Dronfield Town made it six consecutive wins in all competitions with a 3-1 home success over Clay Cross Town in the Northern Counties East League Cup. Both sides rang the changes but it was Dronfield’s youthful line-up who progressed to the next stage thanks to second half goals from Oli Townsend, a Daniel Shelbourne own goal and Max Rhodes, after Shelbourne had given Cross a first half lead. Ironically, the two sides meet once again in the league on Saturday, this time at Clay Cross’ Adalynne Haye Stadium.
Dronfield made eight changes from the side that beat Selby Town at the weekend and almost came a cropper in the opening minute when an underhit backpass allowed in Billy Brooks, who dinked the ball wide of Rhys Hudson’s left hand post.
One of those changes, Oli Townsend, was fundamental in most of Dronfield’s best moves in the first half. He hit a rising shot on 5 minutes that narrowly cleared Rio Alberry’s crossbar and played a delightful long ball to Nick Benson 13 minutes later that eventually came to nothing.
Townsend stung Alberry’s hands on the half hour mark; the visiting stopper managing to tip the ball over the bar from the vicious strike.
Clay Cross sub Joshua Jackson did well to bring down a high ball but scuffed his shot wide under pressure from Dronfield’s defence. His side did get a crucial advantage two minutes before half time however.
Fine work by Daniel Shelbourne saw him turn his man in the box and fire home low to Hudson’s left hand side as the visitors took a 0-1 lead.
It felt unlikely that the game would end on that scoreline and it was Dronfield who came out the brighter in the second half – Nick Benson striking one just wide from distance shortly after the restart.
The equaliser came on 53 minutes. Good work down the right by Mark Fereday saw him square the ball across the area for Townsend to sidefoot home at 1-1.
A mad ten minutes ensued. Kane Snell thundered a shot against the crossbar for Clay Cross as both sides made a raft of substitutions, keen to make full use of their squads in the competition.
Shelbourne scored an unfortunate second of the game, turning the ball into his own net on the hour mark to give Dronfield a 2-1 lead and things went from bad to worse for the visitors three minutes later.
An almost copycat effort of Dronfield’s first goal saw James Lindores set up Max Rhodes to make it 3-1 and put the Stonelow-based side in the box seat.
Dronfield’s final main effort of the night saw Cam Knight curl a left footed shot just over the bar from 20 yards out but Town had young stopper Rhys Hudson to thank that the game didn’t go to spot kicks.
He pulled off fine saves from Cameron Pinnick, the second of which was at point blank range to ensure that it was Chris Millington’s young charges who made progress to the second round of the competition.
The teams meet in the league on Saturday, this time at Clay Cross’ ground, when two vastly changed elevens are expected to take the field once again. Dronfield currently sit in tenth place in the Northern Counties East League Division One table with Clay Cross in sixteenth.
Dronfield Town: Hudson, Berry, Staniland, Lester, Bovill, Riley, Knight, Mawbey, Fereday, Townsend, Benson. Subs: Lindores, Walker, Thorpe, Bebbington, Rhodes.
Clay Cross Town: Alberry, Wilson, Jules, Johnson, Price, Shelbourne, Pritchard, Devereux, Snell, Brooks, Whitehead. Subs: Lytham, Clegg, Pinnick, Jackson.
Attendance: 50
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