U21s Beat second place Hemsworth

U21s 4-1 Hemsworth MW

The visitors to The CNG Stadium this week were high flying Hemsworth Miners Welfare who currently sit in second place in the U23s Development League.

For the young Town U21s it was a chance to back up last week’s performance against Farsley Celtic and test themselves again against a tough U23s side.

Having lost the toss, Town found themselves playing into a strong wind in the first half and knew that discipline would be key when facing the elements. The visitors started brightly and had the best early chances but wasteful finishing from good opportunities kept the score even.

By the mid-point of the first half Town had managed to gain a foothold in the game and started to create chances of their own. The best of which fell to Harry Boyer but he was thwarted by the Hemsworth keeper who then recovered to make a fantastic double save from Tom Johnson and Harley Lambert.

With the first half drawing to a close, Town managed to restrict the visitor’s chances with the back four marshalled well by the determined Luke Stuart; 0-0 at the break and all to play for in the second half.

With the wind at their back the young Town side looked to assert themselves at the start of the second half and didn’t have to wait long before the first chance with striker Charlie Anderson beating the offside trap only to be denied by the keeper who managed to tip his goal bound shot onto the post.

It was Anderson again who earned Town their first goal, Midfielder Johnson found the hard-working striker in the box who was then fouled by the recovering defender and the referee pointed to the spot. The penalty was duly dispatched by his strike partner Boyer.

Anderson then got his name on the score sheet with a smart finish past the keeper to give Town a bit of breathing space just as the visitors had been looking to get back on level terms.

With Town now well on top they extended their lead as a corner whipped in from the Hemsworth right found Boyer at the back post who diverted the ball back into the path of centre back Harry Lee to smash in the third.

With Hemsworth now chasing the game gaps were appearing in the visitors back line, second half sub Adam Gulzar benefiting from a quick Town break to finish from 20 yards out with a fine left foot strike after outpacing the recovering defence.

Hemsworth finally got on the score sheet on 85 minutes with a fine strike after a rare mistake in the home defence, but it was only a consolation with time running out fast.

Final score 4-1 to the U21s, a game won on the foundations of a disciplined and hard fought first half and no less than they deserved against good opposition.

Next week i2i Academy Gold visit The CNG Stadium before we take a break for the County Cup Semi-Final.

Town: Wade, Richardson (Dolby 70), Gulzar, Johnson, Lee, Stuart, Lawn, Barker, Boyer (Humphries 85), Anderson, Lambert (Gulzar 60)

Goals: Boyer, Anderson, Lee, Gulzar

Booked: Barker, Dolby