Silkstone United 2-4 Dodworth Miners Welfare
Kai Hancock was the hero for Dodworth Miners Welfare who survived a scare against lower league Silkstone United.
Silkstone led twice through Will Heath and teenage wonder-kid Matt Dale but goals from Hancock, Oli Stokes and young Calan Rollinson prevented a shock result.
The friendly was the first opportunity to see the early make-up of two of Barnsley’s many popular local EV2 Sheffield & Hallamshire County Senior League sides.
Silkstone went for the local all-stars last season when recruiting for their squad.
Gaz Hunter, Lewis Akeister and Glasshoughton Welfare icon Mike Brearley are still around but Silkstone have gone global this year by bringing internationals to Barnsley.
A Brazilian playmaker and a Dutchman were second half substitutes for Silkstone who caught Dodworth out in the opening ten minutes when Heath headed home following a move which oozed quality.
Showman Ryan Poskitt will have been proud as he watched from the pavilion executive area with close advisor Jason Dodsworth as rumours swirled of an elevation to the boardroom as either director of football or hospitality director.
Hancock had a goal disallowed for offside – spotted by two well known local football dignitaries who positioned themselves superbly and informed the referee.
Dodworth soon got their equaliser – Stokes netting from close range after a barrage of pressure.
Many expected Dodworth to kick on straightaway but the second half saw Silkstone knock them for six.
Dale, certainly a player to watch out for in the future, caused them several problems with his agility and he pounced on a bad backward header and fired past goalkeeper Josh Herring.
For five minutes Dodworth could not find any rhythm.
But a change or two followed and a cross from the left was met by ex-Athersley Rec striker Hancock who leapt like an out of control fish to head powerfully home.
Dodworth’s team cohesion was much stronger when right-back Connor Rollinson replaced former Cardiff City goalkeeper Herring between the sticks.
Injured Herring was carried off and Rollinson was an extremely calming influence, especially for nervy centre-half Sam Severn, with his command of his area, communication, shot-stopping, bravery, concentration, kicking, aerial reach, handling, reflexes, positioning and anticipation.
Given his calibre, height and stature, Connor was the obvious choice for the stand-In role – another tactical masterstroke from brain-box Darren Young.
Considering his brother Calan’s debut performance as a goalkeeper in 2017 saw him concede six times in a bloodbath, Connor is clearly the better of the two in goal following his clean sheet.
The feedback was certainly good and he made a smart save late-on after diving at the feet of a certain-to-score Silkstone forward.
Dodworth were now firmly in control.
Hancock buried a close range pile-driver to place them in front for the first time.
The striker had several more chances as he hunted his hat-trick.
It wasn’t to be for him but the fourth wasn’t far away.
From a distance it appeared to be an own goal but Calan Rollinson, in great form thanks to the fourth phase of his diet plan, grinned like a cheshire cat claiming another goal for the family album.
Man of the Match
Kai Hancock (Dodworth Miners Welfare)
If you have enjoyed reading Non League Yorkshire over the past few months, 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.
Our work is playing 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.
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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.