It’s already that time again, the season is starting to wrap up and clubs up and down the country are playing their last games of the season. In the Northern Counties East Premier Division the final match week of the season landed over Easter weekend. For their last league game of the season Handsworth FC faced off against Thackley AFC.
Olivers Mount, on the outskirts of Sheffield is a whole sports campus. You walk through the main gate and are greeted with grass pitches for junior sides, astroturf five-a-side pitches and the first team ground itself. The ground’s facilities are also great, food and drink as soon as you enter and a good artificial turf pitch. On the side opposite the dugouts there are three small stands for spectators, two seated and one small terrace. It was also free entry to the match that day, something that a couple hundred spectators made the most of. The atmosphere was laid back- with nothing but pride in the balance for the two sides who have both finished midtable in the league- but the weather was bright and warm so those of us in attendance enjoyed the game with drink and good food. I chose to sit on the grass verge next to these stands to enjoy the beautiful spring afternoon that set the scene for an engaging match.
The game started out quite even with both sides having chances. On 20 and 25 minutes the side from Bradford had two great chances to break the deadlock but one was saved by Handsworth’s ‘keeper Myles Wright and the other was squandered as the striker scuffed his shot wide. The home side then hit the post from a fantastic shot. Handsworth then had another chance to go 1-0 up after a low cross was nearly bundled in by a Thackley defender but their ‘keeper Callum Bradbury managed to get low and save the blushes of his teammate.
The match then however became rather one sided unfortunately and Thackley used their extra physicality to make their chances count. On 41 minutes Thackley’s number 7 Frankie Sinfield scored with a fantastic powerful shot that the ‘keeper Wright wasn’t able to do anything about. Then, shortly after the second half began Wright was beaten again by Thackley’s number 9 captain Ben Grech-Brooksbank who did well to fire the ball into the bottom left corner on the swivel in the Handworth penalty area.
On 55 minutes Thackley should have made it three as Aidan Chippendale managed to dribble past Wright in the Handsworth goal but a Handsworth defender was able to clear the ball off the line just in time.
Thackley did extend their lead on the 61st minute as Grech-Brooksbank again did well to rifle the ball into the roof of the net from a very tight angle.
Substitute Tom Greaves piled on the misery and scored Thackley’s fourth with what must have been his first touch of the game on 77 minutes after the ball wasn’t properly dealt with but the Handsworth defence.
Handsworth were denied a consolation goal toward the end of the match, a low shot hit the inside of the far post and seemed to have crossed the line but both the referee and linesman disagreed with the protesting players.
Despite only coming on in the second half, Handsworth’s young striker Leon Howarth was their standout performance. The forward’s massive pace and great technical ability with the ball at his feet gave energy and creativity to the side’s front line- something that they seemed to lack before he came on. Howarth hit the crossbar with an excellent shot after skilfully evading two defenders with some silky-smooth footwork.
Despite losing I think the future could be bright for Handsworth, their setup is very good and their focus on their junior sides is very encouraging. Initiatives like their free entry to the match will hopefully help to boost their attendances because they have got a great ground that more people should make the most of. As for Thackley, their performance speaks for itself. If they can play as dominating as they did against Handsworth next season, they might be a scary prospect for opposing sides.
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