Super Sub Wood grabs the points

Radcliffe vs Market Drayton Town – BY DANNY PRYER

Liam Wood scored his first goal for Radcliffe as they came from behind to beat Market Drayton Town 2-1 at the Neuven Stadium.

The first opportunity of the game came through Michael Fowler, who switched the ball onto his left foot and shot just wide of the post from 20-yards out.

The visitors drew first-blood on 17 minutes. Right-back Louis Irvine turned striker, when he cut in from the left and unleashed a powerful striker, giving Ollie Martin no chance.

Boro then drew level with a stunning cross from Scott Metcalfe, which met the head of Callum Grogan, who lost his marker to power home from point-blanc range on 36 minutes.

Grogan equalises for the boro

53 minutes in and Rick Smith almost guided a header in to give Boro the lead, but a swift deflection from Andrew Hurtleberry ensured the lines were cleared for the visitors, temporarily.

The Boro again had the chance again to take the lead. A short corner from Metcalfe resulting in another teasing cross to tee up Elliot Rokka, who could only find the back of the stand.

Radcliffe found the winner 15 minutes from time, when Liam Wood, after just entering the field, had a one-on-one opportunity and slotted coolly past Rawlins for his first goal in a Boro shirt.

Possession was the key
After weeks in which the Boro were chasing a result with more of a route one style, the Blues’ today looked comfortable on the ball, without panicking.

The Gingerbread Men’s goal was against the run-of-play, as Jon Macken’s side dominated – creating chance after chance, and looking comfortable playing out from the back. The home side were patient in the second-half, as the encounter merged into one-way traffic – which eventually payed dividends with the winning goal.

Wood the hero
Radcliffe’s Liam Wood became the hero in the end, after scoring his first goal for the club and the game’s decisive moment. Wood was a substitute just seconds before, as he replaced Matty Crothers to make an instant impact. A fantastic through-ball from Elliot Rokka saw Wood take an exquisite first-touch, before rolling the ball past the defender and slotting home with only the goalkeeper to beat.

Delight- Liam Wood wins it with his first touches of the ball

Metcalfe the engine
With all of the plaudits going in the direction of match-winner Wood, the key to the victory was without doubt Scott Metcalfe.
After being asked to play numerous positions this season, he found himself on the left-wing today, and made a huge impact in creating chances, with his classic left-footed curling crosses – on the floor and in the air.
His assist for Callum Grogan’s header couldn’t have been more accurate, and the one-way traffic in the second-half was mainly down to his ball-retention – adding to that – a passionate display of joy post-match.

Man Of The Match – Scott Metcalfe

First meeting, first win - The Stats

• This was the first meeting between the two clubs in their respective histories. After today’s victory, they kick-off the proceedings with a 1-0 lead.
• Macken’s side are now undefeated in their last seven matches in all competitions this season, and are now starting to recapture the form they showed in the first seven matches of the season.
• Radcliffe move to sixth place in the Evo-Stik West League, in which could have been fourth place, if results elsewhere fell into their favour.
• Boro now create an eight-point gap in-front of the Gingerbread Men, who sit in the bottom half of the table.

Jon Macken was delighted with the character of the team to come back from behind

"We've worked hard on building a team spirit, character within the dressing room. They've got that and shown it in many games this season, the ones where we have won and not conceded its difficult against good teams to keep clean sheets and we've managed to do that on several occasions all credit to them we deserved this win today it wasn't pretty at times but sometimes you need some hard fought victories in the league."

Full Interview with Jon Macken, as well as Liam Wood and Callum Grogan is available on Our YouTube Channel RadcliffeTV