Match Details
Frickley Athletic 2-3 Silsden AFC
NCEL Premier Division
Tuesday 16th August
Westfield Lane
Match Report
On Tuesday night, an action-packed encounter saw Silsden complete a mesmerising comeback to run out 3-2 winners against Frickley thanks to a late Luke Brooksbank double.
Although The Cobbydaler’s found themselves behind early in the first half, Harry Thompson quickly levelled the tie. But two penalties later, one missed and one scored, they went into the break 2-1 down.
Despite Frickley having the majority of the chances, two clinical Brooksbank finishes late in the day secured a snatch-and-grab victory for the visitors.
With Matt Cavanagh away for this one, It was up to Luke Lavery and the coaching staff to prepare for what looked set to be a difficult midweek away trip.
Things didn’t get off to the best of starts when on 15 minutes a slip from Harry Parsons gifted the hosts with a guilt edge opportunity to open the scoring; Keelon Grist the lucky recipient and he made no mistake to put Athletic 1-0 up.
The lead would last just ten minutes however, with winger Brad Riley muscling his way past two defenders before unselfishly pulling the ball back to captain Thompson. His low finish snuck through a crowd of legs and nestled in the bottom right corner.
With the game back level, both sides looked for the next goal. Keepers George Clarke first sprang across his goal to prevent a long range effort sneaking in, before Charlie Preston had his palms stung by a strike from Riley.
Frickley fans must have thought they’d scored when a clearance from 17 year-old Jacob Smith ricocheted of Lee Bennett and towards goal; Clarke again did well to back-pedal and tip the ball out for a corner however.
Then came the first of two contentious spot-kicks, a late challenge from Smith was initially judged to have taken place outside of the Sils penalty area. The linesman disagreed however and encouraged the referee to change his decision. Alhassane Keita stepped up and sent the ball into orbit.
Silsden might have felt that justice had prevailed, that was until two minutes later when a second penalty was given, this time against Parsons. Ben Hall made no mistake from 12-yards, rolling the ball into the bottom left corner.
After the halftime interval, Frickley looked to add to their advantage. The Sils defence being forced to make a number of blocks, with the hosts also spurning a good headed chance over the bar.
Despite not looking dangerous for much of the second half, The Cobbydaler’s would spring into life late on. Quick thinking from Parsons saw his throw in drop at the feet of Brooksbank on the left hand side of the box. The young winger made no mistake with a ruthless low finish beyond Preston to level the game at 2-2.
Looking to restore their lead, Athletic pressed forward and were a whisker of paint away from snatching a winner, initially hitting the bar before volleying the follow-up wide.
From the resulting goal kick, the ball was played long and into the path of Brooksbank once again. The former Oxenhope man produced a near identical finish to his first, completing a hard-fought comeback and securing the three points for the travelling side.
The 3-2 win sees The Cobbydaler’s climb the NCEL Premier Division table to 6th, with two wins from their opening three league fixtures. It’s back on the FA Cup trail this weekend however, with Charnock Richard the latest visitors to The Office Interiors Stadium.
