Pontefract Collieries 1-0 AFC Mansfield
New kid on the block Dan Keane slid home the last minute winner as rebuilt Pontefract Collieries were triumphant on the day spectators returned to Non League Football.
One hundred people, half the permitted capacity, watched the Colls dominate against their opponents AFC Mansfield, one of the stronger Toolstation NCEL Premier Division sides, in the feisty ‘friendly’ which saw both teams reduced to ten men after a late second half brawl.
The scores were still goal-less when Ponte’s Dom Claxton and Morgan James traded blows just minutes after the Mansfield player was arguably very lucky to avoid seeing red after a stray elbow in an aerial challenge led to Sam Tingle leaving the ground with a bandaged-up head.
NPL Division One North West outfit Ponte turned the screw in the final few minutes and Keane, confirmed as a new signing from Shelley on Friday night, grabbed the limelight by scoring from close range.
That gave the Colls supporters, finally allowed to enter grounds again and watching their new manager Andy Monkhouse’s side for the first time, the chance to jump for joy.
It was also a reward for the volunteers who have spent countless hours preparing the impressive-looking Beechnut Lane for the fixture – from taping rows and rows of seats off, to plastering safety posters everywhere.
“Myself and the volunteers have worked for hours and hours making sure the ground is Covid-safe,” a beaming Collieries chairman Trevor Waddington said.
“We have been preparing for sometime, but after Tuesday’s announcement we’ve had to work around the clock to get the finishing touches in place. Everyone deserves a pat on the back.
“We haven’t opened the bar or tea-bar because we wanted to keep things simple and not overcomplicate things. Let’s take one step at a time.
“We kept social-media advertising to a minimum because we didn’t want to run of the risk having hundreds of people queuing down the road and up the street. That wouldn’t have been safe for either spectators or our volunteers. We would also had to turn people away.
“It is baby steps, we didn’t want to tell the world (about the game).
“One hundred people was the right kind of number for a test event and I think everyone can say they felt comfortable and safe inside the ground so I think today has been a great success.”
The dominant performance and the quality shown from multiple new signings should breed confidence among the club’s supporters and alleviate fears of a tough season ahead, concerns triggered by the departure of Craig Parry and nearly the entire of playing squad to Worksop Town.
History also shows that two of the club’s three great managerial empires of the last 12 years have started from ground zero.
Simon Houghton raised the then-sunken club off the seafloor with a completely new team in 2008 and built the initial foundations for success over the following seven years – with Ponte achieving promotion under Duncan Bray and Nick Handley in 2015.
Parry’s first summer saw a total clear-out and the squad he built won two consecutive unprecedented promotions in 2017 and 2018 to life Ponte into the NPL.
Monkhouse inherited just Gavin Rothery and Fabian Bailey and with those two and recent signings Mike Emery, Ben Gordon and Damian Reeves, he has an experienced spine.
In defence, Claxton, an ex-Barnsley shadow scholarship player, and Callum Walmsley, on loan from Barnsley until January look solid additions. The pair are tough and commanding, whilst also confident with the ball at their feet – fitting into Monkhouse’s passing playing philosophy.
With ex-Guiseley National North promotion winner Rothery and Bailey among the midfielders, the Colls seem strong there. Wide-man Albert Ibrahimi appears capable of making the step-up from Thackley, although against Mansfield he provided the assist for the winner, he tried to overplay numerous times.
Perhaps one criticism would be they looked light upfront, but new forward Sam Cable, who possibly would have partnered Reeves and added meat to the attack, was watching on because of injury.
The match, Ponte’s fourth of pre-season and Mansfield’s fifth, lacked notable moments apart from the red cards and the late goal. Few will have complained considering, bar the exception of club officials and volunteers, nobody will have seen any live football since March. Some will have been just glad to have had the opportunity to leave their homes.
Ponte controlled possession without penetrating Mansfield’s deeply sat back defence in the first stanza. The visitors created little apart from an volley which flew high over the crossbar. Mansfield had another brief flurry of pressure in the second half, but truthfully new Colls goalkeeper Emery was a mere spectator.
Mansfield will say the same about their stopper and that is true. However, the Colls certainly caused more danger and in the final 15 minutes, the entertainment value went up.
The temperature also increased. The challenge on Tingle by James angered the Colls players so when Claxton and Mansfield man performed their own version of Rocky, earning themselves second yellow cards, the earlier incident may have contributed.
The rest of the friendly was spent in Mansfield’s half. Several crosses had hearts fluttering before Keane produced the moment of magic everyone was desperately waiting for. Ibrahimi set it up. The ex-Garforth Town maestro had appeared to have blown the chance to cross on the right-hand-side after a few extra touches. But, the angle opened up and a nice low crisp pass to Keane allowed the midfielder to place the ball in the net with sheer coolness.
The perfect ending to a perfect day for Ponte.
What They Said
Pontefract Collieries manager Andy Monkhouse
“It was an eventual friendly, but I’ve said to the lads that they’ll come across games like that all this season. There were a feisty tackles going in, but both teams want to win a game of football, whether it is a pre-season game or league game.
“It is how you react and I thought the players did really well and ultimately got the win.
“We were dominant and I think it was deserved. In a couple of games we have played we have had large amounts of possession, but not really created much.
“I thought the first half was similar to how the previous games have gone, but we’ve kept going, kept knocking on the door and we got the win which was fair.
“Mansfield had some spells in the game and we defended quite well, but Mikey (Emery) didn’t really have much to deal with.”
Who Was In Charge
Luke Watson (7/10)
Man of the Match
Albert Ibrahimi (Pontefract Collieries)
If you have enjoyed this match report, please consider making a donation to the not-for-profit organisation NLY Community Sport which provides sport for children and adults with disabilities and learning difficulties. CLICK HERE to visit the JustGiving page.
There is a video at the bottom of the page showing our work.
NLY Community Sport, run by James Grayson and Connor Rollinson, has always had combatting social isolation at the top of our objectives when running our Disability Football teams so now as we slowly return to ‘action’, our work will play an important role in reintroducing our players, who have disabilities and learning difficulties, back into society.
We have six teams, a mixture of Junior and Adult teams – Nostell MW DFC, Pontefract Pirates, Selby Disability Football Club and the South Yorkshire Superheroes (Barnsley) – across Yorkshire.
We have enjoyed great success over the past three years. Several of our players have represented Mencap GB in Geneva, including Billy Hobson from Selby and Greg Smith, whose story is quite inspiring.
Like most organisations, we have been affected financially by the Coronavirus and we have incurred losses which we cannot recover. We have not been hit as badly as other organisations, but we do need raise £2000 to put us back at the level we were at in mid-March and enable us to make a difference once again to our players’ lives in the future, without having financial worries. Several of our players are suffering from effects of the lockdown and we are determined to be in the strongest position possible to provide services for them.
Any amount raised above £2000 will be put towards new projects (when the world returns to normal) designed to further benefit people with disabilities and learning difficulties. You can learn more about the organisation HERE and on our Facebook page.
Watch the video below to see highlights from our three years as an organisation. The video was produced for our players at the end of March to remind them of good memories from the last three years.