NICK HANDLEY and Duncan Bray delivered a promotion for Pontefract Collieries for the first time in 19 years in 2015.
The young managers’ huge success in their first and possibly last management position concluded a seven-year mission to win promotion from Division One of the Northern Counties East League.
Although the 2015 promotion has since been overshadowed by the unprecedented achievements under Craig Parry and Craig Rouse, the chapters of the 2008-2015 period remain important parts of the rebirth and rise of Pontefract.
Pontefract had been seen as a joke club until the appointment of Trevor Waddington as chairman in 2008. His first manager Simon Houghton lifted the Colls off the seafloor in 2008 and transformed them into a force to be reckoned with. Still to this day, Houghton insists he would have led Pontefract to promotion in 2011.
Instead he was surprisingly sacked in the March of that year and replaced with Leeds United legend Brendan Ormsby who appointed Handley and Bray as his assistants.
Ormsby left in December 2012 and Handley and Bray were elevated to the throne.
The pair built on the legacies left by Houghton and then Ormsby and the Colls, driven by the goals of Aaron Moxam, were unstoppable at the end of the 2014/15 campaign, leading to seven years of hard work from many people coming to a crescendo on that unforgettable night at local rivals and fellow promotion challengers Hemsworth Miners Welfare.
Promotion was effectively clinched with the 2-1 victory in the fourth to final match of the season.
It was win or bust for Wayne Benn’s Hemsworth young guns and the Colls, who had defender Iwan Heeley in goal, came from behind to win thanks to captain fantastic Nigel Danby’s rocket of a free kick and Aaron Joseph’s winner.
Nick Handley was part of the furniture at Pontefract for seven years after joining in 2008 following Houghton’s appointment after the club’s infamous nine point finish. He is one of the club’s finest and most loyal servants having been the captain during the initial rebirth, player/joint assistant manager under Ormsby before becoming joint manager with Duncan Bray. He is an important part of Pontefract’s history.
In his ‘My Greatest Game’ interview, Handley re-lives the joy of the Hemsworth victory and talks about the club’s road to success from 2011 to 2015.
Tuesday 14th April 2015
Hemsworth Miners Welfare (Guest 44) 1-2 Pontefact Collieries (Danby 54, Joseph 56)
The Teams
Hemsworth Miners Welfare: Bentley, Hayward, Clark, Swift, Colbear, Viggars, Connolly, Yates (captain), Guest, Blair, Wilson (Kemp 66). Subs unused: Crapper, Walker, Dixon.
Pontefract Collieries: Heeley, Forgione, Corbett, Danby (captain), Danville, Hayton, Catton (Whitehouse 42), Joseph, Radford, Moxam, Bennett (Marsden 57). Subs unused: Robinson, Rouse, Lindley.
Referee: Adam Smith
Attendance: 186
Picking up the story following Houghton’s exit in March 2011, Handley said:
“Simon leaving was untimely because things were going well and we were sitting quite high up in the league. It was quite a shock to everyone.
“I’d not really heard of Brendan before, but things weren’t helped by the fact that a lot of players immediately left in respond to Simon’s departure. It made the next match at Louth very difficult because we had a scratched team of 11 players. Guy Nottingham the chairman was in the dugout.
“There was a lot of fanfare when Brendan was appointed and I think that is what the chairman wanted. He wanted to raise the profile of the club and wanted to take it to higher levels. I don’t know how or why he got hold of Brendan, but Guy got what he wanted.
“It was good to work under Brendan. He was a different kind of manager to anybody I had worked under. He was an ex-pro and he had different expectations. It was difficult for him to come into Non League I believe and that’s myself and Dunc were initially, I’d say seconded, into being his assistants. Initially both of us wanted to carry on playing, but from speaking to the club, it became clear they wanted us to help him.
“We did ok and whilst we never challenged for the league, we were always there or there abouts. We weren’t far off, but that was an annoyance for Brendan as he wanted us higher up the league.
“Brendan was in charge for 22 months and it was a shock when he left (in December 2012), although at the time it wasn’t going as well as everyone had hoped. We had Liam, Brendan’s son, and a couple of his close friends in the team so they left. The club approached me and Dunc to take over in the interim whilst they searched for a new manager. Neither myself or Duncan expressed an interest in wanting the job at that time. We were still relatively young and still playing regularly six months before, despite picking up injuries. Before and after Brendan left we were still playing when needed. Once as we became the permanent managers it became really difficult to play ourselves. Myself more than Dunc put the shirt on during times when it was needed because of injuries and suspensions. But we built a squad for them to play, not for us to play.
“We were doing the job and after a few weeks we sat down with the committee and straightaway they said ‘we’ve brought you here for one reason, we want you both to take the job on’.
“Myself and Dunc didn’t have any issues whatsoever over our time as joint managers. There was never any doubt that we couldn’t work together. We are two very different characters, but we worked well together. We spoke every day and thrashed ideas out. It was probably better being joint manager than being manager and assistant. In that scenario, sometimes the assistant’s views are overlooked. Myself and Dunc do come across each other once or twice a month in our village even now and we always chat. We sometimes text each other as well if there’s a football issue we can relate to and we have a bit of banter.
“What a lot of people don’t realise is that me and Dunc are the same age and we grew up in the same Town. We played against each other from a young age and we were at college together for two years. We were in the same group and same college football team. We lost contact when we went to university, but we were good friends at college.
“That (2012/13) season we finished fifth, but going into our first full (2013/14) season we had lost a core group of key players after Brendan left. We went for a few players who would give us a lot of experience, but it just did not work. We didn’t get the team bonding in the dressing room correct. We finished ninth with 73 points. It was a disappointing finish, but what you have to look at in that season is you had Shaw Lane Aquaforce, Cleethorpes Town, Shirebrook Town, Clipstone and Emley who finished above us. All strong teams. Worsbrough were strong under Chris Hilton that year as it was when they rarely got beaten at home.
“In the summer of 2014 we made sure we had a much better dressing room. We went for players who had experience at a higher level and had been part of success. So that’s the likes of Andy Catton, Josh Corbett, Nigel Danby, Craig Parry. Later that season Phil Lindley came. So we had players with real character and real determination. Within that changing room it became a place with massive characters and real inspirational people who would drive people on. We had a great team spirit and the team was led by our captain Danby who defied his age and was absolutely outstanding every single week.
“We had a solid start and we always felt we would be in the mix. Signing Aaron Moxam in December 2014 was key. We had established the year before that we didn’t have anyone in the top goal-scorer charts and that is probably the reason we didn’t challenge the year before. We went for Gareth Grant the year before, but he just didn’t put the ball in the back of the net. We had searched high and low in the previous year to find one because we knew a striker who could get 20 or 30 goals would be the difference.
“Aaron Moxam had scored lots of goals for Shirebrook the year before and we were lucky to get him in some respect. He was actually working for Craig Parry. Paz just said to him ‘why don’t you come and play for us’ and it went from there. Despite scoring all those goals the season before, I believe Shirebrook played him on the left-hand-side so we’d heard he was unhappy and we jumped at the chance to sign him. He was the key signing as he got something like 29 league goals. We were already in a strong position challenging for the league, but his goals just kicked us on.
“January and February went well and the Emley game at the beginning of March was a big one. I remember the game really well because the conditions were horrendous. There had been a big build-up to the game because we were top and Emley were second and two points behind us. We were both in a rich vein of form.
“We lost 1-0 and I remember the goal. It was early doors five minutes in. Ruben Jerome cut in from the left-hand-side and he must have been 35 yards out and he just hit the ball and the shot left Paz stranded – purely because of the weather conditions. The ball went all over the place and nestled in the top corner. Some would class it as a world class goal, but on the day with the conditions, there was the other side to it that it was fortunate.
“Emley got giddy and carried away afterwards and we just tried to go about our business quite quietly and let them get on with. There was a lot of publicity around Emley and they wanted that publicity. That was a big game and it gave them the edge on us in the league, but we knew that because it was March that there was still a long way to go.
“The Shirebrook win after the Emley was a turning point for us. Shirebrook were up there with us and it was a certain Lee Bennett’s debut I believe. Luke Danville was signed as well at the same time. Shirebrook were fourth and we were second and a win for Shirebrook would have pulled them right up behind us. We won 3-1 as Aaron Moxam got a couple against his old club and Lee Bennett came on and scored. We started Lee on the bench because of the consistency of the team, but I knew how good he was because I had seen him play. A lot of the lads had never heard of him and I remember Danby in the changing room afterwards saying to me ‘who the hell is that you’ve brought in, he is quality’. I just said ‘he is mate, he’s come in make sure we get over the line’. Lee was tremendous for us.
“After Shirebrook, we beat Grimsby, drew at Bottesford and then went to Worsbrough and gave them a beating so we started to pick up momentum again.
“Leading up to the GroundHop weekend, we had beaten Clipstone so we had put ourselves in a really strong position. We had gone above Clipstone, Emley were dropping off and Hemsworth were coming up the league.
“The Saturday GroundHop day was a real buzz of a day. Most of the lads were there at the early kick (11am) between Emley and Hemsworth, more just to pass the day off as we didn’t off until 7.45pm. We enjoyed it, but we were also gaging where Hemsworth were at as they were coming strong. Me and Dunc had been to watch them a few times and that particular day we saw a very strong and athletic Hemsworth side that Wayne Benn had put together. They tore Emley apart and Hemsworth really did put on a show for the Non League crowd. Ash Flynn missed that famous penalty and it sort of overshadowed Hemsworth’s performance.
“So we went to Penistone and we never thought we would win 7-0 in front of 500 people. Having seen Hemsworth beat Emley and Emley dropping away, the lads were probably spurred on. But I don’t think anyone saw a big score-line coming. We were defensively solid and Danville opened the scoring. We had highlighted him as a key aspect before the game because they had Brett Lovell as a threat in the air. We felt Danville could be our match winner at both ends as in keeping Lovell out and then being dangerous from set-pieces. I was also confident that Danville had the edge on him.
“Going forward as well as defensively we were just frightening. Ian Richards was a bit dazed afterwards. It was Penistone’s first year in the league and he was disappointed that his lads hadn’t done themselves justice in front of a big crowd. We moved onto Knaresborough and we won 1-0 in really windy conditions as Aaron Moxam scored with five minutes to go. That set us up for the Hemsworth game.
“The transfer deadline had gone and (goalkeeper Craig Parry) Paz was unavailable because of work. We had known for a week or two, but we were confident in Iwan as well. When we signed Iwan he was playing for Albion Sports. When I spoke to their manager he said ‘you’re getting a cracking lad here, he’s my second goalkeeper’. He was a defender, but he had a lot of experience of playing as a goalkeeper as a young lad. He was rusty and not match-ready so we had to set up the team slightly differently. So we had to take Iwan out of the right-back slot, change the midfield and change the way we played. We had to rely on the character of the lads to get us through.
“Most weeks we played a standard 4-4-2 with a holding midfielder. We also had Aaron Joseph who was a tremendous signing as he was an absolute work horse. We’d be on the attack and if we lost the ball he would be the first man back making the tackle. His energy was one of the key things to our team.
“It was a massive game. Hemsworth had to win and if they won they would have closed in on us to six points. They had four games remaining. It is a tough place and Benno had a great side with firepower in Nick Guest. We were really aware of them. Hemsworth also pull in some great crowds and some hostile crowds at times.
“We went 1-0 down right at the end of the first half. There appeared to be a foul in the build-up and our players stopped and Nick Guest ran through and scored. Going in 1-0 down changed our team-talk at half-time. We had a dressing room of big characters, you’re Danby’s Phil Lindley’s, Liam Radford’s and we just had to remind the players what they had already achieved that season and where we were in terms of trying to get promoted. The next 45 minutes were a massive opportunity to show the rest of the league what we were made of.
“We kept 19 clean sheets that year so we had a tremendous defensive record and we were joint top of the attacking records so I don’t think anyone under-estimated us. But I don’t think anyone expected how good Iwan would be in goal. Although I don’t think he had anything to do other than the goal which was a one-on-one situation. I think he may have had one more save to make in the entire match.
“We got the exact reaction we wanted from them at half-time. We sent them out fired up. Danby, the club captain, did everything we wanted and he just blasted that free kick into the top corner and got us level. Nigel was capable of that, he’d done it several times that season. I remember me and Dunc celebrating it because although we knew how good Hemsworth were going forward, we knew we were solid defensively.
“Aaron Joseph sprinted clear two minutes later and slotted the winner home. Aaron wasn’t renowned for his goals, but I remember him racing through and scoring. Myself and Dunc jumped on each other and we knew we had done enough and we would hold on.
“The performance was up there with the best performances of that season. Probably because it was one of the most important. It killed off Hemsworth’s hopes and put us in a position to win promotion in the next game at Lincoln who of course were getting hammered every week.
“To have virtually won promotion was great for Trevor (Waddington). Trevor was a really respectful guy who went about his business quietly and never got involved in the football side of it. He trusted us to get on with the job and I think Trevor was delighted when the club finally got promoted. He is a very reserved character, but I remember him phoning up after the Hemsworth game and he was absolutely delighted that the club had finally got promoted. Trevor had been the driving force behind the club. Everyone was delighted and the atmosphere around the club all season was tremendous. We were challenging all year and I think people saw that we were getting stronger and stronger as the year went on.
“We went to Lincoln on the Saturday and they were having a tough time of it. They were getting thumped most weeks and I don’t think there was any committee left. The worry was; would they see the season out? We’d have lost three points if they had.
“Luckily they did finish the season and we went and won 7-0 to seal promotion. It should have been double figures because it was too-straight-forward. The lads lost their shape and it was treated like a pre-season friendly. It was also a really hot day. Lincoln had a bare eleven and I don’t think they had a proper manager. I think one of their players had to manage the side. They ran out of footballs five minutes into the game and when the referee asked for a ball, they replied ‘we haven’t got any’. So there was a long delay before the game restarted with one of our training balls.
“Josh Corbett was desperate to score and we’d given a lot of stick all year for not scoring. We were four or five-nil up and I took the stance that we remain professional, but all the bench persuaded me to let him go upfront. He went upfront, or rather pushed on from midfield and got his goal. I remember all the lads celebrating with him.
“Because it was so easy it kind of took the shine off us getting promoted that day. I would have preferred to have got promoted at the Hemsworth game.
“Another interesting aspect of us winning promotion is that we didn’t train much that season. Mainly because of everyone’s work commitments. There were a lot of lads who worked shifts and a lot used their holidays to make sure they were available for matches. Don’t get me wrong, we did train, but there is a myth or rumour going round that we never trained. That’s not true because we did train, but we were never able to get the entire group together regularly. We trained at indoor sports centres over Christmas so we did put things on and it was more to do with keeping lads in shape and fit more than anything else.
“I don’t think not training very often would have worked with a team of 22-year-olds. We had experienced players which made it possible for us. You look at that squad: Danville, an established player, Danby, Phil Lindley, Luke Forgione, Aaron Joseph, Andy Catton, Liam Radford, Mark Whitehouse, Craig Parry. They had all played at that level or higher. They were seasoned and experienced Non League players. We didn’t need to worry. We told them their jobs and how we wanted them to play and they did it. We kept it simple, but everyone knew their jobs. When you have leaders like Paz and Danby, they keep the shape of the team for you.
“I look back at my time at Pontefract as a player and manager with great memories and pride. Simon’s assistant Daz Smith was one of the key aspects of me signing down there (in 2008). He was a school friend who I had stayed in touch. I signed as a player the season after they had finished with nine points and a lot of people said ‘why is he not staying at Emley’? Simon came in and got a great dressing room together and it changed the club’s fortunes on the pitch and how it was perceived to outsiders. The club took on Brendan to try and establish themselves. Then myself and Dunc did our bit before Paz and Rousey took over. I’m really proud of what we achieved. I’m proud of what we achieved as a player because we brought the club back from nearly out of the NCEL and established the club as force. We went to the Wilkinson Sword Trophy Final in Simon’s first season. People under-estimated us and we took Staveley all the way in that two-legged semi-final. We had a solid team and a great group of lads.
“It is fantastic to see where the club has gone (since 2015). I was there seven years overall and I don’t have any regrets. Around the time I left (November 2015) I was going through a difficult time in terms of the loss of my mum over the summer after we got promoted. Building the team was not a priority for me. Dunc was really struggling with work, but we decided to give it a go (2015/16). Originally we were going to walk away after the promotion. We wanted to see if it would work and we took on Russ Eagle on the management team. Unfortunately it didn’t work out and I had lost a bit of love for it and family issues were more important. When I left, Paz and Rouse took over. It is a shame they couldn’t stay up that season, but they bounced straight back up and got another promotion the year after to go into the NPL. It is great to see the club in the NPL. That’s where they should be and hopefully more people in Pontefract will get behind them now. It is tremendous what Paz and Rousey did to take them to the NPL and so quickly as well. It was beyond the wildest dreams of the club and an amazing achievement.
“I keep an eye on results because I have a big affiliation with the club. There’s never been any bitterness about how it ended. I’d go down to watch them more often if my life wasn’t filled up with other things. I did go to watch them in the NPL against Frickley last season. It is the only time I have been since I left. Trevor always said he wanted to be playing in the same league as Frickley in the NPL so his dream came true and I decided to go and watch the game.
“It was a pleasure to see the club playing at that standard and I really enjoy watching Pontefract be successful.”
Nick Handley was interviewed by James Grayson