AFC Emley vs Cleethorpes Town - NCEL 31st August 2012

Darren Hepworth’s men dominated the game but failed to capitalise on their chances and were ultimately outdone by 3 goals in 13 minutes midway through the second half.

The kick off was delayed by 20 minutes as the visitors were delayed in traffic for the Friday night fixture but they showed no signs of fatigue and hit Emley with great display with of counter attacking football.

Emley did the start the strongest and had the better of the play in the first half. Anthony Haigh carved out their first chance of the game with a 25 yard drive which went just wide. The Cleethorpes keeper Scott Drury then pulled off saves from an Ashley Flynn header and a Dean Wharam chip.

The visitors responded with Ricky Belding shooting wide after being allowed too much space by the Emley midfield. Then, Lawrence Hewitt stabbed a volley over the bar from 6 yards out as Emley failed to clear a corner.

Wharam came close as Drury held onto his low drive at the second attempt, then had a header at the near post cleared of the line before Haigh hit another long range marginally wide as Emley failed to capitalise on their dominance.

A good spell of play for the visitors then followed and it was Emley who were thankful not to concede. Luke Herriot made a fine save pushing the ball round the post from a free kick by Tim Lowe which had dipped over the wall. From the resulting corner Hewitt saw his drive blocked on the line by an Emley defender then Sean Hazelden made a vital header to clear a cross with Lee Stephenson in acres of space.

The half ended with the action swaying from end to end. Doran Jordan whipped a shot across the face of goal following a blocked effort by Wharam. Belding also fired similarly just wide of target with Herriot at full stretch. Drury ensured that the scores remained level with another smart save from John Cyrus who had been set up by a fine run and cross by Anthony Leech.

Emley started the second half in blistering fashion as Wharam made a great turn and run inside the box to cross to Flynn who saw his effort denied by a last ditch block. Jordan then fired into the side netting and also had a strong claim for a penalty waived away before Emley finally broke the deadlock on 48 minutes.

Dean Wharam was the scorer as he stroked home an unstoppable drive from 30 yards out following a tremendous penetrating ball from deep by Matt Thornton. Flynn had a great chance to double the lead soon after but headed a cross from Roberts straight into the arms of Drury.

Cleethorpes were back on level terms on 55 minutes with Daniel Freeman allowed too much space down the left hand side before beating Herriot at his near post with a low drive. The goal rattled the Emley players as Cleethorpes seized the initiative and were in the lead 5 minutes later.
Freeman this time was the architect again exploiting space on Emley’s left side to feed Stephenson who curled a terrific shot in off the inside of the far post.

Daniel Barrett almost caught out Herriot with quickly taken free kick from 35 yards out with the Emley keeper unable to hold onto the strike, but he did redeem himself with a fine block from the rebound straight after.

Cleethorpes third goal had something of a fortunate air about it but was a fair reflection for the intense pressure that they had put Emley under. Stephenson was as surprised as most of those in attendance to see a cross from almost the lower touch line loop over Herriot and into the top right hand corner of the goal.

Darren Hepworth responded by introducing Josh Ingham and Mark Stuart and Emley battled to claw back the deficit. Cyrus went close with a low drive and Flynn headed a Wharam cross just wide. Stuart had a shot blocked from 10 yards out following a fine move which started from a clearance by Herriot.

Referee Cedric Duval booked three Cleethorpes players in the final 10 minutes of the game as Emley’s pressure started to wear them down. A spectacular overhead kick by Wharam from a Haigh free kick sailed just wide of the post before Emley finally clawed a goal back on 88 minutes.

The moved started with Thornton whipping in a free kick to Cyrus who forced another good save from Drury. The ball ran free to Stuart but his shot was again blocked, but ran free to Haigh who lashed home his 5th goal of the season.

This set up a frantic finale with Emley throwing everything at Cleethorpes but the closest they came to notching an equaliser was Wharam heading a Leech cross onto the roof of the net. Cleethorpes left substitute Marc Cooper up front in a loan striker role and he had two good opportunities to catch Emley out on the break but fired the first high over the bar then was denied by a good block by Herriot.

The result meant that Emley miss out on an early chance to claim top spot in the table whilst Cleethorpes draw level on them on 10 points. Emley will be frustrated not to make better of the possession that they in the early stages of each half but full credit to the visitors who look more than capable of holding their own in what is shaping up to be a strong division.

Emley:
Herriot, Thornton, Leech, Cyrus, Hazelden, Banton, Haigh, Jordan (Ingham 71), Wharam, Flynn, Roberts (Stuart 71).
Subs (not used): Ellis, Schofield, Kenworthy. Att: 134