𝗨𝗙𝗙 𝗠𝗢𝗠 | Charlie Harrison, a constant threat involved in a lot of the goals who also covered a lot of ground
𝗥𝗘𝗙 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛 | 72/100 for Nay Cooil, majority of the game was decent, good communication, but there were two fouls, one for either side, that were in that grey area of warranting the imaginary Orange card, but he booked neither.
✍️👨💻 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛 𝗥𝗘𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧 👨💻✍️
𝟮𝟴 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗦 𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗥
At a damp and overcast Billy Goat Park, the stakes couldn't have been higher for @Foxdale_AFC as they faced a severely depleted @MalewAFC side in a crucial DPS LTD Division 2 clash. A draw or a win would secure Foxdale's promotion to the Canada Life Premier League, something that had eluded them for nearly three decades.
The match burst into life within just four minutes as Charlie Harrison surged into the Malew box, only to be brought down by Daniel Thirlwell, prompting referee Nathan Cooil to point to the spot without hesitation. Ricky Newsham confidently stepped up and dispatched the resulting penalty.
From that moment on, Foxdale asserted their dominance. Harrison wreaked havoc on the right wing, exploiting every opportunity to push forward. Jay Chatwood and Jason Charmer tested Nathan Archibald and Thirlwell, who had to work tirelessly to contain the relentless attacks.
Malew's very high defensive line played into Foxdale's hands, granting Chatwood acres of space as he travelled 40 yards, unchallenged, into the box to slot home Foxdale's second goal after just 16 minutes, with Malew's offisde shouts in vain.
Dales' eagerness saw them caught offside on several occasions, preventing further early goals. Malew did have their moments, with Brandon Krypner testing the Foxdale goal from range and Thirlwell narrowly missing a close-range header.
Foxdale's skipper, Ste Bettridge, then embarked on a sensational solo run out from the back, shrugging off two midfielders with ease before outmuscling a defender, calmly cutting back his finish inside the post to make it 3-0 on 26 minutes.
Malew's forwards, Mikey Kenny and Brandon Krypner, found themselves isolated against a resolute Foxdale defence marshalled by Matty Cubbon and James Smith. Andy Ball pulled off a stunning save low to his left to maintain his clean sheet.
The away side then failed to properly clear a corner and the ball fell kindly to Ricky Newsham lurking on the edge of the box, his low, powerful strike took a deflection off a Malew defender's toe, wrong-footing goalkeeper Aaron Richardson, and nestled into the bottom corner, making it 4-0 to Foxdale after 36 minutes.
The onslaught continued just before halftime when Jason Charmer capitalised on a defensive lapse from Olly Barry on the left wing. He strode forward into the box, opened up his body, and expertly bent the fifth goal in, off the inside of the far post.
The second half saw a spirited Malew create a few half-chances early on. Jamie Kelly's weak effort was comfortably saved, while Danny Bailey, Nathan Hamilton and Michael Pardoe were tenacious enough to stop the homeside from adding to their lead.
Just after the hour mark, Kev Pulman played a through ball to Jason Charmer, who found himself breaking free on the left. Composed one on one, he slid the ball into the net for his second of the game and Dales' sixth. The home side continued to dominate. Andy Ball's long punt found Jay Chatwood, who initially lost possession but regained it through sheer determination. He in turn then found Liam Cannan on the left touchline, who, spotting the keeper off his line, unleashed an audacious curling effort from 40 yards, which sailed over his head and into the far side netting, extending the lead to seven in the 68th minute.
Two minutes later, Pulman evaded several Malew challenges on his way into the box before cleverly sitting the keeper down with a cheeky step-over and rolling the ball into an empty net for Foxdale's eighth.
Dale then managed the rest of the game well through some sensible play.
The final whistle signalled scenes of joyous celebration, as Foxdale secured their long-awaited return to the Canada Life Premier League for the first time since the 1995/96 season while also continuing their undefeated league campaign so far.
FT score:
Foxdale 8 Malew 0
Ricky Newsham x2
Jason Charmer x2
Jay Chatwood
Liam Cannan
Kev Pulman
We are going up!
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