Wakefield Athletic let two-goal lead slip to lose out to Nostell MW

​Despite being unable to have regular outings with recent fixtures postponed due to the weather Athletic started with promising intent as efforts by James Holman and Jack Rothery were well saved and a long range effort by Liam Norbury sailed narrowly wide.

Nostell grew into the game and broke the deadlock 10 minutes from half-time following a free-kick into the box when Dean Normington was first to pounce on the loose ball to slot home.

A rejuvenated Athletic side came out for the second half with purpose and Raymond Cheng’s header hit the crossbar with the follow-up by James Holman skimming off the wrong side of the post.

An equaliser followed when good work on the right by Banta Darbol saw him set up Gavin Pearson to score.

The momentum continued with the Wakefield side striking twice in a 10-minute spell to take a deserved 3-1 lead.

Josh Harrison and Holman combined to find Danny Young at the back post and he made no mistake with a low drive.

Darbol’s second assist followed after he won the ball and drove forward before releasing the lethal Young to race through for a clinical finish.

Welfare's experience saw them haul themselves back into the match as Jordan Carter dispatched a penalty to reduce the deficit to one at 3-2.

Athletic's Holman was unlucky to see his glorious lob bounce off the woodwork before Young went close with a volley following a surging run and cross from Kane Whitaker.

The missed chances proved to be costly with lady luck favouring the home side who drew level at 3-3 in the 76th minute after a freak long range effort by Ashley Watts ended up in the back of the net.

Shellshocked Athletic lost their grip in the dying minutes and Joe Penn cashed in at the end of a flicked header to score the winner.

The Howdens man of the match was shared by Holman, Whitaker and Norbury.

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​With a decimated fixture programme due to the heavy rain, Wakefield Athletic A forfeited home advantage to play Whitwood Metrostars at Queens Park, Castleford in a Premiership Two game.

The decision proved a good one as two goals in a five minute spell early in the second half by attacking midfielder Ash Downing saw the Wakefield side record a hard fought 2-0 victory over robust opponents who competed toe to toe from start to end.

The visitors stamped early authority with their own brand of football cultivating early opportunities which saw striker Ted Dunning pick up a probing pass from Lewis De Csernatony before the latter forced the home goalkeeper into a save, tipping his goalbound effort over.

Moments later, stand-in full-back Craig Holdsworth won possession and played in speed merchant Harrison Byrne whose surging run on the right and a low driven cross across the Metrostars danger zone led to Downing missing a golden opportunity with the goalkeeper at his mercy.

Striker Jack Longley was then denied a goal following a clearance off the line.

Athletic knew that they needed to improve their accuracy in front of goal in the second half and Downing made up for earlier misses when he beat his opposite number with a slick turn and managed to glide the ball beyond the Whitwood keeper to give Athletic a 1-0 lead in the 50th minute.

Athletic's attacking play reaped further reward five minutes later when a teasing corner from the right by Downing caused confusion at Whitwood's near post with two players seemingly getting in each other's way under pressure from substitute Joe Royce. The result saw the ball end up in the back of the net and Wakefield were two up.

With some robust challenges starting to creep into the game which was played at relentless pace, Athletic showed great management to repel Whitwood's long ball tactics with the rearguard of Danny Carter, James Crabtree, Joe Scargill, Holdsworth and goalkeeper Will Rushforth in solid form.

David Mitchell's tremendous headed goal was controversially chalked off from a left-flank corner before a late rally by the Metrostars. However, captain Dalton Halford marshalled his troops to a hard-working success.

The On Track Coffee man of the match award was shared by De Csernatony, Scargill and Harrison Byrne.