On a dreary day on the moor, Emley AFC Academy players score a trio against a stylish Huddersfield Town Academy.

While there were battling moments, the Kirklees classic fixture saw the young Pewits, frankly, dominate a young Huddersfield Town side under the floodlights in the final pre-season fixture before the 2021/22 season for Emley AFC.

Straight out of the starting blocks, the Emley players wanted to bring the game to Town. The style and confidence of the Town players was mesmerising as the skill was evident amongst them, passing the ball accurately and with flourish. However, Emley were the first to get in a shot on target but it was easily dealt with by Town’s keeper, Aleksander Petrovic.

The skiddy pitch gave Emley the advantage in their style of play of throwing the ball forward to attack the Huddersfield goal. In a through ball to Frasier Beckett, the Pewits looked ready to score as the ball flew beyond Petrovic’s reach and inches wide of the right post. Town came alive and broke away, pushing the Emley defence just after ten minutes. For a shot that was well on its way into the net, French palmed the ball away for a corner in a full stretch save.

Just minutes later, Jimmy Pursell for Emley was clean through on goal. The Town defence took advantage of his moment of hesitation to muffle the attack but Sandy Masuku was free on the wing to receive the ball. Masuku’s blasted shot was pushed away for a corner. Amongst a flurry of toothless attacks from the young Terriers, Masuku, again, found his way through on goal to fire another bullet that led to another corner. Following the corner, Auty booted the ball into the net but was caught offside.

The first half ended quietly, with just one good attempt on goal coming from Emley’s Luke Brooksbank on the half hour mark which missed the target by inches as spectators watched the ball fly over the crossbar and rattle around The Shed like a pinball.

After the break, Town opened the attack early but it was soon muted by Emley’s defence. On the counter attack, Emley broke away and were clear of the Town defence which led to Masuku, on the third time of asking, blasting the ball into Town’s net to break the deadlock and put the Pewits 1-0 up after fifty minutes.

The flood gates opened and, for the most part, the spectators came to watch one-way traffic. Just five minutes later, Hayden Webster, who featured in the U23’s cup final, rounded the keeper and clinically put the ball away to double Emley’s lead. 2-0.

On the sixty-fifth minute, just fifteen minutes after the first goal, Brooksbank saw the opportunity to treble Emley’s lead and took it. The ball ricocheted off the cross bar and into the back of the bulging net. Emley quickly found themselves 3-0 up early on in the second half. Not much was seen of Town in Emley’s half besides the odd corner. Despite that, there was some skilful, professional football to be seen among Huddersfield’s young talent.

The full time whistle blew to bring the game and, ultimately, pre-season fixtures to a close with an emphatic 3-0 victory. In a dominant display by the Emley Academy, led by Sam Sutton, the future of football in Emley looks bright.

Less than twenty-four hours later, Emley AFC commence their first game of the season in the NCEL Premier Division, first game ever in this division as ‘the new club’ in fact, away at Winterton Rangers. Next Sunday at 1:30, the Pewits will be at the Fantastic Media Welfare Ground against Congleton Town in the FA Cup.

Emley AFC

Match details

Match date

Kickoff

Login