Emley AFC 1 - 2 Silsden AFC

A week since a disappointing away day in the Vase, Emley surely hoped for a defiant performance back in the league, where they have been mostly faultless, as they faced off against mid-table Silsden.

Unfortunately, The Pewits never got out of first gear and slumped to a defeat. A slight falter in the race for the division title that was luckily matched by title challengers Campion, who also lost.

The first half was fairly even but saw Silsden make the most of their chances, as they took the lead from a well-placed free kick close to half time.

Emley struggled to get into any sort of groove in the first 10 minutes, with Silsden managing to carve out a few half chances while the home side failed to garner any meaningful attempts.

The visitors gave Petrovic something to worry about in the 8th minute. Casey Stewart’s driven shot initially had to be parried by the stand-in number 1 before he gathered the ball to prevent the follow-up.

Any attacks Emley did have were inspired by key man Iyrwah Gooden on the left of the front three, who worked the flank as we’re so used to seeing him do at the Welfare Ground this season.

Silsden stood firm. Particularly well-drilled, you would be hard-pressed to find a better defensive side to visit Emley all season as The Pewits toiled to carve them open to little avail.

Clearly, a key absence in the Emley attacking unit was the leading NCEL goalscorer Ruben Jerome, absent from the eleven after picking up a muscle injury against Worcester. James Walshaw’s exploits spearheading the attack were dealt with competently by the Silsden centre-halves. His first effort came after 25 minutes, as he lost his footing and found his shot sailing frustratingly over the bar.

Midway through the first half, Emley managed to curate their first big chance with a threatening passing move, playing intricate two-touch football in-between the lines of Silsden’s defence before Tom Haigh picked out Alex Metcalfe with a dink over the top. Metcalfe tried to pass across the face of goal and the ball was scrambled to safety.

Emley then began to test the away side with a decent spell of attacking pressure after the half-hour mark. Walshaw found himself well placed inside the Silsden box with a lot still to do facing away from goal. He cleverly swivelled and unleashed a fierce effort on goal, but the Silsden ‘keeper made a fine stop.

From the resulting corner, Hardaker’s pacey delivery was met by Charlie Barks before being scrambled towards goal in a sea of bodies, but Silden’s ‘keeper was on hand once more to prevent Emley from opening the scoring.

Silsden rode the period of pressure from Emley well before countering and buying a cheap free kick on the edge of the area.

Casey Stewart stepped up for the visitors and curled a stunning effort into the bottom corner to put them 1-0 up in the 39th minute.

Emley found themselves stretched towards the end of the half, as Ross Hardaker found himself in the sin bin for dissent. Silsden carved out another decent chance, smashing an effort on goal that looked to be creeping under the bar if not for Petrovic’s tip over.

H/T: EMLEY 0-1 SILSDEN

Emley needed a big second half were they to take home any points from this fixture but emerged for the second half unchanged and struggled to change their fortunes.

There were many noticeable absentees among Emley’s ranks, as club captain James Knowles missed out through an injury he picked up at Worcester, as well as manager Richard Tracey and his assistant manager Steve Nicholson. In a half where leadership was paramount, Emley were led from the sidelines by Richard Batley and Ben Walker the best they could as Metcalfe did his bit on the pitch as vice-captain. The hole left, however, was noticeable.

So, without Tracey’s usual booming voice to motivate and Knowles’ organisational capabilities from the heart of defence, Emley struggled to find a way back into the game.

The opening ten minutes of the second half were uneventful, with neither side holding onto the ball particularly well. Seemingly out of nothing, Gooden did well to needle his way to the Silsden byline before angling a ball across in search of the lurking Walshaw that was blocked and turned behind for a corner.

A brief interval before the corner allowed Donae Lawrence to make his league return after a period of absence.

The corner delivered by Metcalfe was dangerous as Emley through bodies at it. The ball ricocheted out for Haigh who swung a foot at it but volleyed wide.

Emley continued to try and cut through the Silsden defence, but constantly found themselves giving away possession and wasting chances. Silsden eventually capitalised with a counter from a corner.

The visitors had managed to clear an Emley corner as far as Sam Pashley on halfway, who was unfortunately pickpocketed in a lapse of concentration, as Silsden took it down the line and squared it for their second of the afternoon.

An out of sorts performance from Emley visibly frustrated the players as they found themselves two goals down. They laboured to get a hold on the game but could not seem to get anything to work.

Walshaw was close to halving the deficit as he thumped a header straight at the ‘keeper, who parried it straight back into his path. The forward did well to sort his feet out and poke the rebound towards goal, but a Silsden defender cleared it off the line to the sound of agonising groans in the stands.

Joe Kenny was next to have a go, smashing an effort from the edge of the box wide of the post.

Moments later, Isaac Baldwin showed determination to drive into the box from the left. He tried to bend one towards the far post, but Silsden managed to throw a body in the way to block the effort.

Finally, in the closing moments of the game, Emley pulled one back through Alex Metcalfe who tapped in Gooden’s clever pass across the face of goal to give The Pewits a glimmer of hope.

Silsden tried to kill the game off immediately after the restart as they found themselves inside Emley’s box, but Hardaker was there with a great last-ditch tackle to temporarily stop the attack, before a second shot was tipped wide brilliantly by Petrovic.

The visitors did well to manage the final moments, as they ran down the clock to take all three points from the league leaders.

Emley still sit atop the league table despite a sub-par showing, finding themselves on the back of two straight defeats for the first time this season – a testament to the hard work The Pewits have put in up until this point. The attention must now turn to a crucial battle with 2nd placed Campion on Tuesday night.

F/T: EMLEY 1-2 SILSDEN

ATTENDANCE: 497
EMLEY: Petrovic, Baldwin, Hardaker, Hardaker, Pashley, Barks, T. Haigh, Kenny, Walshaw, Gooden, Walker
SUBS: Lawrence, Clegg, Eyles
UNUSED: K. Haigh, Curtis
GOALS: Metcalfe (90’)
Moxon and Co. Man of the Match: Alex Metcalfe