally got in on the action when he calmly coverted a penalty he himself had earned.

Wakefield were outstanding all over the pitch, none more so than Sandhu, who by his standards – Wakefield’s most productive player last season with 29 assists and 16 goals – has had a quiet start to the season.

He seemed on a mission to restore his average from last season of almost a goal-contribution a game, as he added a fourth goal of the game and an assist to bump himself up to six goals and six assists from 16 games this season.

First, he opted to shoot from 25 yards out and saw his shot trickle past almost the entire Amateur defence and into the far post. Durkin added some confusion to the goal with it unclear if his attempted flick in the box got the decisive touch but, in the absence of VAR or a dubious goals panel in the 10th tier of English football, the goal remains with Sandhu.

Man of the match Sandhu then had a hand in the eighth and final goal of the game, his free-kick from an inside-left position 25 yards from goal bouncing down from the goalkeeper’s palms and into the path of substitute Kenan McKenzie-Grey, who drilled the ball home to put the icing on the cake for Wakefield.

The week, executed perfectly by Trearty and the players at his disposal, showed what Wakefield are capable of and has seemingly sparked life back into a side full of promotion-chasing potential.

Recovering the deficit on the sides at the top of the league will be difficult, but not impossible for Wakefield – who are now 10th – if this level of performance is maintained

The league will take a back step for Wakefield, though, as next they return to the FA Vase.

The tournament has already provided highs in a difficult season for Wakefield and they now get to contest a tie in the first round proper for the first time in their history.

That fixture comes on Sunday at home to Northern League Division One side North Shields, kick-off 3pm.