Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup
Frickley Athletic 4-1 AFC Emley
James Walshaw scored twice for Frickley against AFC Emley
On-loan forward James Walshaw pulled Frickley Athletic out of the fire as the holders avoided a major upset against AFC Emley in the quarter-final tie.
Ash Flynn’s penalty gave Emley a half time lead against the side three divisions higher, but that gap showed in the second half, when Luke Hinsley and Jacob Hazel added to substitute James Walshaw’s double to send the current champions through to the semi final.
Frickley started quite bright, with Tyler Williams being a constant threat down the left wing. His teasing cross found Jacob Hazel in space early on, but he was only able to fire over the bar.
Striker Chris Wood then hit the bar after the ball broke to him inside the box following a free kick, but he somehow managed to hit the frame of the goal.
Emley then managed to get a penalty following a handball in the box after a cross from the left. Ash Flynn stepped up against one of his former sides and sent the ball beyond Sebastian Malkowski, who went the right way but was unable to stop the effort.
Kieran Ryan had a shot late on in the first half from a distance but it was a comfortable save for Frickley’s Polish stopper.
A deep ball from the right in the second half led to the equalizer, after pressure on Adam Lawlor from Luke Hinsley told and he was able to put the ball into the net.
Williams again troubled down the left, coming inside and unleashing a shot that Lawlor was able to tip over the bar.
Substitute Walshaw and Hinsley both had headers go just wide of the post as Frickley kept putting on the pressure against a resilient Emley defence.
Hazel then had a shot deflected just wide for a corner, but it was from that corner Frickley were able to gain the lead, as Walshaw headed home Steven Jeff’s delivery.
The tiredness told in the later stages of the game, with Williams using his pace to get down the left and had time to pick out a man in the middle. He saw Hazel with a bit of room and the former Chesterfield man tucked it into the corner to make it 3-1.
He then had another shot saved by Lawlor, before Emley went in search of a goal that could have gotten them back into the game.
However it was not to be, and whilst searching for a goal they left themselves open to a counter, which is exactly what happened as Walshaw collected a long punt downfield whilst on the shoulder of the last defender and rounded Lawlor before slotting it into the empty net despite valiant efforts to stop him.
Frickley Athletic: Malkowski, Parkinson, Jeff, Hinsley, Cyrus, Ible (captain), Hazel, Akeroyd, Wood, Ryan, Williams. Subs: Walshaw, Hood, Stratford, Davie, Wakefield.
AFC Emley: Lawlor, Horsman, Coduri, Graham, Slack, Brennan, Tunnacliffe (captain), R Jerome, Flynn, Ryan, Hallam. Subs: Scrivens, Noteman, Townend, Cooper, Spicer.
Thanks to Josh Lindley for this report.