North West Counties Football League Premier Division 2018-19
Saturday 23 February 2019
SILSDEN TURN ON STYLE & GIVE BEARS A MAULING
SILSDEN AFC 4 – 1 Congleton Town Att.153
Barnes 25, Kirby 43, Sultan 62, Sorhaindo 77 Foster 80
Silsden entertained highflying Congelton Town, a team in the chasing pack sitting in 3rd place in the North West Counties Premier, and boasting the meanest defence having only conceded 24 league goals all season.
Cobbydalers manager Danny Forrest was still searching for the consistency required from his charges, particularly at home where performances simply haven’t been up to standard, and looking to avenge a 5-0 defeat in the reverse fixture earlier in the season.
Silsden executed their game plan from early on, playing the ball out well from the back and moving the ball quickly, although to be fair to the visitors they kept their shape well in the early exchanges.
But with both side cancelling each other out we had to wait until the 21st minute until the first real chance of note, when Craig Bentham’s long through ball found Aidan Kirby’s willing run, but his shot was well over.
A couple of minutes later, after good interplay down the right hand side from Silsden, a ball into the box was stood on by the Bears central defender Thomas Morris, the ball breaking to Kirby, whose angled shot was fired wide of the upright.
But in the 25th minute the Cobbydalers were rewarded when Bentham’s clever diagonal ball found the overlapping Matty Moses who broke deep into the Bears box before cutting back to Arley Barnes who rifled his first time shot against the bar before smashing home the rebound to open the scoring for Silsden.
In 30th minute after some pressure from Congleton the ball got played in from the right to Matthew Jamieson, whose goal-bound shot from just inside the box appeared to take a deflection, but Callum Jakovlevs leapt across to his left to make a brilliant one handed save, parrying away for a corner.
The visitors applied a period of sustained pressure, gaining a succession of corners, but Silsden’s defence held firm, getting vital blocks in, Saul Henderson getting a shot in which hit Jakovlevs with his defenders clearing the danger as the Bears threatened to get back on terms.
Skipper Josh Kaine got in a vital block as Bears danger-man Emini Adegbenro threatened, the ball ricocheting off the latter for a goal kick as the game started to liven up. And again Kaine was outnumbered as the visitors pressed forward but this time Adegbenro fired wide of the near post as he broke in from the left.
Congleton were enjoying a good spell of pressure and from another corner on the right, Dan Illingworth won his aerial duel with the lanky Henderson at the expense of another corner. And then from a free kick on the right from Dean Warburton, Jamieson broke free with a clever run, but couldn’t get any contact on the ball.
In the 42nd minute Niall Sultan whipped a dangerous ball into the visitor’s box for Luke Rhodes, but the defence smuggled the ball away amidst half-hearted appeals for handball.
A minute later Jakovlevs played the ball out to Bentham, who played a superb raking pass down the middle which found Kirby’s clever run beyond the back line leaving him clear with the ‘keeper in no-mans land, and he coolly smashed his shot past the helpless Ellison to double Silsden’s advantage before the half-time break.
Congleton unsurprising made tactical changes for the second period, applying a high press and playing with a higher tempo and in the 50th minute Adegbenro had an opportunity following a straight through ball, but Jakovlevs gathered comfortably when the forward should have done better.
Minutes later Congelton played the ball in from the right to Henderson who pivoted and laid the ball back to Steve Foster who retrieved and swiveled before striking a tame left foot shot which was easily dealt with by the Silsden custodian.
Then Silsden threatened as they tried to regain control with Joe Mitchell’s corner from the left finding Bentham’s leap and header, which was scrambled away by the visitors defence.
And as the game started to get stretched, it was Silsden’s turn to avoid punishment as Kaine scrambled the ball away for a corner after Jakovlevs missed his punch when the visitors delivered a dangerous high ball into the box.
From the resulting corner broke to Morris at the edge of the box, but his left foot shot was tipped over by Jakovlevs as the Bears threatened again to get back into the game. Everingham headed the next corner away as Silsden dug in deep to defend their goal and weather the storm, with Jamieson missing his header from another corner and then Jack Disney’s deep cross evading everybody and drifting to safety.
But then the game was settled by Jamieson uncharacteristically dithering on the edge of his own box, before presenting the ball to Sultan who gratefully accepted the gift and coolly slotted the ball past the exposed Ellison to make it 3-0 to the Yorkshiremen.
Congleton broke down the left in the 63rd minute and a dangerous ball was played in, but Jakovlevs bravely dived out to divert the ball away before the defence once again completed the clearance to keep their goal intact.
But another Mitchell corner swung in right footed from out on the left found substitute Laurence Sorhaindo’s soaring free header in deep the Bears box made it 4-0 on 77 minutes, as Silsden sealed the victory.
Congleton did get a consolation goal for their efforts albeit in bizarre circumstances as Foster’s shot trundled into the net with Silsden appealing for a decision that never came.
In the 82nd minute following a challenge from Everingham the ball broke to Foster, but his shot was wide of the mark as the visitors tried to bring an air of respectability
to the score line. They threatened further, but Silsden defended resolutely with Illingworth getting in vital blocks and substitute William Hasler-Cregg curling his right foot shot wide.
But Silsden finished with a flourish, with Soraindo’s mazy run in added time causing mayhem in the visitors’ box, his lay back finding the tireless Barnes whose superb strike was brilliantly parried one handed by Ellison in the Congleton goal, before the referee’s whistle ended a thoroughly entertaining game which the Cobbydalers deserved to win.
Silsden AFC:
Jakovlevs, Moses, Everingham, Kaine ©, Illingworth, Bentham, Barnes (25), Mitchell, Rhodes (Wademan), Kirby (43) (Sorhaindo (77), Sultan (62) (Tomas) Subs not used: McKiernon & Hill
Congleton Town:
Ellison, Peters, Disney, Jamieson, Morris, Griffith ©, Burey, Warburton (Hasler-Cregg), Foster (80), Henderson (Cope), Adegbenro (Speed) Subs not used: Main & Stephens
Referee: Mr L Dawson
Assistant: Mr S Rushworth
Assistant: Mr J Ezro-Griffiths
