Nick Black and Adam Baker congratulate Joe Thornton after his first goal in Tadcaster’s 6-3 win over Maltby
Those who doubted Tadcaster Albion’s attacking capabilities during pre-season were given a reality check as the Brewers smashed Maltby Main 6-3 on the opening day of the Toolstation NCEL Premier Division campaign.
It was an almost perfect day for new Tadcaster boss Billy Miller, who watched on as four of summer signings put their names on the score-sheet.
One of the players he inherited – Liam Ormsby – got the scoring underway before debutants Nick Black, Joe Thornton (2), Jimmy Beadle and George Conway ensured a memorable start to Miller’s reign.
The only disappointment was some of their second half defending which allowed Maltby to score three times.
Maltby, to their credit, were a different animal when compared to previous years.
New joint managers Mark Askwith and Spencer Fearn have built a hard-working and organised side that look capable of having a decent season.
Ultimately the Rotherham-based side, who found the home side far too powerful for them at times, ran out of fuel towards the end which allowed Tadcaster to add to their tally.
Matt Outram tackles Tadcaster’s Joe Thornton
Liam Ormsby hugs Paddy Miller after putting Tadcaster ahead from the penalty spot
Nick Black scored Tadcaster’s second goal on his debut
Rocket man: Joe Thornton’s thunderous first goal heads for the net
Nick Black looks on stunned as Thornton begins to celebrate
On the glorious surface, the home side wasted no time in taking the game to their visitors and an early goal always looked on the cards.
That arrived in the 18th minute when a darting run from right-back Jordan Armstrong ended with a penalty being awarded.
Last season’s regular penalty taker Liam Ormsby sent Maltby’s on-loan Shaw Lane Aquaforce stopper Danny Rusling the wrong way to get the scoring underway.
Whilst Tadcaster were in complete control at half-time, Maltby did briefly give their hosts a scare. Maltby were given time and room to take short corner and former Aquaforce left-back Chris Fawcus almost found the net as only a smart save from Gary Stevens denied him.
Two of Tadcaster’s new recruits soon introduced themselves with quick-fire strikes close to the interval.
Good work from Beadle and Josh Greening provided the foundations for Black, signed from Garforth late in pre-season, to slot home a low finish on his debut.
Man of the match and title winner Thornton then got in on the act with the goal of the afternoon.
Proving why he was a wanted man in the summer, the forward, from a tricky angle, put his foot through the ball and the thunderous missile flew out of the reach of Rusling like a rocket – crashing off the underside of the crossbar before burrowing itself in the net.
New Maltby joint managers Mark Askwith (left) and Spencer Fearn (right) took positives out of the game
Jimmy Beadle fires his free kick home
Beadle is patted on the head after scoring
George Conway ensured he scored on the opening day at Tadcaster for the second season running late-on
How’s that: Conway was pleased with himself
And so were Tadcaster’s supporters
Some may have feared the worst for Maltby, who were trounced 6-0 by Tadcaster in last season’s encounter when Jonathan Greening made his Brewers debut.
But, the visitors made two changes at the interval and immediately pulled a goal back.
Dean Conway, one of many players signed from Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior League outfit Joker, struck with a delicate strike from distance which nestled in the bottom corner.
The fact you could hear a pin drop around the i2i Sports Stadium told how unexpected that development was.
Tadcaster were straight back at their opponents through and more goals were always going to follow. Josh Greening thundered a blistering shot against the upright before Thornton netted his second goal with a composure finish from 18 yards.
Tadcaster’s lax defending came to the fore again in the aftermath of the fourth goal. Whilst, Albion were extremely strong going forward, on a number of occasions Maltby found pockets of space to cause them problems.
In a matter of a few minutes, Maltby nearly moved to within one goal of Tadcaster. The big man and Maltby’s perennial danger-man Brian Cusworth, on as a substitute, was inches away from scoring with his first touch as Armstrong cleared off-the-line.
Eventually Maltby got their rewards as an unmarked Ben Thornton headed home at the back-post.
The introductions of Conway and Josh Barrett injected fresh legs into Tadcaster and two more goals were rattled home within minutes, alongside a series of chances that Rusling did extremely well to keep out.
With Ormsby or Greening seemingly the choices for the taker a free kick directly outside Maltby’s penalty area, Beadle appeared out of the darkness to rifle the ball into the bottom corner for goal number five.
Young Conway then ensured he holds the stat for scoring at Tadcaster on the opening day for two consecutive seasons by running clear and firing home with ease.
That would have been an ideal note to end on, but the home side became careless at the back again and enabled Farbod Yousefi to bundle the ball over the line.
Whilst it was some attacking display from Tadcaster, there are still positives and negatives for both sides.
For a first day of a new season though, few could argue with the entertainment.
Tadcaster Albion manager Billy Miller:
“It was a brilliant start and to score six goals in your first game is phenomenal.
“I think we would have taken that at the start of the week. I knew we had it in our locker, certainly with Adam Baker, Jimmy Beadle, Josh Greening, Nick Black and Joe Thornton in the team.
“It is certainly a force to be reckoned with. When they ran out of legs, we had Conway and Barrett to come on.”
Matlby Main joint manager Spencer Fearn:
“It was a good test for us and we knew when we got the fixture list we knew we were coming up against one of the favourites.
“We set-up right and did well for 15 minutes. We lost our heads a bit towards the end of the first half, but we had a chat at half-time and I thought we were fantastic in the second half.
“We put it on them and went and attacked them and it was 3-3 in the second half so we take a lot of confidence from that.
“I don’t think Tadcaster expected how we came out for the second half.
“Myself and Mark Askwith have learnt a lot about our capabilities and we take a lot of positives for our game with Retford on Wednesday.”
Tadcaster Albion: Stevens, Armstrong, Miller, Heath(captain) (Stimpson 84), Milne, Ormsby, Baker (Conway 70), Beadle, Black, Greening, Thornton (Barrett 70).Subs unused: Bissett, Claisse.
Maltby Main: Rusling, Poole, Fawcus, Barnett, Swales, Hemmingway, Outram, Darker, Nodder, Lovell, Conway. Subs: Yousefi, Walker, Cusworth, Thornton, Forster.
Referee: Jamie Rhodes
Ref Rating: 8/10
Attendance: 367
Man of the match: Joe Thornton (Tadcaster Albion)