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KICKING-OFF
A WORD FROM THE CHAIRMAN
Good afternoon and welcome to Ingfield with the end of the season fast approaching. After today we will have five games remaining, with just the two at home to Worksop Town and Tadcaster Albion.
Today is non-league day so we also welcome many people who often watch their football elsewhere, I hope you enjoy your experience of Non-League football today here at Ingfield enough to visit us again in the future. We also welcome both our Swedish and Scottish supporters clubs today; their support is brilliant both on social media and in person when they can get here. Thank you!
After two failed season’s it will be great to get to a natural season end point and see teams deservedly promoted through sporting merit and the unfortunate ones drop a level. Whilst we flirted with the play-offs for much of the first half of the season, a mid-table finish, as it would appear we will now achieve, is where we believed we would be at the start of the season. With changes to the squad this year, (and more recently this week!) we believe we are in a good position going into the summer and I believe the 2022/23 season can provide us with another step in the fight direction.
Once again there will be a food bank collection arranged by Neville Wigglesworth and Paul Stephenson, the collection at the Frickley game was much appreciated by The Resource Food Bank and I am sure today will be no different.
Enjoy the game!
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The Presidents Address
Neville Wigglesworth
Next Wednesday March 30th is a big occasion in Ossett United’s current season – off the field of play at least. We are due a visit by the joint Football Association/Northern Premier League ground grading committee to assess our facilities and grade our ground accordingly.
In an earlier visit we were given a list of improvements that needed to be made in order to achieve our ambition for a Grade C. That would be sufficient to automatically meet the required grade for NPL Premier Division status which in itself would mean that, should we be in the race for promotion next season, we would not face any major obstacles to playing at the higher tier of the National League System.
As regulars to Ingfield will know new floodlights, new pitch perimeter barrier and new dugouts have been in place for some while now and at no small cost to the Club. Additionally Turnstile 1, adjacent to the Chicken Hut, has been renovated, re-roofed and restored to full working order.
New lighting at the back of the main stand has also been provided and signage for our designated area for disabled spectators has been added. Some areas of crumbling terracing has been addressed though we still have some way to go to really bring it up to scratch.
The ground surface from the pitch perimeter to the medical room at the back of the dressing rooms has been resurfaced for a safer walkway. The provision of water to the sink in the medical room has still to be completed but it’s a relatively small job and is currently in hand so, come March 30th, we should be in a good position to have our ground elevated to Grade C status.
Volunteers have worked hard to bring about the necessary improvements and hopefully we will achieve the Grade C if nothing else other than as a big thank you for their efforts as we owe them a huge debt of gratitude.
At one time I used to be on the NPL Ground Grading Committee and one thing that I and other committee members often commented upon on their visits was the overall general appearance of the ground.
Good housekeeping was the term that consistently cropped up for comment. In the light of that we are keen to show that we have adhered to that principle so, between now and this coming Wednesday, we would like to have a general tidy up of the ground surrounds and make sure that the terraces are clear of litter etc. and are swept.
I’m sure that anyone who could possibly spare an hour or so would be most welcome to help out with these two objectives and such assistance would be very much appreciated.
PS if you can help please bring your own brush!
This afternoon we welcome Shildon FC for what I think is their first ever visit to Ossett. It’s not too long ago that we were up there for a league game and it was very apparent that they were, like ourselves, very actively involved in ground developments. There was a lot going on to bring about improvements to the ground perimeter in particular. Our earlier meeting resulted in a somewhat uneventful goalless draw so we will be hoping for more entertainment than we witnessed on that occasion here this afternoon.
Shildon, if they maintain their form and nerve, are still well placed to make the play-offs for promotion to the Premier Division as are two other North East clubs in Marske United Stockton Town and that will surely provide their motivation today. We realistically have just pride to play for and to accumulate as many points as possible.
We extend a warm welcome to Ingfield to the Directors, Officials, management, players and not least the supporters of Shildon and we hope they take away with them a favourable impression of Ossett United.
Neville Wigglesworth – President Ossett United FC
Good afternoon and welcome to Shildon’s fans, players and committee members for todays league fixture.
After some good form over the past few weeks we fell short last weekend, mentally and physically three games in a week will naturally take its toll particularly when we are working with a small squad.
We are one of the form teams in the table which shows everyone is beating everyone especially in the top ten. Although Stockton had a lot of the ball and hurt us down our left hand side they didn’t really threaten us. The goals we concealed were school boy stuff, really poor defending which was out of character for us. We have talked about gifting teams goals and against better sides we will get punished and that was one of those days last Saturday.
The last time we were at home was arguably our best performance so I’m hoping the lads can flick the switch and produce another performance today. I loved the fact we relaxed in possession and built play with a lot of patience creating ample of chances. We know todays opposition will be a tough test, they have had a fantastic season and will play against us with no fear.
With the transfer deadline passing we are happy with the current squad for our remaining fixtures, it was important to recruit on Thursday in order for us to have that strength in depth for every game. Signing Mark, Kieron, Curtis and Nelly will add competition for places hopefully providing healthy competition so lads don’t become complacent with six games to go.
We have already started with conversations about players staying for next season and hopefully they will commit to us and this great club. We know where we are at in terms of the squad and we’re we will be looking to strengthen further in the summer.
Myself, Wardy and Midi would like to thank all our volunteers for their tireless efforts to make this great club tick. Non league is special, it’s what people work all week for, non league football is pulling in larger crowds than I have seen for years which is testament to the hard work clubs, players and managers put in. I also think for the value, what is better to do on a Saturday afternoon?
We also like to thank the supporters for their continued passion and commitment to Ossett United, they really create a special feeling around the club, truly showcasing the wonderful world of Non-League football. Once again thanks for your support and enjoy the game.
Jas
A view from the Club Secretary...
Neil Spofforth
Accrington Stanley! That is where my non-league journey began. Roll back the years to 1999, before a number of our current squad were even born, I used to pass Ingfield on the bus and other than a cursory glance at what I wrongly believed was glorified park football my only interest was heading up the A1 & A19 to see Mark Schwarzer, Gianluca Festa, Paul Gascoigne and Brian Deane in the red and white of Middlesbrough…
Cue one bus trip in October 1999 where the board outside the ground showed Accrington Stanley to be the visitors. Memories of Ian Rush’s advice to a young scouser to drink milk “or you’ll only be good enough to play for Accrington Stanley” sprang to mind.
Saturday 23 October 1999 arrived, and I made my first trip to Ingfield, expecting very little. Walking through the gate there was a small shed where the Ewe-Move Snack Bar now stands, I saw a team sheet. Ossett Town had Craig Boardman, ex Nottingham Forest, in the line-up. I wasn’t expecting to see a name I recognised. Further reading showed Chris Stabb, ex Bradford City and at the time the right back in my Championship Manager game!
Matty Smithard too, he of the Leeds United Youth Team who had won the FA Youth Cup against Manchester United’s ‘class of 92’. Then out they came, wearing red and white. If I'm honest, I remember little of a game that ended 2-2. But I know I enjoyed it, far more than I had enjoyed a Saturday at football for a long time. At the Riverside I would turn up, sit behind the goal, not really speak to anyone and leave.
At Ingfield that autumnal afternoon I chatted to a fair few people, learned it was the clubs first season in the NPL and under player/manager Gary Brook had far exceeded expectations. I chatted to one bloke called Mick Firth and his father and watched many a game with them over the next few years.
Two weeks later I returned, Chorley were put to the sword 3-0 then at the back end of November Conference side Doncaster Rovers were the opponents in the FA Trophy. Officially there were 1100 in the ground, though there must have been many, many more. Doncaster won the tie 1-0 but Ossett really gave them a game and were unlucky not to earn at least a draw.
I was hooked.
The year ended with Bradford Park Avenue beaten 3-1, then it was 4-1 against Stocksbridge. The new Millennium saw Flixton (3-2), Ashton United (4-0) and Workington (3-1) all put to the sword.
The Workington game was played in inches of mud after weeks of rain, barely a blade of grass to be seen. The Workington line up showed one Paul Stewart, ex Tottenham, Liverpool and England.
He played like the pitch was perfect, he glided across the surface. His touch was unbelievable close up, despite his advancing years it was clear to see his quality, but so good was he he was also probably the worst player on the pitch. His vision was so far ahead of his teammates his passes often went unread.
The season ended with the club in 8th, if I remember rightly, I couldn’t wait to return for the new season.
From April to August I had no reason to go to Ingfield. Returning for the new season the stepped terracing had appeared, the previous year it was a grassy slope, it looked great and was a fantastic vantage point as it still is today.
I only saw a couple of defeats in the six months I had been going, 2000/2001 was even better. Scott Jackson with a hat-trick in the opening home game as Radcliffe were beaten 5-2. Another eighth place finish.
2001/02 saw Ossett Albion appear in the NPL, although it was short lived with relegation their fate before returning two years later and establishing themselves in the division. For Ossett Town the rise continued, finishing second to Harrogate Town (whatever happened to them…) but the joy was short lived as promotion was denied due to ground grading rules.
An additional stand was required, the one that is now in place on the dugout side of the ground, but alas weather conditions delayed it’s completion in time for the inspection and despite it being completed the very next day the appeal was rejected as it hadn’t been completed in time.
In just a couple of years many highs and lows had been experienced, a huge crowd against Doncaster, well under 100 the week before Christmas for a 0-0 draw with Gretna on the coldest day I have every experienced, not helped by their being only one shot in the game only a few minutes from time!
I could go on and on easily with stories and tales of the last 20 odd years, but will leave it there for now - Hopefully today, Non League Day, will be the first non-league game of someone else's love affair with the game.
Non League Football. I love it.
Check your fixture – and your risk of prostate cancer - this Non-League Day
In the build-up to this year’s Non-League Day (March 26, 2022), Prostate Cancer UK is calling on football fans to not only find their fixture – but to check their risk of the most common cancer in men. The leading men’s health charity wants supporters across the UK to join forces and find the 14,000 men whose prostate cancer has gone undetected because of the pandemic.
One in eight men in the UK will be affected by prostate cancer, but it remains very treatable if caught early, so it is important that these men are found quickly before their cancer spreads. For an eighth year Prostate Cancer UK have teamed up with Non-League Day to take on the most formidable opponent of all. And while fans will once again be able to check the ground-breaking match-finder database on the webpage, they will for the first time be able to check their risk of prostate cancer thanks to the 30-second risk checker.
Southend United saved my life. The 14,000 figure is close to the capacity of National League Southend United’s Roots Hall home ground. And Prostate Cancer UK’s ground-breaking work in football saved the life of long-time Shrimpers supporter Keith Smith. In 2018, a check on the club’s website saw him read an article about then-boss Chris Powell running the London Marathon for Prostate Cancer UK, who were on the front of the club’s shirts in the 2018/19 season. And it sparked a lifesaving turn of events.
He said: “I was looking to see if there was any news on us signing a player, and I saw an article on there with Chris regarding prostate cancer. I found myself reading about the symptoms, and I thought ‘that’s me, I’ve got one of those symptoms’. From there I looked it up further and eventually went to the doctor, and after a range of tests it was confirmed I had prostate cancer.
“I’m so grateful to the work Prostate Cancer UK have done. Without that, who knows where I’d be now? “It’s vital that men understand their risk. I’ve first-hand experience of the wonderful support of Prostate Cancer UK, and their 30-second risk checker is a vital tool to help men.” Find out about your prostate cancer risk at prostatecanceruk.org/risk-checker
Case study story – Southend United supporter Keith Smith
When he sits down at his desk every day, Basildon’s Keith Smith always glances up at a picture of the man he believes saves his life.
Anyone walking past his desk would see a picture of Keith alongside former Southend United manager and current England coach Chris Powell, but the relationship between the duo is deeper than that.
When Powell was at the helm at Roots Hall his work with Prostate Cancer UK saw him complete the 2018 London Marathon, raising £14,000. The charity was also proudly on the front of the Shrimpers kit in 2018/19.
Around the same time, Keith Smith, 64, who has supported the team for more than 25 years, was scouring the Blues’ website when he came across an article by Powell relating to the cancer.
“I was looking to see if there was any news on us signing a player, and I saw an article on there with Chris regarding prostate cancer. I was reading about the symptoms, and I thought ‘that’s me, I’ve got one of those symptoms’. From there I looked it up further and eventually went to the doctor, and after a range of tests it was confirmed I had prostate cancer," said Keith, a ground maintenance officer.
“I knew very little about prostate cancer before then. My dad had it, my uncle had it as well and I didn’t realise it was hereditary; I never realised I was such a candidate to get prostate cancer.” It was during a scan that a cancerous kidney tumour was also spotted, and he has since had his kidney removed as well as brachytherapy treatment on his prostate cancer.
“I’m so grateful to the work they’ve done. Without that, who knows where I’d have been right now. Smith also hailed the work of Prostate Cancer UK, and their trailblazing Specialist Nurses team, throughout that time. “I went to the Prostate Cancer UK website and there were all sorts of tools to help. At first, it took me a while to deal with it but I rang up one of the nurses and she talked me through everything," Keith recalls.
“It was around June, and I was very concerned, and she asked me what my biggest worry was. I said I was worried if I’d be here at Christmas, and her response sticks with me to this day. She said: ‘Keith you’re going to be at this Christmas, next Christmas and for many Christmases after’. And every question I asked, she knew the answer to and that was really reassuring. Anyone that’s going through this process, I would say take up that option and give them a call.”
Smith was surprised by former manager Chris Powell ahead of a match in February 2019 with the emotional meeting captured on camera.
“I want to say thanks to Chris and Southend United,” said father-of-three Keith, whose two sons and daughter accompanied him to the game. “I’m so grateful to the work they’ve done. Without that, who knows where I’d be now?” Powell added: “For me to meet someone who has been affected by my message and what I’ve done, blew me away really and I’m deeply honoured. It was a great moment for me and that’s why I’ll continue to hammer home the message, and hope Southend fans and everyone else don’t stop driving that.”
Keith’s work with the charity has continued and he is supporting Non-League Day, where fans of the beautiful game will unite to raise awareness of the risk of prostate cancer, the most common cancer in men. One in eight men will be affected by prostate cancer in their lifetime, one in four if you are black, but it is a treatable disease if caught early. With this in mind, Prostate Cancer UK have teamed up with NHS England to find the 14,000 men whose prostate cancer has gone undetected because the pandemic.
The campaign will encourage men to use Prostate Cancer UK’s 30-second online risk checker to learn more about their level of risk and what action they can take, including getting checked by their GP if they are at higher risk. Proud partners of Non-League Day since 2014, Prostate Cancer UK will be urging fans to be aware of their risk of the most common cancer in men and take the 30-second test.
Find out about your prostate cancer risk at prostatecanceruk.org/risk-checker.
OSSETT UNITED
SQUAD LIST
Ossett United Coaching Team:
- Manager: Jas Colliver
- Assistant Manager: Mark Ward
- Coach: Gary Middleton
- Physio: Emily Crispin
- Video Analyst: Jack Sloan
Ossett United Squad:
- Edd HALL (GK)
- Jake TEALE (GK)
- Brad BEATSON
- Jack COWGILL (C)
- Kieran BLADES
- Ellis FARRAR
- Harry GAGEN
- Ross HARDAKER
- Mark EDUR
- Dec McGIVERN
- Craig NELTHORPE
- Aaron HASWELL
- Luke HOGG
- Josh WALDRAM
- Oli METCALFE
- Charlie WOOD
- Ify OFOEGBU
- Curtis MORRISON
- Jordan TURNER
- James WALSHAW
- Keiron CEESAY
Non-League Day - 2022
Non-League Day returns for an 11th season this coming Saturday 26th March 2022 as Ossett United entertain Shildon AFC in a 3pm kick-off at The World Famous Ingfield. Non-League Day provides a platform for clubs to promote the importance of volunteer-led community football, whilst allowing fans to show support for their local non-league side.
As part of our build up to Saturday’s game we took the opportunity to talk to some of our players and supporters about what Non-League football means to them.
This week we spoke to some of our players:
Goalkeeper Edd Hall who joined us from Stocksbridge Park Steels in January and made his debut in the 1-1 draw at home to Pickering Town last month said: “The fans, the banter and the togetherness is wat I love about non-league football.”
Harry Gagen who joined us initially on loan from Barnsley in March 2020 said: “It’s great how families can watch us play for a reasonable price and get close to the action.”
Club Captain Jack Cowgill joined us from Nostell Miners Welfare in the summer of 2020 and he said: “I enjoy coming to football twice, three times a week, the banter makes it enjoyable. It pleases me to see the lads putting a smile on people’s faces and our supporters appreciating that. In non-league you are able to get close to the supporters and people in and around the club. It’s amazing how hard everyone works behind the scenes. The volunteers up and down the country never cease to amaze me.”
Club stalwart Ross Hardaker, one of only a handful of players to have played for Town, Albion and United said: “I’ve been around many years, you can always rely on our supporters to get behind you through thick and thin. I just love playing for this family club.”
Fan favourite Luke Hogg who joined us from Hemsworth in the summer of 2020 said: “You can’t beat match days, the feeling of playing in front of a decent crowd with a top set of players that become your pals. I like how close knit the players come and that spurs you on.”
James Walshaw who famously started his Ossett footballing journey for Ossett Town over 20 years ago and made the emotional return home this summer had this to say: “It’s great non-league, you can’t really describe the feeling you get, even now I still get a buzz from playing. Ossett United is a big part of me, I’ve represented Ossett as a kid and still want to make the community proud. I love walking in the clubhouse getting close to the supporters after a game.”
And finally, recent acquisition Jordan Turner who joined us from Maltby Main earlier last month said “You build friendships and relationships with the supporters which you can’t do in the football league, fans also follow you around unlike the professional game if you move clubs. It’s great that everyone has an opinion and is able to express that.”
Over the years, an increasing number of clubs across the National League System have recorded significantly higher crowds, in some cases doubling or even tripling their average attendance. Once again, Prostate Cancer UK are partnering with Non-League Day to raise funds for, and awareness of, an illness that affects thousands of men in Britain every year.
Find out your risk and share the charity’s 30 second online risk checker here: https://prostatecanceruk.org/risk-checker
Kick It Out, which has spent nearly 30 years campaigning for equality in football, has also confirmed it will be supporting Non-League Day again and will host a number of showpiece games around the country on 26th March.
This year’s event is also sees the launch of a partnership with the Our Game Community Scheme. Via his work at Our Game, ex semi-pro player Francis Duku has been one of the team of volunteers supporting the work of Non-League Day since its second campaign. The Our Game service has grown to a level where it can now also provide a Community Scheme with unique benefits, features and support for clubs, groups and organizations. It was, therefore, a natural relationship to develop further and provide the Non-League Day campaign with the level of support needed to keep growing and also add great value to participating clubs and their local communities.
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Shildon A.F.C.
SQUAD LIST
Shildon A.F.C. Coaching Team:
- Manager: Daniel Moore
- Assistant: Mark Hudson
- GK Coach: Carl Morris
- Physio: Adam Summerbell
Shildon A.F.C. Squad:
- Shaun Newbrook - GK
- Bryan Wood- GK
- Matthew Bateman- GK
- Matthew Wilkinson- GK
- Daniel Moore
- Domonic Curl
- Aidan Heywood
- Jack Vaulks
- Alex White
- David Atkinson
- Ellis Tait
- Brandon Gredziak
- Ben Trotter
- Danny Craggs
- Kurt Matthews
- Chay Liddle
- Brandon Mallaburn
- Joe Posthill
- Will McCamley
- Johnson Ballan
- Benjamin Moore
- Lucas Pilling
- Sam Barker
- Billy Greulick-Smith
- Dean Thexton
- Michael Sweet
Non-League and grassroots are the bedrock of football. Everyone should be able to enjoy it
by Tony Burnett, CEO, Kick It Out
Having played Non-League football, I know how much the game means to the communities that support and grow out of clubs around the country at this level. Passion, hard work, loyalty and enjoyment runs through Non-League, it is the lifeblood of football. In stadiums just like this one, up and down the country, fans, players, coaches and club staff dedicate their afternoons, seasons, sometimes whole lives to supporting the football club they love.
Non-League Day is a chance to celebrate that. All the people that make games like this possible, on and off the pitch, and the communities that have been created as a result. But, as these communities are becoming increasingly diverse, clubs must do as much as they can to help make fans, players and staff from all different backgrounds feel welcome.
Football should be a game for everyone. Stadiums, whether Non-League or Premier League, should be places where all fans feel like they belong. Where players can revel in incredible football atmospheres without having to worry about supporters crossing the line. They should be places where fans of all races and religions, women, those with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ+ communities can access and enjoy matches safe in the knowledge that these spaces are for them as much as they are for anyone else.
Creating footballing spaces free from discrimination is part of what we do at Kick It Out. When incidents do happen, we work with the relevant authorities to ensure those responsible are held accountable for their actions. We also deliver a range of education initiatives, to fans found guilty of discriminatory abuse, as well as sessions delivered to Academy players across English football. And when clubs and leagues need support developing their own diversity and inclusion practices, we guide them through that process.
But we cannot do any of this without your help. Reporting is our greatest weapon against discrimination in football - without it we are fighting in the dark. So if you see or hear any discrimination in the stands this Non-League Day, or any other day, please report to us at www.kickitout.org. Together we can get rid of racism, homophobia, misogyny. Together we can kick it out for good.
Book Review: Fit and Proper People: The Lies and Fall of OWNAFC by Martin Calladine and James Cave
With the advent of the Premier League in England from the 1992/93 season, football was changed forever. This didn’t just relate to events on the pitch, as overtime players and coaches from abroad came in and brought with them better dietary habits, different training methods and tactical knowhow. Off the pitch with the league awash with Sky’s TV revenue and sponsors willing to be associated with this ‘Whole New Ball Game’, business people from across the globe wanted a piece of the action. Suddenly it wasn’t enough to be a millionaire owner to compete, with the result that now Premier League clubs are the possession of billionaires. As a result many fans more than ever feel distant and without influence from the club they support.
And it is against this background that there have been attempts down the years to create a different type of ownership - one where fans own the club, make the decisions, and do the hiring and firing. The first real scheme of this type to hit the headlines saw MyFootballClub (MYFC) launch in 2007 promising on-line fans the chance to “own the club, pick the team”. By 2008 with sufficient interest and financial support MYFC bought a 75% controlling interest in Ebbsfleet United. It was to last until 2013, as with the club in financial trouble the remaining 1,300 MCF members (down from a peak of 32,000) voted in favour of handing two thirds of their shares to the Fleet Trust, and the other third to one of the club’s major shareholders. KEH Sports Ltd, a group of Kuwaiti investors.
In an article in The Guardian in 2017, Will Brook, who was the man behind MYFC, reflected that, “I never want to call it a failure. It had a bit of everything really – positive and negative. But I suppose the fact that it’s not still going means it didn’t achieve its ultimate aim. In some ways I think we might have been ten years too early. Had this been happening now, as a fresh idea, I think we’d have a lot more members simply because of the way social media works.”
Picking up on Brook’s point about MYFC not working partly because of social media limitations at the time, OWNAFC was an app launched in 2019 aimed at capturing on-line fans offering once again the chance to own and run a football club. Hitting the headlines after a BBC Sport on-line article on 28 February 2019, OWNAFC Stuart Harvey acknowledged the MYFC scheme mirroring Brook’s view of two years earlier, "the difference is theirs (MYFC) was 10 years too early. It was before iPhones became popular, before apps, and they were not using the technology we have today."
Excited by this prospect users paid £99 or a later point £49, with founder Harvey claiming 3,500 sign-ups. However, just 18 days after the launch story by the BBC, the same broadcaster put out an on-line story that many who had invested were asking for refunds. How could such a turnaround occur in such a short space of time?
Martin Calladine and James Cave take on investigating how this happened in their book, Fit and Proper People: The Lies and Fall of OWNAFC. The research carried out by the pair is highly impressive, following the saga from launch to the collapse of OWNAFC, with the failed takeover of Hednesford Town along the way. The pair are single-mindedly tenacious in their attempts to discover the truth about founder Harvey and a scheme which ultimately left many of those that invested out of pocket. The story is more shocking given that both Calladine and Cave and their respective families suffered intimidation in looking to establish the realities of the claims of OWNAFC.
However, the authors also take on a wider remit within the book as they highlight the flimsiness of the Football ‘fit and proper person test’ and look at examples in recent years at clubs such as Bury, Chesterfield and Wigan Athletic who have suffered owner mismanagement. As a balance to the sorry tales of mishandling also included is a look at alternative models such as AFC Wimbledon, a supporter-owned club, who have shown there is an alternative in achieving success whilst ensuring engagement with both fans and the local community.
The book is a must read for anyone interested in the running of our National Game, and in truth does not paint a pretty picture of the majority who run it or indeed those who own our Clubs. Calladine and Cave must be commended for their work in the face of intimidation to tell the story of OWNAFC and as they conclude, if at a point down the line there is another way for fans to own a club, that it is done in the right way. Only time will tell.
(Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd. January 2022. Paperback: 352 pages)
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Match Report: Stockton Town 4 - 0 OUFC
Ossett United travelled to Stockton Town on the back of two home wins with the knowledge that anything but a win would end the slim hopes of sneaking into the final play off place.
Colliver and Ward made one change to the line up with Haswell missing out through suspension, Jordan Turner taking his place.
The home side started strongly keeping the ball well and opened the scoring through Mikey Roberts in the 13thminutes, a Crossfield ball beat Hall and fell nicely to the dangerous winger who was able to take a touch and strike the ball home.
Jack Cowgill went close for Ossett, meeting a Farrar cross, Roberts in the home goal was able to claim. Edd Hall was called into action saving well from Owens as the half reached the mid-way point. Roberts again was called into action as he claimed a Gagen free-kick at the second attempt and it was from another set play, a free-kick by Walshaw, saw Roberts kept in the game.
Wood, Walshaw and Turner combined will on the half hour, the through ball just too far away from Turner to cause any further problems to the Stockton defence.
Despite the half chances for Ossett, Stockton was on top and once again had Hall to thank for keeping the score 1-0 as he beat the oncoming striker to the ball. It was the post and good recovery defending that came to the rescue for Ossett as half time approached.
Training 1-0 Colliver and Ward would have hoped for a better showing in the second period, and with one goal the difference would have believed there was still an opportunity to get something from the game.
Ossett were not able to get a real foothold in the game in the second half, Stockton keeping the ball well despite the endeavours of the impressive Metcalfe. Edd Hall once again was called into action making an excellent low save before a mad ten minutes but the game to bed.
Kev Hayes was given too much space on the Stockton right, he was able to cut infield and arrow a curling shot into the far post on 71, two minutes later Adam Nicholson found space at the far post to head home a corner before Shane Henry found space with eleven minutes remaining to head home another corner.
Kieron Ceesay was given an Ossett United debut, replacing James Walshaw, before Ross Hardaker took the place of Jordan Turner who once again worked tirelessly though out. Wood went close to a consolation with a curling effort from 20 yards after good work by Ofoegbu.
Edd Hall was called into action once again to prevent a fifth with another excellent save.
Jas Colliver was a frustrated man at full time saying “four really poor goals to give away today, you cannot gift good sides anything never mind four goals”
Stockton Town: 1. Callum Roberts, 2. Lewis King, 3. Daniel McWilliams, 4. Tom Portas (14. Alfie Conway), 5. Adam Nicholson (Goal, 73) , 6. Tom Coulthard, 7. Kev Hayes (Goal, 71), 8. Shane Henry (Goal, 79), 9. Jamie Owens, 10, Liam Cooke (17. Nathan Mulligan), 11. Mikey Roberts (Goal, 13) (16. Jonathan Franks). 12. Nathan Steel, 15. Dale Mulligan.
Ossett United: 1. Edd Hall, 2. Harry Gagen, 3. Ellis Farrar, 4. Josh Waldram, 5. Jack Cowgill (c), 6. Brad Beatson, 7. Oli Metcalfe, 8. Charlie Woods, 9. James Walshaw (14. Kieron Ceesay), 10. Ify Ofoegbu, 11. Jordan Turner (15. Ross Hardaker). 12. Dec McGivern, GK. Jake Teale.
Attendance: 484
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Credits:
JonHuntPhotography Keith Wood