Toolstation NCEL Premier Division
Athersley Rec 0-1 Hall Road Rangers
Reggi Waud in action during Hall Road’s crucial win at Athersley Rec. Picture: Lee Myers
16-year-old Reggi Waud’s stunning scissor kick volley secured a vital victory for relegation-threatened Hall Road Rangers, who are right behind Harrogate Railway with several games-in-hand.
The wonder goal is Waud’s first in senior football. The first half was a very even contest as both sides mainly canceled each other out and there weren’t too many clear-cut chances. The best opportunity for either side came when James Hitchcock was forced into producing a great save to tip an Athersley free-kick over the bar.
The performance in the first half from Rangers was a fine improvement on the one at Clipstone on Thursday and it would continue to improve in the second half.
The game grew as the second half went on and Athersley nearly took the lead as a shot went just wide of the Hall Road goal.
The best moment of the whole match came in the 55th minute when Waud produced a superb acrobatic shot which rocketed into the net to give Hall Road the lead.
Athersley were reduced to ten men later in the half when Kai Hancock received his marching orders after a second bookable offence.
However, the ten men rallied hard to try and find an equalizer and put a lot of pressure on Rangers but they weren’t able to break their resilience down.
Hitchcock produced another fine save to keep Hall Road’s lead intact and they held on to clinch a valuable win.