It was a big game for Bilston. Sitting third in the table, facing a new look Dawley Team with players signed from Step 4 Shifnal Town… and all under the brilliant new floodlights at Queen Street for the first time.
What transpired was possibly one of the greatest games I’ve ever seen (and I have seen a few!). Every single player put in a shift, playing with courage and quality, to deliver a stunning 4-0 victory against the shellshocked visitors.
The line-up changed again, with Ben Priest unavailable after the birth of his young son just days before. Finn Syson stepped in alongside a returning Darragh Bustin, with Callum Bright also returning at left back.
The game started fast – and remained fast – with both Dawley and Bilston’s players testing each other with give-and-goes and strong tackles from the off.
Sam Cudjoe-Yankson showed his quality early on with some strong runs against the Dawley defence, shrugging off their defenders en masse to fire a couple of early sighters just over and wide of the post. Honestly, he had the defenders on toast all game.
The first goal came after some pressure down the left hand side that led to a Bilston throw in. The ball was played to the edge of the box, with Finn Syson somehow managing to hook his foot around the ball while facing the wrong way to score a 25 yard stunner. Their goalkeeper and defenders never even moved as they watched it drop down into the net.
Both teams continued to show their quality, with some great pass-and-move football that was thrilling to watch. The returning Bustin went close with a free-kick that just skimmed the bar, and both our midfield and defence continued to put themselves everywhere, arriving first at every loose ball.
The second goal came after a great run again from Sam Cudjoe Yankson who played the ball to Finn Syson. Finn passed a lovely ball across to Harry Dixon, who scored yet again with a tremendous left-footed finish that curled its way into the bottom corner.
The Steelmen continued to push forward after scoring the second, with a shell-shocked Dawley team desperately trying to get themselves back in the game.
It wasn’t to be for Dawley, as Yankson and Nathan Guest caused them all sorts of pain down the left. It was from one of these combinations that the third goal came… with an incredible ball played through by Guest that wouldn’t have been out of play at Camp Nou. His cross field ball completely wiped out Dawley’s defence, arriving beautifully to Harry Dixon to score another pearler in the same bottom left corner.
Wow, 3-0 to Bilston at half-time. The Steelman’s Lounge was buzzing!
The second half started similar to the first, with both teams pressing and trying to play good football. Bilston actually had the ball in the net for a fourth time after a clear foul from the Dawley keeper that could have seem him sent off. Sadly for Bilston, the linesman had other ideas and gave an off-side. A real let-off for the goalie… and the cheeky grin on his face after he collected the ball from the net suggested he knew he’d gotten away with one.
The Bilston attacks continued, with Guest almost getting left-footed shots off on a couple of occasions, and yankson also going close. Their keeper was effectivey playing as a sweeper at this stage, clearing away several through balls just in the nick of time.
Bilston’s fouth, and Harry Dixon’s hat-trick, came from yet another run by Yankson down the line. Sam skillfully beat his man, selling him a dummy before crossing to the waiting Dixon. A fantastic right-footed finish saw the striker and Bilston fans celebrating in style as the team went 4-0 up.
The game slowed down a little following a number of substitutions, although Callum Bright almost scored and Dawley hit the post. Bustin also put substitute Callum Powell through but he couldn’t quite finish as his shot seared over the bar.
What a game. What a win. And to top it off, we even saw goalkeeper James Crump clear the ball over the orange fencing. You don’t see that very often!
Well done Bilston, you made us fans proud with that performance. We’re second in the table and facing league leaders Sandbach United on Saturday. Can’t wait!
Final score: Bilston Town 4 – Dawley Town 0
Goalscorers: Finn Syson, Harry Dixon (3).
Emily & John’s Man of the Match – Harry Dixon
Richard’s Man of the Match – Sam Cudjoe Yankson.