Report: Yorkshire Main (H)

The Pewits began their defence of the Sheffield and Hallamshire Senior Cup in style with an 8-1 demolition of Central Midlands League North Division outfit, Yorkshire Main.

A thick fog had descended over Emley Moor – apt weather for our Halloween outing in which Emley dominated for the whole 90 minutes, only conceding through an unforced error in the second half.

It took Emley a quarter of an hour to get into top gear, as they probed Yorkshire Main’s defence. Jake Kelly swung in an early cross after 10 minutes that almost found Rowley well placed at the back post for a debut goal, but he was just out of reach.

Yorkshire’s only real attempts of the first half came early on. They fired a long-range effort on target but straight at the ‘keeper, Randall, who started Emley off on a quick counter. Nathan Curtis received the ball on the left and blistered down the wing to win a corner.

Emley’s first goal would come from the resulting corner, as Nathan Curtis finished off his hard work earning the set-piece with a headed goal from Kelly’s pinpoint delivery to make it 1-0.

The floodgates opened once Emley found their touch, looking more relaxed after the opening goal. Rowley almost found the second as he had a near-post effort saved, before Alex Metcalfe won a free kick in textbook Paul Walker territory. The versatile winger thumped an effort on target that cannoned off a navy shirt and into the Yorkshire goal to double Emley’s lead.

Just moments later, Kelly showed his class as he gracefully ghosted past Yorkshire Main’s fullback, outsmarting his opponent with quick feet, before drilling a low cross into the box to find a very advanced Jack Cowgill, who slotted home. Emley were 3-0 up and cruising after half an hour.

Metcalfe had a standout first half and was visibly hungry for a goal, as he unleashed a cracking effort from 30 yards that looked to be nestling in the top corner, but it whistled inches wide.

Emley closed the scoring for the first half through Harrison Rowley returning after a spell of solid experience at Glasshoughton Welfare. He showed intelligent positioning and quick reactions as he followed up Walker’s parried free kick effort to tap in the 4th Emley goal.

HT: Emley 4-0 Yorkshire Main

With the game all but won, Emley kept the pressure on their visitors as the fog over the moors thickened even more. Alex Metcalfe wasted no time in continuing Emley’s rout, as he showed perseverance to follow up his own blocked shot. At the second time of asking he made no mistake, firing into the roof of the net.

For all Emley’s dominance, Yorkshire showed courage in attempting to nullify their higher league opposition. It was time to employ damage limitations, and Yorkshire looked to be keeping The Pewits quiet until the home side looked towards the bench, introducing star man Iyrwah Gooden.

Predictably, the forward proved to be a huge problem for the Yorkshire Main defence, netting a hattrick within half an hour. His first was textbook Gooden, as he knocked the ball past his opponent and tore into the box. His shot across goal nestled in the bottom corner. Inevitable.

Emley deserved another after some intricate play by the left corner flag. Adam Mirza received a pass on the edge of the area and curled a shot in search of the bottom corner, but the Yorkshire Main ‘keeper pulled off a brilliant stop.

A heartwarming moment was shared around the Fantastic Media Welfare Ground in the 70th minute, as James Walshaw returned to the field after his gruesome injury earlier in the season, bolstering the Emley attacking unit even more for the final 20.

Yorkshire Main may not have had any hope for a comeback, nonetheless they capitalised on a lapse in communication. Randall’s pass out to Twigger was too short, and Yorkshire’s number 2, Ash Cantrill, was straight in to nick the ball and lob it into an open goal to make it 6-1.

As the game drew to its final moments, Emley were strutting their stuff, knowing they had secured a place in the next round of the County Cup. A 5-goal advantage was not satisfactory for Iyrwah Gooden, who leapt high in-between two centre-backs to head home Curtis’ dinked cross in the 89th minute. Just a minute later, he sealed his hattrick with another headed goal from a corner in the final seconds, to make it 8-1 with the final action of the game.

In bitterly cold and extremely foggy conditions, The Pewits managed to put on a show for the 200 attending fans, even if they could only see one half of the pitch.

A place in the third round awaits as we continue on our quest to defend the Sheffield and Hallamshire Senior Cup.

Next up for Emley are two back-to-back away league games against Silsden and Bottesford, as we look to build on our positive start to the campaign.

FT: Emley 8-1 Yorkshire Main

ATTENDANCE – 200
EMLEY – Randall, Twigger, Kelly, Metcalfe (c), Barks, Cowgill, Walker, Clegg, Curtis, Rowley, Mirza; Subs used – Gooden, Walshaw, Pashley; Unused – Knowles, Lambton.
GOALS – Curtis (15’), Walker (27’), Cowgill (31’), Rowley (39’), Metcalfe (51’), Gooden (63’ 89’ 90’)
Moxon and Co. Man of the Match – Jake Kelly