Barring a goal swing of 20 (yes twenty) goals next Saturday, Hanley Town will be playing in the Northern Premier League West division next season as they almost crossed the safety line with a 0-0 draw against Witton Albion.
Hanley went into the game knowing that a win would confirm their place in next season’s Northern Premier League West division. A draw could have done it as well if other results went their way and, it almost did as Kidsgrove Athletic were beating Widnes 1-0 until the 90th minute when Sharif Dean equalised for Widnes meaning that Hanley will have to wait until next Saturday for their safety to be rubber-stamped.
Meanwhile, Witton Albion had to win to keep their hopes of making the end-of-season promotion playoffs going and, it was them who had the best chance of the opening exchanges as Elliott Rokka’s searching cross found Joe Duckworth inside the area. The Albion’s top scorer expertly took the ball down on his chest before hitting a weak half-volley straight at Hanley Town goalkeeper Ben Chapman.
A few years ago, Rokka looked like a real prospect at this level of football as many people tipped him to go onto good things in the game and, he showed glimpses of this talent throughout the first half as he was a thorn in the Hanley side. He was getting a lot of joy down the left wing but, his end product was not the best for the strike force of Duckworth and former Newcastle Town forward Ryan Baxter.
Hanley, on the other hand, slowly grew into the game with their first chance coming on 22 minutes as Reece Jones’ cross was cleared only as far as Tim Sanders. The midfielder picked the ball up from 25 yards out before unleashing a strike that fizzed just past Ollie Martin’s right-hand post.
From there Hanley became the more dangerous of the two teams as they ended the half with defensive duo Joel Stair and Ryan Shotton both going close from consecutive corners.
After the interval, it was the hosts who continued to be the better side, Kieran Brown deserved a goal on 53 minutes as he picked up the ball on the halfway line before going on a Slalom run at the Witton defence that left Albion defender Jordan Barrow chasing shadows. Brown got into the area but was eventually crowded out by covering defenders.
The former Kidsgrove Athletic man then had another chance on 65 minutes when the ball sat up for him in the area but, he was to put his half-volley straight into the hands of Martin.
Hanley’s dominance was frustrating Witton and, it came to a boil on 66 minutes when Duckworth tried to latch onto the end of an over-the-top ball but, he caught Chapman in the lower part of his abdomen with a high foot and studs showing. The referee had no option but to send Duckworth off for serious foul play. There is no doubt it was a moment of frustration for Witton’s top scorer but, incredibly silly of him because now that is his season over and, had they made the playoffs there was a strong possibility that he would have been banned from them.
Going for the ball(s). credit @karlbrooksphoto pic.twitter.com/9hTcCTIYwU
— Hanley Town Football Club 🇺🇦 (@HanleyTown66) April 15, 2023
Despite being down to 10 men, Witton did carve out a great chance to score on 72 minutes when a short pass from Rokka found former Hanley Town man Jim Lawrie about 30 yards from goal. The winger, who had been a second-half substitute, hit an effort goalwards that flew through a crowd of bodies in the area. However, Chapman kept his eye on the strike, and he was able to turn the effort away.
Hanley’s final chance of the match came on 88 minutes when Brown once again was in the thick of the action. This time the forward was to clip the crossbar with his header. A desperately unlucky miss for the forward because had it been an inch lower, he would have won the game for Hanley.
The result puts Hanley within touching distance of safety as Widnes got that late equaliser down the road at Kidsgrove. They must go to Prescot Cables on the final day of the season knowing that even if they were to lose, then providing they avoided a goal swing of 20 goals, they will be playing Northern Premier League West football again next season.
After the game, I spoke to Hanley Town manager Ryan Shotton to get his thoughts on the draw.
I also caught up with Hanley left-back Alex Morris to see how he viewed the draw.
Hanley Town: Chapman, Jones, Morris, Sanders, J.Stair, Shotton, Walford, Blake, Brown , Bell and Turner.
Unused subs: Winkle, Dodds, Barratt and T.Stair.
Witton Albion: Martin, Koral, Jackson, Billington (Lawire, 52), Hitchcox, Barrow, Rokka, Fogerty (Williams, 52), Duckworth, Baxter (Putnam, 65) and Igoe.
Unused subs: Harrison.
Attendance: 235
