Town Emerge Victorious from the Valley of the Wolves

Four first half goals settled the tie in the favour of Rothwell as they extended their unbeaten run to 8 games.

On large pitch with a slope more suitable for downhill skiing than football town kick off playing up hill into a biting wind. The coaches were hoping to reach half time level so they could take advantage of the slope in the second half. Despite the tough conditions Rothwell started strongest and were in the lead after five minutes. Some good work form Kaden in the middle of the field won the ball and Harry Caton delivered a short pass to Sam Pears who found himself with a yard of space just inside the box which was enough to turn and place a low shot which beat the keeper and ricochet in off the bottom of the far post. Woodkirk responded well and launched a strong attack but the defence which has been so solid over the last few matches remained so and protected Jacob in goal. The Wolves forced a couple of corners which again were dealt with efficiently by Rothwells back line who were winning every tackle and every header. Another Wolves attack was quickly stopped and a quick ball was played forward to Sam Pears on the half way line. Sam turned his man brilliantly and released a ball into the right channel Where Liam King had made a good early run beating the offside. The Woodkirk left back got back to challenge Liam who held the ball up well and played a ball back to Jacob Bues who played a first time ball into Sam Pears. In a similar position to his first goal Sam hit another shot towards the far post. this time the keeper seemed to have it covered, but a great late run from Kaden Sharlotte saw him challenge the keeper strongly on the far back post and managed to poke the ball home making it 2-0 to the visitors. Both teams continued to play good football, but with Harrison Jones winning every header, Oliver Walker giving the strikers little room and the two wing backs Michael & Kai stopping attacks building in the wide areas it was Rothwell who looked the most dangerous and came closest with Kaden and Harry Caton both finding themselves in good positions in front of goal but not finding the final finish. Woodkirk then found a breakthrough as they pushed men forward and a fortuitous bounce of the heel of the winger split Michael & Harrison for the first time and a strong run and shot brought them back into the game at 2 – 1. Jacob Bues and Liam King combined well on a number of occasions and Liams intelligent runs into space got the better of the Woodkirk defence and kept the pressure on the home team. Another Rothwell attack was scrambled to safety and as the Wolves looked to counter Michael Throp dispossessed the man with the ball and with some quick foot work managed to keep to avoid a strong challenge and lay the ball off to Jacob Bues out wide. Jacob delivered a great cross which Harry couldn’t connect with, the ball then fell to Sam Pears who played it back to Jacob. This time a deep cross aimed at the far post was bravely met by Sam Mulvaney who timed his run perfectly to get to the ball ahead of the keeper and made it 3 – 1 to Rothwell. That turned out to be the last kick of the half as the referee blew the whistle straight after kick off.

The second half started as the first had finished with both teams playing good passing football. Although the wind had died down, playing downhill the Rothwell coaches were confident of scoring again. However it was Woodkirk who started stronger and forced Rothwell back. The defence remained solid and Jacob Murray commanded his area well dealing with anything that threated his goal. Dan Etchells, who had played in all positions on the right during the game, used his pace and hit a great shot from the corner of the goal area but unfortunately was not on target. Sam Van Den Briele, introduced as a second half substitution looked strong as supported the defence on the right and looked to release Dan in an advance position. Despite more pressure on both goals the second half remained goalless and Rothwell earned a well-deserved 3 – 1 win to take all the points. Sam Pears takes the man of the match award with a great performance

The win sees Rothwell move into 5^th and within touching distance of a place in the top three. Next week see the team travel to play Yorkshire Amateurs who will be looking to bounce back from a 9 – 0 defeat to Garforth.