By Chris Wood for North Derbyshire Radio. Photo Credit to Steven Greenhough
The Gladiators opened the gap between them and 3rd place Emley today (06/04/26) as they beat Silsden at the Regal Interiors Stadium.
Firstly, full credit must go to Silsden who haven’t had the easiest of seasons at step 4, but they defended deep and spent most of the game frustrating the travelling forwards in what is one of the most beautiful places to watch a game of football!
Matlock Town had more of the ball in the first half and the majority of the chances, but it was actually the hosts who opened the scoring. 4 minutes into the game, a deep cross from the right-hand side found the head of Price, who flicked the ball into the far corner, evading both Lambton and the Gladiators’ defence.
However, their lead lasted less than 10 minutes. Matlock’s top scorer Cam Wilson went on a mazy run by cutting inside from the left. He found himself in the box where he cut back onto his left foot and fired a low shot into the bottom corner, under the home keeper.
The visitors continued to pile on the pressure throughout the rest of the half, although thanks to a well organised Silsden back line, the shots they attempted were either long range and speculative or took deflections on the way through and were easy saves for the keeper. Both Macdonald and Eratt-Thompson had a go from range in the opening 25 minutes (the former of course trying to repeat his heroics from Saturday) but neither of them came to fruition.
Despite all these chances however, it was Silsden who probably went the closest in the half without scoring. A ball to the back post found Coates completely unmarked in the middle. Fortunately for the travelling supporters, he somehow managed to put his effort over the bar from a few yards out and the score remained level going into the break.
Half-Time – Silsden 1-1 Matlock Town
The second half played out in a very similar fashion to the first, with the Gladiators having a lot of the ball and creating numerous half chances. However, the Silsden defence remained resolute and continued to limit Matlock to speculative efforts.
However, on 65 minutes, a potential game changing moment for the hosts as they were reduced to 10 men. Number 4 Cromack went in with a high foot on Milambo, a challenge which the referee judged to be serious enough to warrant a straight red card. Fortunately for Milambo (who was carrying a knock going into this game) he was okay to continue.
Again, with credit to Silsden, the dismissal only seemed to galvanise their defence, who spent the rest of the game sitting even deeper, desperately trying to earn a point which may have been crucial to their survival come the end of the season.
The visitors did find themselves with more space to exploit and, naturally, began to take advantage. The chances created from here on in were much clearer cut and without the intervention of the home goalkeeper, the scoreline would have been much more flattering in Matlock’s favour.
Firstly, Thompson went close as he capitalised on a mistake in the Silsden defence. He went through 1 on 1 with the goalkeeper but the man between the sticks pulled off an excellent save to deny the Gladiators number 7. 3 minutes later, Matlock went close again as a delightful cross from Bachirou just evaded a flick from Atherton and landed safely in the gloves of the goalkeeper.
Eventually though, with just 10 minutes to play, the pressure finally broke through. It was that man Wilson again who got himself to the byline and his low cross was deflected by a Silsden defender and squirmed in at the goalkeeper’s near post. A slice of fortune for the Gladiators, but one that they probably deserved on the balance of play.
More chances for Matlock followed but again some excellent goalkeeping and defending kept the scoreline at 2-1 up until the final whistle sounded.
Full-Time – Silsden 1-2 Matlock Town
A good result for Matlock in their penultimate away game of the season, although Silsden do deserve credit for the way that they went about the game and the way that they defended throughout. Matlock weren’t as free flowing as they were on Saturday, but a combination of tired legs and some key personnel missing probably contributed to this. A good win in the circumstances (considering Emley dropped points) and 2nd place now looks well within the Gladiators’ grasp with just 3 games of the regular season remaining.
Matlock Town are next in action on Saturday 11/04/26 as they welcome Ashington to the Proctor Cars Stadium. Kick-off is at 3pm.
Silsden XI – 1. Brown, 2. Hunt, 3. Clark, 4. Cromack, 5. Coates (C), 6. Pickles, 7. Vaughan (Carroll 57’), 8. Jeffrey (Hyde 73’), 9. Price (La Bastide 84’), 10. Brooksbank (Buchan 66’), 11. Cassidy
Matlock XI – 1. Lambton, 2. Eratt-Thompson, 3. Macdonald, 4. Mbayo, 5. Granite (C) (Atherton 71’), 6. Oglesby, 7. Thompson, 8. Bachirou, 9. Viggars (Milambo 57’), 10. Upton, 11. Wilson (Williamson 90+4’)
