FA Cup Preliminary Round
Handsworth 5-2 Stocksbridge Park Steels
Mitch Dunne’s first half double kick-started the upset as Handsworth inflicted deja-vu on Stocksbridge Park Steels in the Steel City FA Cup derby battle at Olivers Mount.
Northern Premier League side Stocksbridge suffered a 4-1 defeat to Handsworth in the same round five years and one day ago in 2016 and history repeated itself as the Ambers cantered into the first qualifying round.
Russ Eagle’s Toolstation NCEL Premier Division outfit, whose league form has been impressive so far this season, were excellent all over the pitch and out-worked their opponents whose heads dropped as the game wore on.
Stocksbridge showed some promising signs early doors but rather than blossoming into their first FA Cup win in years, the performance wilted into a disastrous one.
Against the run of play Dunne laid the platform for Handsworth with two goals in three minutes around the 30 minute mark.
Steels’ best player Lewis Whitham mapped out a route back for his side but they conceded again – this time from ex-Athersley Rec star Lee Bennett to hand full control back to Handsworth as half-time beckoned.
The tie was effectively sown up by the in-form James Oliver straight after the interval.
Josh Nodder restored some very brief and faint hope for Stocksbridge before Leon Howarth clinically finished the visitors off.
Although you can’t take the victory away from Handsworth, you have to wonder if the score-line would have been different had Chris Hilton had been able to select goalkeeper Ed Hall, stalwart captain Liam McFadyen and star front-man Luke Mangham.
The Steels starting line-up was strong but those three would have certainly added more quality and power.
That said, the afternoon began in a positive way as the Steels caused problems from the off.
Whitham, who is developing into a real talent and was a persistent menace for Handsworth, watched an on-target shot get blocked inside the first minute.
Nodder then had an effort turned away by home goalkeeper Ben Townsend.
After ten or 15 minutes of Stocksbridge mainly having the ball, Handsworth began to start getting on the ball and they won a corner or two.
Nothing suggested the deadlock breaker was coming though.
Dunne deserves huge credit, not just for the powerful hit from 30-yards, but for the awareness of the situation.
Far from speculative, this rocket was pre-mediated.
Dunne had spotted stand-in goalkeeper David Reay way off-his-line and and he unleashed mighty fury on the ball and sent it crashing into the top corner beyond the helpless visiting stopper – who perhaps might have started having flashbacks to the tie from five years ago.
The first goal was unlucky from Steels’ perspective, the second one was purely careless.
Robert Ludlam’s header back to Reay was too short and Dunne nipped in and poked it past the Steels goalkeeper.
Stand-in bosses Jason Dodsworth and Aiden Spowage – in charge whilst Eagle recovers from an operation – jumped for joy.
Eagle, watching on from the other side and issuing the odd instruction now and then, must be delighted with how smoothly his assistants are running the show in his absence.
For a brief few minute period though, the Ambers must have feared a Stocksbridge comeback, especially with deadly striker Joe Lumsden in reserve on the bench.
Whitham cut in from the left and found the inside of the near post to score a deserved personal goal and breathe life into his side.
Unfortunately for Stocksbridge, Handsworth deflated them again by capitalising on more poor defending.
Dunne’s right-wing cross missed everyone.
Oliver kept it in and had too much room and time to square it across goal to the unmarked Bennett who stood directly facing the centre of the goal on the six-yard box line and simply fired home.
If the visitors were to mount a second half revival, they had to act quickly.
Instead, the hosts seized the occasion again with Dunne turning provider with fine cross which Oliver buried and grabbed a goal he probably was full value for.
Despite a huge suspicion of offside, Nodder went through and brought the score-line to 4-2.
The Steels huffed and puffed chasing two unlikely goals before the game was firmly put beyond them when Howarth burst through and sent a thunderbolt past Reay.
What They Said
Handsworth assistant manager Jason Dodsworth (currently running the side with Aiden Spowage whilst Russ Eagle recovers from an operation)
“When you play any opposition from the league above and win 5-2 you are going to be nothing but pleased.
“The lads went out and did a job on them.
“(Stocksbridge) started well in the first ten minutes which they were always going to do but once we got to grips with it there was only going to be one winner and we put them to the sword.
“Stocksbridge have good players, they are technically good, they work on a lot of things and they’re not a bad team.
“The first goal was a worldie from Mitch Dunne and yes the second one was a gimme but it makes a change for us to get one of them this season as we have been giving teams goals game after game.
“We have been making little mistakes and getting punished from it so it was nice today to get 2-0 up.
“(Stocksbridge) got a goal but our reaction was brilliant.
“We could have gone into our shell and conceded another but we didn’t and we got a third.”
The Teams
Handsworth: Townsend, Nyarko (Mackie), Tootle, Harrison, Paylor (captain), Roebuck, Fewkes, Teasdale, Bennett (Howarth), Oliver, Dunne (Lonchar). Subs unused: Baldwin, Bacon, Hobson, Ledger.
Stocksbridge Park Steels: Reay, Lemon (Walker), Trench, Finlaw, Ludlam, Fielding (captain), Crofts, Goodwin (Lumsden), Ruthven, Nodder, Whitham (Slater). Sub unused: Thompson.
Who Was In Charge
Dylan Hague (7/10)
How Many Were There
189
Man of the Match
James Oliver (Handsworth)
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