Tadcaster celebrate Nick Black’s goal. Picture: Ian Parker
Tadcaster Albion won 2-1 at Toolstation NCEL Premier Division title rivals Worksop Town in front of an astonishing 879 people.
The Brewers got off to the perfect start as Nick Black curled in a beauty after just three minutes followed by Jason Mycoe’s low sizzling strike half-way through the half made it 2-0. The Tigers were reduced to 10 men in the second half and then pulled a goal back in stoppage time through Steve Woolley however Taddy held on to win the match.
Tadcaster’s downfall last season was their failure to beat any of their title rivals. By winning at Worksop, Albion have collected more points against their rivals than last season.
It was a phenomenal atmosphere in the ground with both sets of fans singing their hearts out making it feel like a proper Football League match, incredible for a NCEL Premier Division game.
The match did not take long to kick-in as The Brewers were at it from the first whistle pumping the pressure on the home side. The tone for the first half was set in the first minute as a corner curled in by Josh Greening was only nervously dealt with by the home side.
Into the third minute and Taddy’s electric start reaped a reward as Adam Baker broke down the right-hand side and cut back to Black on the edge of the penalty area who struck first time and brilliantly curled the ball into the far corner.
With 20 minutes gone of the first half the home side slowly started working their way back into the contest in terms of possession but The Brewers’ shape, solidarity and team cohesion never looked like it was going to be broken through as The Tigers created virtually nothing in terms of chances. They tended to keep the ball and move it about very well however that was as far as it went, Gary Stevens in the Taddy goal wasn’t having to make a save and the back four looked went and truly solid.
It was a different story at the other end as every time Taddy broke forward with pace, Worksop didn’t look comfortable and this showed even more in the 25th minute as Tadcaster doubled their lead.
Mycoe picked the ball up on the half-way line and carried the ball further and further forward, Jordan Cooke backed off and backed off and there comes a time where you have to let fly and Mycoe certainly did so on this occasion hammering in a bullet from 25 yards.
It could have got even sweeter for Tadcaster just past the half hour mark as Greening’s corner looped towards the back post where Andy Milne had spun his man but the defender’s touch somehow bounced just the wrong side of the post amongst a flurry of players.
That chance for Milne was a half decent one however, it was nothing compared to Black’s chance right on the stroke of half-time. It really should have been 3-0 to The Brewers and that would have completely killed the game off. Liam Ormsby played it out-wide to winger Adam Baker who had the pace to beat his man and slide a cross onto the penalty spot where Black just had to hit the target from six yards out however the striker hit into the ground which made the ball bounce agonizingly over the goal although the ball did seem to take a bobble before he struck it.
It was clear from the outset of the second half that The Brewers were looking to sit deep and frustrate the home side, although having said that it could have easily been 3-0 to Albion in the first minute of the half as Baker burst through the Tigers defence but shot over from the edge of the area.
Worksop started to have more and more of the ball around Tad’s penalty box but again, they weren’t shooting, they were just passing it sideways waiting for the perfect opportunity which never came and The Brewers’ solid back-line kept snuffing them out.
Connor Sellars looked lively when coming on for The Tigers as he struck a thunderbolt from 30 yards just over the crossbar. The home side then finally had a meaningful attempt on goal twenty minutes into the half as Mitch Husbands struck powerfully towards the far corner but Gary Stevens who had a quiet night pulled out a tremendous full stretch save to keep the home side at bay.
However, things went from bad to worse for the home side in the 67th minute as centre-back Julian Lawrence was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for scything down Greening.
With Worksop pushing hard and men forward to somehow find a way back into the match, this did mean that they were exposed and short at the back meaning The Brewers had a real chance of killing the game off on the counter attack and they nearly did just that as Black pulled it back to Ormsby who beat two and struck true and low but Kennedy made a strong one-handed save.
Taddy thought they were going to keep a clean sheet against a normally prolific Worksop side however, it wasn’t to be as in the third minute of stoppage time Sellars pulled it back to Woolley who cleverly controlled and struck into the far corner to set up a somewhat nervy finish for the away fans.
Tadcaster Albion: Stevens, Armstrong, Clayton, Milne, Heath, Mycoe, Ormsby, Baker (Stewart 82), Greening, Beadle, Black. Subs unused: Thompson, Barrett, Beestin & Woodhead.
Referee: Dave Plowright
Attendance: 879
Thanks to Jay Taylor for this report.