PREMIER DREAM IS REAL FOR ALBS
PROMOTION has become a reality for Witton Albion – and manager Carl Macauley could hardly believe it.
That’s not to say he doesn’t back the ability of his team. They were deserving winners of a play-off final that they dominated after the interval. But it was not straightforward.
“I’ve never been so nervous before, during or after a game of football,” Macauley told The
NLP. “I don’t know why, maybe it’s because as a manager you feel like you have less control. You can give the players instructions, tell them what to do, but it’s up to them after that.”
Whatever he said to them during the interval, it worked.
Spalding had seen off Albion’s threat in comfort, save for Rob Hopley hooking over from inside the six-yard box after Will Jones had nodded a cross into his path.
Jones jabbed over too on 41 minutes after Brad Bauress had done the same. In between it was an arm-wrestle. Spalding created little, but Matt Varley’s throws had Witton on alert.
The Tulips’ goalkeeper, Michael Duggan, could barely move because of an injury sustained during their semi-finals success after extra time against Stocksbridge Park Steels in midweek.
Without a back-up, he gritted his teeth.
Albion sensed his vulnerability, and a procession of corners at the start of the second period permitted them to apply sustained pressure. Steven Tames’s curling cross skimmed a post, then Anthony Brown arced an attempt against an upright. Hopley headed over and Spalding wavered for the first time. They could do nothing about Witton’s opener on 65 minutes. Bauress nudged the ball away from a defender by controlling it on his chest and, after pushing it skywards with his head to tee up a volley, thumped a right-foot shot into the bottom corner. Spalding’s response was to equalise three minutes later with an even better strike. Nathan Stainfield pumped up a long ball that Bradley Wells diverted towards Leon Mettam.
The striker duly whipped a first-time shot into the far corner from the edge of the area with custodian Danny Roberts able only to admire.
It rocked Witton, but briefly and they were not to be denied.
From a Spalding throw, they countered when Bauress swept a pass forward for Tames to chase. Duggan reacted brilliantly to parry Bauress’ header from his teammate’s cross, but Anthony Gardner rolled in the rebound.
When he touched the ball in there were four other Witton players in the penalty area that had joined the attack.
Macauley said: “This group just never knows when it’s beaten, and the desire and stamina to score a goal like that showed that perfectly.
“It’s a huge moment for the club, and it was emotional to see a sea of red and white on the field at the end.
“We’ve been on a journey over the past 18 months, and we arrived where we wanted to be – and that’s back in the Premier Division.”
Chris Rawlinson, his opposite number, was gracious in defeat. He said: “Witton were a little bit better than us on the day, and they’re a good side.
“We did well in patches, but the semi-final in midweek took more out of us than we thought.”