EV2 Sheffield & Hallamshire County Senior League Division One
Wombwell Town 3-1 Denaby Main
The wait for the elusive promotion is finally over for ambitious Wombwell Town after second half goals from Will Harling and Brad Kerr steered them into the top flight of the County Senior League.
Wombwell now have the title in their sights and two wins and a draw from their final three games will see Karl Rose’s side go up as champions.
Wombwell, an oncoming storm where the NCEL is concerned, needed a point to secure promotion, but the perfect script for the day was ripped up early on.
Denaby Main threatened to spoil the party in front of over 200 people as striker Christian Baxby gave them a 19th minute lead.
Denaby had to win to keep their extremely unlikely promotion hopes alive and Baxby managed to get beyond defender Joe Egan and slot the ball underneath goalkeeper Jono Davis to stun the majority of the crowd.
The goal certainly changed Rose’s demeanour. The former Frickley Athletic manager had been a quiet figure in the early exchanges.
Now, visually on the touchline, he had gone from displaying features of a family friendly French Poodle to those of an angry Rottweiler.
However, his shouts from the side inspired an instant response and a goal from a player who has massively benefited from his management.
Talented and intelligent midfielder Chris Byrnes showed incredible vision by delivering one of the best passes of his career.
Byrnes had the ball on the halfway line and he clipped it into the penalty area where Kerr beatifically hit it first time on the volley.
The ball sailed over the Denaby goalkeeper and Wombwell were level and looking up.
The finish from the former Worsbrough Bridge striker was just as good as the pass.
Denaby caused one more scare at the beginning of the second half with a shot that Davis had to do well to stop.
After that chance, the visitors ran out of gas and Wombwell began to dominate and with 20 minutes to go, Harling wrote his name into local folklore.
Eddie Agnew crossed from the right and the ball found prolific goal-scoring left-back Harling 15 yards out and he hit a low effort into left-hand bottom corner to spark scenes of jubilation.
It was now literally one-way traffic and the second goal triggered a siege on Denaby’s goal.
Denaby’s woes were worsened by an injury to their goalkeeper, whose replacement conceded Kerr’s second and Wombwell’s third.
Kerr got in behind again and with the stopper out of position, the 17-goal hero, who is enjoying the most consistent form since he burst on the Non League scene at Worsbrough in 2014, had a simple finish into the the empty net.
That clinched it and when the final whistle sounded, the celebrations on-the-pitch were fairly muted.
That’s because Wombwell’s mission is not over.
Reclaiming the title they won in 2020 (before the records were expunged) is the target in the next two weeks.
What They Said
Wombwell Town manager Karl Rose
“We always expected them to try and spoil the party because they are a good side.
“They made us battle, but it just shows the spirit and determination to dig deep.
“You look at us as a unit.
“It is the first time we have gone behind for a while so we handled the pressure of the big occasion and after falling behind.
“We have goals in the side so we never panicked and I think it was a fair result.
“(Denaby) put a lot of hard work in during the first half and they matched us first half for effort.
“It was a close game in the first half, but they did tire.
“I think they were dead on their feet in the last 20 minutes and I thought we put in a good solid performance in the second half.
“I’m delighted to win promotion and that is job one ticked and it is another step towards the crown.”
The Team
Wombwell Town: Davis, Padgett, Harling, Byrnes, Copley, Egan, Exley (captain), B Cooper), Kerr, J Cooper, Agnew. Subs: Arrian, Ackroyd, Norbury, McDermott, Wilson.
Who Was In Charge
Gary Hubbard (8/10)
How Many Were There
Over 200
Man of the Match
Will Harling (Wombwell Town)
