Blues Continue Impressive Run - Frickley Athletic vs. Stocksbridge Park Steels

Sun setting on the glorious Westfield Lane

This Boxing Day, Scunthorpe were away at Blackpool which was too much of a drive and we never seem to beat them - again they beat them away for the first time in seventeen years! So we had originally chosen Lincoln United as our Boxing Day fix but a late change to a one o'clock kick put an end to that and that result was 5-4! So the next closest choice was Frickley Athletic in South Elmsall where my Dad used to work so we had a good idea where we were going. It promised to be an entertaining match with both sides pushing for the play offs and being among the top scorers in the league. I had seen Frickley Athletic play away at Grantham one New Years day when my original choice of Long Eaton was frozen off.

Kick off in front of the stand at Westfield Lane

Frickley pressure Stocksbridge on the ball from the off and they are able to break a couple of times early on without really creating anything clear cut. The first major chance of the game comes as the Stocksbridge attacker gets in on the angle, forcing the keeper into a save at his near post. Frickley then take the lead with a thunderous effort. The ball is laid back to the forward on the edge of the area who hammers a first time effort past the keeper. Stocksbridge almost gift the hosts a second when the defender slips but his keeper bails him out with the save. From the resulting corner a header is cleared off the line by the Stocksbridge defender.

A Stocksbridge corner in the first half

Stocksbridge almost equalize at the start of the second half with a free header from a free kick that produces a stunning one handed save from the Frickley keeper. Stocksbridge continue to have a lot of the ball without creating too much. The best effort being a drilled shot that goes just wide. The Frickley number seven then tracks back to win the ball before going on a lung busting run up the wing but no one can get a touch to the eventual cross in. Stocksbridge get the equalizer when the Frickley defender is adjudged to have fouled the attacker in the box with the penalty being accurately dispatched. The game appears to be heading for a draw but Frickley come up with a late winner. The centre back gets his head to a corner at the near post to seal the points.

Another view of the stand in the first half

The closest station to Westfield Lane is South Elmsall. To get here from London you need to take a train to Doncaster from Kings Cross and change their for a train to South Elmsall. If you don't mind taking a taxi or enjoy climbing step hills, then The Barnsley Oak offers a good selection of beers and picturesque views of the local area. A bit closer to the ground and the station is The Sawmill that had a good selection of bottles as well as the sports channels. The ground is about a fifteen minute walk away from the station. The clubhouse at the ground had the usual lagers as well as one hand pull. As you can tell from the pictures, Westfield Lane is a fantastic ground and is absolutely worth the effort getting there. I didn't have any of the food but the pie and chips looked fantastic.

Covered standing along one side

The goals from the game can been seen on the club's excellent Youtube channel.

Impressive view from the stand