REPORT | Back-to-Back Defeats Leaves The Brewers Bruised

Picture by Lee Hellwing

A lacklustre display in Lincolnshire made for a gruelling 200-mile midweek round trip but Albion could have no complaints with the result as goals from Joe Burgess and Jon Challinor either side of the interval handed the Daniels a deserved victory.

Simon Collins was forced into making two changes to the side that lost to Pontefract Collieries as Paddy Miller and Will Annan weren’t fully fit to start so Jake Rose and Luke Porritt came in.

It was an even start to proceedings at the Zeeco Stadium with both sides feeling each other out allowing one another time on the football. The first noteworthy moment arrived on 13 minutes when Casey Stewart brilliantly soared beyond Josh Egginton driving into the penalty area only to see his cross superbly flicked off the toe of Joe Lumsden by an outstretching Michael Armstrong.

Following an earlier downpour, many Taddy players continued to lose their footing on the slick surface, yet Aiden Savory managed to recover from his slip inside the box to retain possession before he blasted over from a tight angle. The Brewers’ best moments were coming down the right-hand side with Ellis Barkworth and Casey Stewart continuing to link up well yet the end product was severely lacking.

After a convincing 3-0 defeat to Marske United on Saturday, Stamford were hungry for a reaction and they grew into the game as the half wore on. Ryan Seal slid Ollie Brown-Hill into the box down the left-hand side but his pull back was just behind Liam Adams. Nevertheless the home side did break the deadlock shortly after the half hour mark as Joe Burgess’ header from a Jake Duffy corner had too much power on it for James Hodges.

Taddy had it all to do in the second half if they were to turn it around, Casey Stewart was one of few players who looked dangerous as he intercepted Egginton’s pass before pulling back to Lumsden but he failed to connect with his rushed effort. Jason Mycoe and Harry Coates were defending well at the back for TAFC however the midfield and forward line never really clicked into gear and Stamford deserve great credit for how they approached the game given that they have little but a few positions to play for.

Things then went from bad to worse for the Brewers as the hosts doubled their lead nine minutes into the second half. Rob Morgan cleverly sent substitute Jon Challinor gallivanting into the box down the right-hand side before the former York City man fired past Hodges at the near post.

With clear-cut chances pretty much non-existent for Taddy, the closest they came to finding the net was three minutes later when Joe Lumsden’s goal-bound header from a corner was inadvertently diverted onto the face of the crossbar by Michael Armstrong.

The result seemed a foregone conclusion at this point as Stamford looked a side gunning for the top five rather than it being the other way around. Liam Adams had a great chance to add a third when he skipped past last man Harry Coates but Hodges stood tall to push over the top.

Tadcaster seemed devoid of any motivation whatsoever as their opponents simply appeared to want it more as they threatened again on 77 minutes when Adams curled a whisker wide of the left-hand upright.

Albion then reverted to a back three for the final stages with Will Annan replacing Jason Mycoe and the former Hull City pro provided a bit more of a spark in the final third without really troubling Stamford.

As the hosts rightfully sat in and defended their lead, Pete Davidson created Taddy’s clearest chance of the evening threading Joe Lumsden through into the box but goalkeeper Danny Haystead saved well. The Stamford stopper was called into action twice more before the full-time whistle went; first to tip Annan’s curling effort wide before he superbly kept out Aiden Savory’s close-range volley.

Prior to that though, Stamford had a chance to put the icing on the cake with a penalty after Ellis Barkworth hauled down Rob Morgan who remarkably ran almost the entire length of the pitch. Greg Smith immediately ran over to grab the ball but his blast down the middle was cleverly read by James Hodges who simply pushed over the top. This however counted for little as the Brewers now have it all to do if they are to make the play-offs.

Full-Time: Stamford 2-0 Tadcaster Albion

Stamford: Haystead, Armstrong, Egginton, Burgess (Challinor 47), Cooke, Smith, Morgan, Duffy©, Seal (Bloor 73), Adams, Brown-Hill

Unused: Tarris, Palmer, Taylor

Tadcaster: Hodges, Barkworth, Howarth, Rose, Coates, Mycoe (Annan 78), Stewart, Davidson©, Lumsden, Savory, Porritt

Unused: Burn, Hardy, Miller