Match Details
Silsden AFC 2-0 Albion Sports
NCEL Premier Division
Saturday 15th October
The Office Interiors Stadium – Att: 176
Match Report
Silsden put an end to their three game losing run with an impressive 2-0 victory over local rivals Albion Sports yesterday.
Two first half goals were enough to secure the three points for the hosts, with a Talent Ndlovu screamer opening the scoring before Luke Brooksbank smashed home his seventh goal in all competitions this season.
The Cobbydaler’s defence were threatened on a number of occasions but put in a solid display to ensure they kept the clean sheet.
With just under 15 minutes gone, Ndlovu found himself with space around 25-yards from goal, his precise, curling effort flew beyond the keepers reach and into the top corner, giving Silsden a 1-0 lead.
Only 10 minutes later, a defensive mix-up allowed young full back Alex Stewart to get to the byline and cut the ball back to Brooksbank whose low finish nestled into the far corner for the second.
Ant Brown would almost add a third after the half-hour mark when a miskick from Albion stopper George McMahon allowed the striker space to get his shot away, McMahon did well to recover and push the effort away however.
As the half continued, hard tackles were flying in from both sides, both Brown and Jacob Smith ending up in the book for late challenges.
After the break, chances were few and far between for both sides, until on 60 minutes an Albion corner caused havoc in the penalty area.
Sam Kelly did well to get down to the initial effort before Stewart was on hand to get the ball away from danger.
At the other end, Brooksbank will likely be wondering how he didn’t grab a second, his close-volley pushed away by McMahon when it looked inevitable he would score.
The visitors then looked certain to pull one back on 77 minutes but centre half Smith had other ideas, throwing his body on the line to deny them; a magnificent piece of defending from the 18-year-old.
With the game coming to a close, Brown would see himself sent off for persistent fouling, picking up a second yellow with only seconds of the game to go.
The result sees Silsden climb back up to 8th in the table in what is proving to be a tight season in the NCEL Premier Division.
Next week sees Handsworth visit The Office Interiors Stadium as The Cobbydaler’s look to build on yesterday’s result and continue to push towards the top end of the table.
