13/08/2024
By Chris Gibbs
Second half comeback keeps unbeaten run going
Stafford Rangers 2 - Cooke (3, pen), Whitney (50)
Newcastle Town 2 -Twyford (55) Avery (70) Assists: Jones (55) Twyford (70)
On a night that was made for football with the ball zipping around on a greasy top in constant rain we showed great character in coming back from 2-0 down to take a thoroughly deserved point at our local rivals Stafford Rangers in a thoroughly entertaining 2-2.
A point was the least we deserved on a night when we played some terrific football and had to endure some, let’s say debatable decisions from the officials.
The most contentious decision of the match came in the opening minutes of the game.
From a well worked short corner routine, Jack Sherratt looked aghast when he was adjudged to have brought down Sean Cooke in the penalty area. The same player then stepped up to send the ball high into the net from the spot and give the home side a very early advantage.
We reacted brilliantly to falling behind, Jake Twyford forcing a save from Cameron Belford, which the keeper made a bit of a meal of, before Jake Avery came within a whisker of levelling things up on the night with a magnificent curling effort, which went just wide after a strong run down the left from Ben Woods had set him away.
We were offering plenty of threat down both flanks and our next chance came through the pace of Guilherme Baltazar on the right side – his cut back was blocked in the middle as Avery was ready to pounce.
Five minutes before the break came an even better chance for Avery. Stafford gave the ball away in their defensive third, Twyford cut the ball back seemingly on a plate for him but out of nowhere emerged the lumbering frame of former Kidsgrove skipper and now Stafford Rangers captain Ollie Jepson, to pull off a truly sensational goal saving challenge.
We fell further behind five minutes into the second half when Woods’ misdirected header diverted into the path Luca Whitney 25 yards out. Our defence backed off the Rangers forward a little but he still had a lot to do, so we’ll take nothing away from the superb finish.
It felt pretty brutal for us to be 2-0 down but we were on the scoresheet before long. Tom Jones broke down the right side of the area and pulled a perfect ball back for Twyford to do the rest.
The move of the match came at the midway point of the second half. It started with a clever interchange between Isaac Graham and Baltazar, before Gee – as he has become known – then slipped the ball on to Twyford. Twiggy then moved the ball to the inside channel where Jones couldn’t quite finish at the keeper’s near post. It would have been a picture book goal.
But four minutes later we did get back on level terms. Twiggy played a long pass down the inside left and Avery sprinted away and finished coolly as Belford came out to try to narrow the angle.
With 20 minutes still to play there was more than enough time for a winner. Isaac Graham having been flattened just outside the box stepped up to force a save from Belford from the resulting free kick, while Jepson will probably still be wondering how he put a free header wide from a corner in the closing stages.
With the final kick of the game, Isaac dropped a corner over to the back post where Avery met the ball on the half volley but his slight mishit drifted over the bar.
A terrific game was over, and we now go to Westfields in the FA Cup on Saturday with our confidence high after a thoroughly determined performance and a well merited point which could so easily have been three.
Team: Slinn, Baltazar, Woods, Sherratt, Thorley, Stubbs, Graham, Lewis, (J. Van der Laan 76), Avery, Jones, (Barry 77), Twyford
Man of the match: Guilherme Baltazar – despite playing in a slightly unfamiliar full back position Gee played a key role at both ends of the pitch. An energetic performance.