Tadcaster Albion fell to a 3-1 defeat in their season opener against newly promoted Dearne & District on an overcast afternoon at the Young Guns Arena.

With just 5 minutes on the clock a ball over the top from Dearne caused some indecision at the back which Justin Circuit pounced on and rolled into an empty net to give the new boys the lead.

Dearne’s first long throw of the game caused problems at the back as an initial effort ricocheted off the crossbar and was then nodded in by Adam Baskerville however he was in an offside position and the score remained 1-0.

Tadcaster’s Cole Roberts was given the first booking of the game as he was judged to have pulled down his man just past midfield, then Dearne’s Owen Fieldsend followed his lead by committing the exact same foul on the edge of his own box just minutes later, the resulting free kick stood over by Andrew Shephard and Oli Norman was struck by the latter through the wall forcing a tough save from Ellis Pickard.

Tadcaster’s best chance of the half so far came with a pinpoint ball through from Jayden Clarke-Thompson to Cassama who’s effort just rolled inches wide of the left post, the game really struggled to get going as the half ran on with a succession of fouls given both ways by referee Harry Vaux with Dearne benefitting from their physicality on set pieces creating fleeting chances.

Tadcaster got the goal they were looking for just before the half time whistle through Olly Green who jumped at some indecision from Pickard and got up bravely to head the ball into the net. 1-1.

Into the second half Dearne’s dangerous set pieces paid off within six minutes from the restart, a long throw bounced all the way through the six-yard box and was headed in at the back post by Baskerville making it 2-1.

Within minutes of the second goal Circuit broke free and chose to chip it, putting a huge opportunity wide. A long afternoon for the Brewers continued as Roberts received his marching orders for a second yellow card after a tough challenge.

Despite being a man down Tadcaster looked the more dangerous of the two sides and were pushing to level the game. However, against the run of play Dearne fashioned themselves another chance to put the game away with a ball out wide finding Baskerville who struck an effort against the crossbar, heading into the final five minutes Dearne once again found their set pieces paying off and a long throw was nodded home by Fieldsend making it 3-1.

The game ended 3-1 to Dearne who will take confidence into their home opener against Penistone on Tuesday. Tadcaster’s afternoon was filled with promising moments and some learning opportunities which were reinforced by manager Ryan Qualter after the game who said “we actually played quite well (in the) first half, dealt with the long throw and made some chances for ourselves”.

The Brewers will aim to bounce back against Parkgate away from home on Tuesday night.

Tony Howarth Golf Man Of The Match: Olly Green

Hughes (GK), Pilkington, Roberts, Shepherd (Brown), Gothard, Binns, Norman (Campbell), Clarke-Thompson (Eastwood), Cassama (Okoro), Owen©, Green

Report from Kieran Crook, Photos Courtesy of Keith Handley