A three week hiatus from action told on Dronfield Town as they slipped to a 4-1 defeat away at Worsbrough Bridge Athletic FC. The home side were playing their second game of the Christmas programme and were full value for the victory.
Dronfield had the better of the first fifteen minutes. Fereday’s right wing cross in the opening seconds found his strike partner Callum Mawbey in the middle but he placed his shot over the bar.
Further to that, the returning Jamie Willis hit a right footed screamer from 20 yards that was turned round the post by Worsbrough keeper Sam Andrew.
The Briggers came back into the game on 15 minutes when Dronfield stopper Lewis Naylor miscontrolled a back pass, which was fired wide by Kai Hancock with the goal at his mercy.
Worsbrough took the lead just two minutes later. Ashley Emmett was left unmarked at the back post and stabbed home unchallenged to give the home side the advantage.
Dronfield got back on level terms on 36 minutes. Charlie Stewart’s long ball forward found Callum Mawbey. His shot could only be parried by Andrew, into the path of Danny Wood, who tapped into the open goal.
The game turned on two goals in two minutes towards the end of the half. An innocuous looking penalty was awarded to Worsbrough, bringing protests from the Dronfield defence. Emmett stepped up to dispatch it for his second of the afternoon.
Then two minutes later, Mawson’s ball from the right hand side was squared to Hancock, who finished low to Lewis Naylor’s right to make it 3-1.
Danny Wood’s free kick in the opening stages of the second half again forced Andrew into a necessary save.
Dronfield sent Wood to form a front three with Fereday and Mawbey and shuffled their pack, bringing on Ethan Flower and Herve Sezerano in a bid to chase the game.
However, Worsbrough landed a killer blow on 79 minutes when the impressive Emmett’s through ball found Hancock in space and he made no mistake in confirming a 4-1 win.
Dronfield will be hoping the dry weather holds out and they can rectify today’s performance next Saturday when Retford FC are the visitors to the HE Barnes Stadium.
Town now look to regroup and enter the new decade with a significant 22 games of their league campaign still to play.
Worsbrough Bridge: Andrew, Shaw, Thornton, Rollinson, Race, Claxton, Emmett, Batty, Hancock, Thornton, Mawson.
Dronfield Town: Naylor, Wright, Stewart, Rawson, Pugh, Hill, Chappell, Willis, Fereday, Mawbey, Wood.
Attendance: 93