Lively Staveley End The Brewers' Winning Run

Taddy went into the break a goal to the good courtesy of a Jason Mycoe thunderbolt from 30 yards. The home side did however have two chances to level from the penalty spot in the first half but amazingly squandered both. Staveley did complete the turnaround however with nine minutes to go after goals from Kieran Watson and Courtney Hastings saw The Trojans move up into sixth place in the NCEL Premier Division.

Manager Billy Miller named an unchanged side to the one that saw off Rainworth on Saturday as The Brewers looked to win their eighth consecutive match.

It was Taddy who started the brighter of the two teams, Adam Baker and Conor Sellars both firing narrowly off target in the opening ten minutes.

The Brewers’ good spell then became a great spell after eleven minutes as they took an early lead. Taddy were ever so quietly knocking at the door of Staveley however, midfielder Jason Mycoe took matters into his own hands and knocked down that door with some panache. Conor Sellars nudged the ball backwards into the path of Mycoe who took one touch to get it out of his feet and then simply let fly. An absolute rocket from all of 30 yards, nothing Nick Siddons could do about it in the Staveley goal. There were certainly flashbacks to the goal he scored at Worksop Town, very similar.

Staveley then had the perfect opportunity to respond almost immediately as Andy Milne was adjudged to have brought down an onrushing attacker in the penalty area. It’s fair to say that Milne was absolute seething with the decision, he was convinced it was a clear dive. Courtney Hastings stepped up and sent Gary Stevens the wrong way but unfortunately for the watching on home fans, the striker rolled the penalty wide of the mark.

Despite the missed penalty, The Trojans only seemed to grow in confidence and spurned another good chance to level in the 26th minute. Stevens charged out to the by-line but could only clear to Steve Carty who couldn’t resist the first time shot which was cut out by Anderson but only to be picked up by Hastings whose first strike was well blocked by Milne and his follow up effort bobbled wide.

Taddy were still huffing and puffing and getting into good areas in the final third but the final ball always seemed to be a problem. Taddy did however carve out a brilliant chance to double their lead just shy of the half hour mark. Conor Sellars superbly picked out Jimmy Beadle from just inside his own half and the Tadcaster skipper controlled and volleyed ferociously but Siddons did well to keep the strike out.

With ten minutes to go until the break, The Trojans were awarded a second penalty kick of the half. Two penalties in one match is a fairly rare feat in itself but two penalties for the same side in one half is even rarer. Winger Adam Scott was played through on the right hand side and as soon as Gary Stevens came out and Scott went to ground there was only ever going to be one decision made by the referee, penalty.

Kieran Watson was the man to step up and try his luck from the penalty spot this time and incredibly this one was also squandered with Gary Stevens making amends by saving well down to his right. Speaking of rarities, I wonder how many times two penalties have been given to the same side in one half and have both been missed.

With half-time fast approaching, substitute Jamie Brown struck comfortably over for Staveley and Jimmy Beadle’s flick on was agonizingly too pacey for Josh Greening to latch onto and somehow The Brewers led at the break.

Half-Time: Staveley Miners Welfare 0-1 Tadcaster Albion

Moving into the second half, it was still incredibly difficult to see which way the game was going to go. Taddy as we know have always got a goal in them but the home side certainly looked a threat with the effervescent Courtney Hastings up front proving to be a real nuisance.

Taddy had the first half chance of the second 45 as a long ball forward by Gregg Anderson was misjudged by Richard Mintoft and pounced upon by Josh Greening who let it bounce twice before firing wildly over.

The Trojans did eventually level just eight minutes into the second half as Taddy were stretched at the back and were indeed punished as Adam Scott threaded in Kieran Watson who slotted it low and underneath Gary Stevens to set up an intriguing final thirty five minutes.

Taddy looked to bounce straight back as Jimmy Beadle sent Josh Greening in behind down the right hand side with only Mintoft to beat however the forward chose to slow things down and wait for support only for his cross to thwarted.

With fifteen minutes to go, both sides were most certainly not playing for a draw, it was relentless end to end football leaving large gaps in behind both defences which made up for an exciting finale.

The Brewers were looking to nudge back in front to solidify top spot in the division by going five points clear and they almost did just that through Josh Greening. Jonathan Greening picked out his younger brother who guided goal wards with his laces from 12 yards but Nick Siddons was equal to the strike and managed to push away.

Staveley were probably looking the most likely to take the lead with twelve minutes to go and Jordan Armstrong proved simply why it is so crucial to have men on the posts at set-pieces. The home side fired a corner out to the edge of the penalty area where Jamie Brown stood completely unmarked and Brown side footed first time only to be headed cleared off the line by Armstrong.

With nine minutes to go Staveley took the lead and had completed the turnaround. Gregg Anderson’s heavy touch gave possession back to the home side as Jamie Brown was allowed to carry the ball down the pitch for 40 yards to then play in Courtney Hastings who rifled low and hard past Stevens at the near post. The goal was Hastings’ 20th for the campaign.

With the amount of pressure that Staveley were piling on, you’d have to say that the lead was thoroughly deserved. The Brewers never really got out of first gear and struggled to carve out clear opportunities against a well organised Staveley side.

The young Trojans were causing Taddy problems all over and in the end held on for the victory, damming Tadcaster to another defeat at Inkersall Road and also just their fourth league loss of the season.

Full-Time: Staveley Miners Welfare 2-1 Tadcaster Albion

Team: Stevens, Armstrong, Ormsby, Milne, Anderson, Mycoe, Sellars, Jonathan Greening, Beadle © (Stewart 87), Josh Greening, Baker (Black 87)

Unused Subs: Barrett, Heath & Clayton