After eight league games without a win, The Ambers secured their first non–Cup victory in two months, and what a way to do it, as they swept aside struggling Goole, to extract a swift and ruthless revenge against a team that have just started a re-building process under a new Management team, since the dark days of October when they edged out The Ambers in the reverse fixture.
After their last two games were postponed giving them the time off they probably needed to re-set, The Ambers went back to basics in the words of their own Management team, and they took the game to the visitors from the off, with an early sighter from Alfie Dodsworth narrowly missing the target.
After visiting winger Czubik picked up a needless early yellow card for a tug on Dylan Parkin as he cleared the ball, skipper Mitch Dunne fired over from distance, before his wicked cross was well defended at the expense of a corner, from which, Matt Reay’s powerful header struck the bar, albeit the referee had already blown for a foul.
With Dunne and Dodsworth clearly in the mood, the latter had a good effort saved by former Handsworth loanee Chadwick, before the pair combined well to open the scoring in the 13th minute. Dunne’s crossfield ball picked out Dodsworth who laid the ball into the path of the incoming Tom Bishop, and it looked like the midfielder had run the ball out of play, but he somehow wrapped his foot around it on the byline and squeezed it past Chadwick at his near post, to open his Ambers account.
The Ambers were immediately on the hunt for a quickfire second as they continued to dominate the game, and it was only the agility of Chadwick who kept them out, firstly getting down at his near post to deny the twinkle toed Dunne, and then pulling off the save of the season to keep out Tom Cropper’s close range header, before Mitch Carlton skewed a great chance wide after Dunne and Cropper had opened up the visitor’s defence.
Suddenly, after showing nothing going forward thus far, The Vikings hauled themselves back on to level terms, albeit in controversial circumstances, as Craig Nelthorpe appeared to be fouled as he took control of the ball on the edge of his box. The referee saw things differently however and allowed play to go on, and within a split second, Czubik smashed the ball past Parkin from the edge of the box.
The goal gave Goole some impetus and belief, but as they attacked, they were always at risk of being caught out by the quickly breaking Ambers, and on one such occasion, Onwubiko was a touch fortunate to only see yellow after he hacked down a flying Dunne.
Bishop then fed Dodsworth who cut inside and curled a beauty towards the far corner, only to see Chadwick stretch and deflect the ball away at the last minute. However, there was nothing the keeper could do on the half hour mark, as The Ambers swept forward to re-claim the lead. Dodsworth started the move with an excellent touch in the centre circle as he flicked the ball on to send Dunne cantering away down the left wing, and when the cross eventually came in, it picked out Dodsworth arriving at exactly the right time to volley the ball into the roof of the net and extend his lead at the top of the Ambers’ goal scoring charts.
He should then have claimed an immediate second as a Goole defender dallied too long and allowed Carlton to nick the ball off his toes, but after being put in, Dodsworth was tackled just as he was about to pull the trigger. Goole responded briefly, with Flanagan firing a half chance well over before The Ambers were indebted to Michael Trench who prevented a clean strike with a perfectly timed block. Owen Haigh then picked out Dunne with a great ball which the skipper brought down superbly before setting up Dodsworth, but this time the effort whistled just wide of the far post.
Some of the football being produced at times was outstanding, and the move of the game saw The Ambers extend their lead on the stroke of half time, culminating in Trench’s pinpoint cross finding Dunne whose flying header past Chadwick ended his personal goal drought of six games.
Handsworth started the second half in the same vein in which they had ended the first, and the visitors were once again indebted to Chadwick who kept out Shaun Tuton’s well struck effort in the opening exchanges, before Dunne fired wide. Trench was then inches away from opening his Ambers account when he slid in at the back post to meet Dodsworth’s cross, but was just unable to direct it the right side of the post, and it was one way traffic again as The Ambers went in search of further goals.
In a rare breakaway, the visitors wasted a great opportunity when they outnumbered the Ambers’ retreating defenders, but Flanagan chose the wrong option and shot wide, when he had better placed team mates screaming for the ball. They were made to pay, as Handsworth soon extended their lead when Dodsworth fired low past Chadwick into the corner of the net from outside the box, to move into double figures for the season.
With the points now in the bag, it was time for fresh legs, and half of the outfield Ambers were replaced within a five minute spell, but there was no respite for the beleaguered visitors. Dodsworth fired inches over with his last kick of the game, before a delicious chip over the defensive line by Dunne released Leon Howarth who rounded Chadwick and walked the ball in, two minutes after joining the action, and scoring for the fourth successive game.
The Ambers were rampant now, and the scoring was completed in injury time when a surging run into the box produced a lay back into the path of substitute Mason Barlow, who fired home via a deflection to give The Ambers their biggest league victory since last season’s demolition of Yorkshire Amateurs.
The Ambers are next in action at Golcar United next Saturday when they will be hoping to build on this excellent performance to kick-start the season.