Match Report: Redcar Athletic 1-0 Stocksbridge Park Steels

A break from league action saw us welcome Stocksbridge to Green Lane for our first FA Cup fixture of the season

After the chaos that took place last month, it is definitely nice to have fewer matches this month, with our first seeing us host Stocksbridge Park Steels.

An FA Cup clash against a side who went in the opposite direction to us last season; on paper, this should have been a fairly simple match.

Instead, what occurred was a gritty game of many chances and very few goals.

We would start the match with some important names missing, with Adam Boyes, Ciaran Banks, and Luke Spalding all away.

We still were able to put out a strong squad though, with our opponents also having to rotate due to a mass of injuries, including knocks to their entire defence in the weeks prior.

It would be the Steels who had the first shot, though, as a 2nd minute attempt would be slammed past the post, and from that chance we would then have one of our own as Oscar would shoot from outside the box, with his strike being gathered.

Possession would flit between both teams, and an 11th minute corner would be floated in, though it would go over everyone, resulting in a goal kick.

The Stocksbridge keeper, who was making his debut after moving to the club from Australia, proceeded to produce a great stop as he tipped over a deflected Oscar Fletcher strike following a good pass from Louis Johnson.

We would be denied a penalty in the 21st minute as Brad Fewster would be chopped down, with the attacker remaining on the turf after the challenge.

However, it would be the visitors who would have to make an early sub, as a defender was forced off after picking up an eye injury in the 27th minute.

We would keep having chances as we approached the break, with Connor Smith and Nathan Guru combining on the right following a great pass out wide from Bartliff.

The cross into the box from that move would be narrowly headed over by Fewster, though.

A Curtis Round cross would be missed by Fewster and put wide by Louis Johnson, and the final act of the half would see a ball played into the box that we couldn’t prod home, followed by an Oscar Fletcher ball that narrowly missed the head of Danny Rowe

A half-time change would see Brad Fewster, who had picked up a knock in the first 45, brought off for Andrei Ardelean, and almost immediately he proved to be a difference-maker as a corner would be floated in and headed at goal by the substitute, though pushed away by Stocksbridge’s keeper.

Another chance would come for us, as a cross to the back post would be headed over by Louis Johnson in the 51st minute, and we would then win a free kick right on the edge of the box as JJ Bartliff was brought down just as he went to shoot.

A great spot for a set piece, and that fact was proven as Oscar Fletcher would run up and drive a low effort into the bottom corner, squeezing past the visitors’ keeper, and giving us a deserved lead.

We then pushed for another, as a great ball out wide from Oscar found Curtis, who in turn whipped it in, narrowly put wide by Louis.

The chances were still coming as we passed the 70th minute, with Curtis, Louis, and Owen all missing their attempts.

We would sub on Jayden Jefferson and Lewis Hawkins just before the 80th minute, as we looked to bolster our XI (and also rest our players)

It would be a great start for Jayden too, as the youngster would receive the ball inside the box before seeing his effort deflected behind for a corner that was cleared.

The best chance of the half, bar the obvious one of Oscar’s goal, would then come in the 82nd minute, as Oscar himself would play a pass across the face of goal that would be agonisingly put wide by Andrei.

Stocksbridge ended the match with a huge chunk of possession, though the Steels were unable to put the ball into the net, and the last act saw a Jayden Jefferson shot held by the keeper.

The full-time whistle would sound, and we had advanced to the next round of the FA Cup!

Not in the usual Steelman way, granted, but a win is a win, and in this competition that is all you need

Up next is a league match against Leek Town, but that is a match for next Saturday

Lineups:

Redcar Athletic: Mazfari, Guru, Round [Hawkins, 78′], Bartliff, Rowe, Lay (C), Smith, Burns [Jefferson, 78′], Fewster [Ardelean, 46′], Fletcher, Johnson

Unused subs: Parkinson, McDonald, Burgess

Stocksbridge Park Steels: Meggetto, Shepherd, Sutton, Dyer [Musgrave-Dore, 24′], Bumhira, Oglesby, Poole [Dyer, 62′], Smythe (C), Dunne [Lee, 63′], Ward, Marshall [Dyer, 85′]

Unused subs: Rooney