Danks gets Reds out of jail

Stourport Swifts 2-2 Willenhall Town

By Martyn Simpson

A fantastic evening of entertainment at the Walshes saw Willenhall somehow grab a point against the odds, in a game where the score line only tells half the story. Not only did this ninety exhilarating minutes give Rob Smith many answers to questions he may have had about his team, it also gave Willenhall’s army of fans the opportunity to decide whether their glass was half full or half empty. Many supporters will just be thankful of Paul Danks injury time equaliser, but there will surely be some discerning voices who will feel that the hosts should have been put to the sword long before their own equaliser, though perhaps admittedly it was a soft one, 27 minutes into this pulsating affair.

The referee had a night to forget, but had the Reds failed to yield something out of this fixture, the problems lay far deeper than laying the blame squarely at the door of the man in the middle, even if both sets of supporters spent much of this cool and breezy evening questioning his parentage. In comparison to the performance of Willenhall stopper Mark Shiels however, his performance paled into insignificance.

It is always hard, and perhaps not even fair, to single out players and individual errors in games, but Shiels will be the first to admit that two howlers of gigantic proportions enabled Swifts to score two goals that their forward play rarely threatened.

It all started so brightly for Town, who made three changes to the starting line up that comfortably beat Dunstable on Saturday. With Aaron Bishop ruled out due to suspension, and Craig Slater missing through injury, it meant that Smith had to shuffle the pack, and with youngster Sean Platt also making way, it enabled first starts for Jamie Petty, Paul Danks and new boy Inderpaul Khela.

Inside the opening sixty seconds Willenhall had plundered two corners, and on the second Scott Voice nodded the ball goalwards only for it to be knocked off the line. Strike partner Dean Perrow was next to have a pop at goal, firing an effort from the edge of the box which didn’t do much to trouble the keeper.

Voice should certainly have gone one better in the 8^th minute though, as a super move starting with Chad Sheppard found its way to Voice via Nick Campbell cross and an untidy header from Swifts defender Andy Jones. Six yards out and with the goal seemingly at his mercy, Voice poked the ball towards the net, only to be thwarted by a good reflex save. It marked the start of a frustrating evening for Voice, though he was instrumental, albeit indirectly, in giving the visitors the lead. A free kick was whipped in deep towards Voice who made a timely jump against a defender, and though it was the Swifts defender who connected with the ball, it arrowed into the path of the hard-working Perrow who headed home, much to the jubilation of the travelling contingent.

All was well, the Reds were cruising, and the chance to inflict a massive dent in the home sides confidence could easily have followed. However, failure to deal with a routine cross into the box saw Shiels completely fumble the ball and allow Andy Jones give his side an avenue back into the game that his sides’ exploits really had not warranted. All credit to Stourport, the goal was a massive morale booster for them, as they took the game by the scruff of the neck and started to dictate the passing and tempo of the game.

Willenhall made it to the interval, and came back out refreshed and ready to pick up the pace in the second period. The second half was little over a minute old when Petty stood up to a challenge, but the referee deemed him to have been a little too enthusiastic in his attempts to win back possession. The resulting set piece, seemingly Willenhall’s Achilles heel at the moment, was invitingly swung in by the impressive Danny Mason. However, with no player near the ball, it sailed through into the direction of Shiels. Somehow a bounce deceived him, and the ball ended up in the net for what will hopefully be the most bizarre goal that Willenhall concede this season.

Sean Platt replaced Petty, as the demoralised visitors attempted to get going once again. A flick on from Voice found Danks on the left. A powerful, teasing effort was well palmed away by keeper Ladek, in a move that summed up the difference between the two sides probably like no other.

Sheppard and Voice were replaced shortly after by Mark Swann and John Quilt, as the Reds sought to gain some fresh momentum going into the latter stages of this contest. Sadly quality was lacking in Willenhall’s forward play, that is until the very last minute of the game. The lively Perrow went racing clear, and got into a shooting position as he looked to double both his own and his teams tally, and salvage a point. He was cruelly scythed down, and the hosts even stopped playing due to the seemingly inevitable nailed on penalty decision. However, the referee was some 50 yards behind play (in the centre circle) and the linesman failed to signal. Play on was the rather perplexing verdict, and so the prospect of even a point had seemingly disappeared.

Swifts looked to play the final moments out, as they professionally worked to keep the ball in the corners, but with plenty of stoppage time there was still time for one last Willenhall attack. Danks picked the ball up on the right hand side and got into a crossing position. Surrounded by defenders, he worked an opening, and completely fooled everyone with a thunderous drive that struck the inside of the post and went in, giving the Reds a point when they seemed down and out.

Relief all round amongst the away support, and had the goal not gone in, debate would have reigned for weeks arguing as to who had the reddest face – Shiels or the referee. It was all academic in the end as a share of the spoils was earned, and there were many positives to take heart from too, but there is plenty of work to do before Willenhall can even think about living up to their pre-season billing as one of the favourites for promotion.

Reds line up: Shiels; Newell, Khela, Vaughan; Campbell, Sheppard (Swann 62), Danks, Rochester, Petty (Platt 53); Perrow, Voice (Quilt 62). Subs not used: Rowe, Holland

Stourport line up: Ladek; M Jones, A Jones, Manton, Green; Volosanovs, Bragoli, Childs, Mason; Willetts, Burgess (Atkinson 79). Subs not used: Corrigan, Titterton, Colley, Fullwood (gk)