Stocksbridge H report

Albion played some good football in the first half and seemed keen to put their long spell without a win behind them. Stocksbridge on the other hand seemed content to try to contain Albion and rely upon quick breaks to unsettle the home side. Whenever they did break from defence, Stocksbridge were quick and looked dangerous, but had to make do with long shots on the Albion goal. When the interval came with the game still goalless, it was Stocksbridge who were happier with the situation.

The second half continued in much the same vein until eventually Albion got the break they had worked so hard to get. Danny Tornonczak, who had troubled the Stocksbridge defence all afternoon with his pace and tireless running, chased a long ball towards the goal. The goalkeeper came out, together with a defender, to challenge Toronczak and the ball looped into the path of Gary Shaw who made no mistake with the chance.

Once they were in front, Albion gained in confidence and Toronczak was unlucky not to mark his return after injury with a goal when his shot rebounded from the crossbar with the goalkeeper beaten. This seemed to spark Stocksbridge into life and they began to exhurt some pressure of their own. At times Albion were hanging on but they battled on to gain their first win since 17th September 2005. In the dying minutes, Toronczak was again denied a goal, this time by the corner of the post and the bar. His influence was the difference between the Albion side of recent games and today's side. Let's hope he suffers no adverse reaction to his first game since his knee operation.

Team : Clark, Mackay (Downes), Wright, Shuttleworth, Handley (Wordsworth), D.Riordan, Farrell
(Keir), Senior, Toronczak, Shaw, Edwards