Dronfield Town went out of the Derbyshire Senior Cup on penalties after a pulsating second round tie ended level at hosts Staveley Miners Welfare FC. Dronfield took a 3-1 advantage into half time through a Jack Deakin own goal plus strikes from Dan White and Max Rhodes after Staveley had taken the lead through Grierson on the 30 minute mark. Josh Pickering made it 2-3 after half time before Jake Hatton restored the visitors two goal lead. Deakin and Tansley, in added time, tied the game at 4-4. The lottery of the penalty shootout saw Staveley successful by 6-5 and through to the draw for the third round, where the likes of Chesterfield FC and Derby County join the competition.
Staveley, with the familiarity of their 3G surface, began the game the brighter. Joel Ward stung Lewis Naylor’s hands in the opening minute as the game was mostly played out in Dronfield’s half. Naylor came to Town’s rescue once again when he made a fine stop from a Noah Flint diving header as the home side to continue to press.
The 26th minute saw Dronfield have their best effort of the half – Joe Pearson’s left footed shot went narrowly wide from the edge of the area but it was Staveley who were to take the lead four minutes after.
A Kian Tansley corner led to a scramble in the Dronfield six yard box with the ball eventually being forced home from close range by Daniel Grierson to make it 1-0.
The lead was short-lived as Dronfield finally came to terms with the pitch in decisive fashion. Dan White’s header on 32 minutes bounced up awkwardly, finding the back of the net off Staveley’s Jack Deakin to put the sides on level terms.
White doubled Dronfield’s tally two minutes later. His outstanding effort from fully halfway sailed over Zac Walker in the Staveley goal as the scoreline became 1-2 and it wasn’t long before Town added a third.
White again started a move that found striker Nick Benson out on the right. His excellent cross found former Staveley man Max Rhodes, who sidefooted home to make it 1-3.
Dronfield almost got a fourth before half time. Full debutant Matt Thorpe hit the crossbar with a tricky curling strike from 20 yards out moments before the whistle for the break.
The end-to-end nature of the contest saw Staveley pull a goal back four minutes after the restart. Josh Pickering cut inside from the left and executed an excellent chip that cleared Naylor with the score at 2-3.
Dronfield restored their two goal advantage on 56 minutes. Max Rhodes’ 20 yard strike was tipped out of play by Walker for a Dronfield corner. From the resulting set piece, it was Jake Hatton who climbed highest to head home at 2-4.
The drama didn’t end there. An individual effort from Deakin saw him wriggle into the area through the Dronfield defence before firing home to make it 3-4 with just under half an hour to play.
Dronfield threw everything at their rearguard for the rest of the game, shorn of defensive lynchpin White through injury. The 75 minute mark saw Town skipper Lewis Naylor tip over the bar from Deakin at point blank range in jawdropping fashion as the game still remained in the balance.
Dronfield hearts were broken three minutes into added time however. Kian Tansley curled a decent finish into the top corner from the left hand side to pull the hosts level at 4-4 and send the game into a penalty shootout.
The spot kicks saw Walker save from Rhodes and Naylor from Claxton as the opening five ended at 4-4. In sudden death, Dronfield’s Callum Riley hit the bar as Jay-Jay Cutts scored for Staveley to send them through by 6-5.
A much-changed Dronfield should be proud of the part they played in a thrilling game of knockout cup football. Matt Thorpe, making his full debut, looked very assured in midfield and was once again a credit to Town’s player pathway.
Dronfield return to league action on Saturday when Louth Town are the visitors to the HE Barnes Stadium for a 3pm kick off.
Staveley MW: Walker, Booker, Claxton, Whittaker, Grierson, Tansley, Ward, Flint, Deakin, Colton-Balagun, Pickering. Subs: Bingham, Peckett, Cutts, Bailie, Coope.
Dronfield Town: Naylor, Riley, Staniland, Thorpe, Hatton, White, Pearson, Lester, Rhodes, Benson, Mawbey. Subs: Townsend, Siddons, Fereday, Lindores, Knight.
Attendance: 170
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