It seems Leek Town and the Staffs Senior Cup Final do not have a good relationship. The Blues have appeared in the final on ten occasions but have only managed to win the trophy once, back in 1996. And on the last 4 occasions, including Tuesday night’s game, they have not even managed to score in the prestigious game.

However, this year’s 1-0 defeat to Rushall Olympic at Stoke City’s Bet365 stadium, a repeat of the scoreline from the previous season was not without trying as a patched up Blues team put in a titanic effort to battle against their higher league opponents and a referee that had an indifferent game to put it politely.

A 49th minute penalty settled it but Leek had enough of the play and chances, particularly in the second half, to have got something from the game which will be their biggest frustration along with that of the officiating.

A crowd of 839 saw a couple of changes to the Leek starting line up. With Taylor McMahon ineligible Louis Keenan moved to his normal left back position and Olly Harrison, despite nursing a knee injury, returned at centre half. He was partnered by Aaron Opoku, still playing out of position, due to the absence of Julius Ndene through a concussion protocol.

The forward line was unchanged but Lucas Weir returned in midfield with Tom Reilly being one of only 3 named substitutes to reinforce the threadbare nature of the squad at this stage of the season.

Despite some initial hesitation by Keenan, losing possession just outside the area and having to rely on Marc Grocott and Harrison to thwart a Rushall attack, the Blues made a decent start to the game. Tom Carr and Liam Buckley worked space down the right to put in a couple of early crosses to test the Pics defence, whilst Fenton Green tried to burst through into the area but was quickly crowded out to prevent any shooting opportunity.

The first shot of the game went to Rushall after 6 mins had been played. From a ball played forward Harrison seemed to lose it in the air allowing Maher to pick it up, cut in and fire an effort that Dino Visser pushed away with strong hands.

The chance seemed to settle the Pics down and they began to start to dominate possession and looked very assured in their passing. It was obvious that their tactics were to get the ball wide as much as possible to Maher on the right and the overlapping Charles on the left whilst Farmer was trying to find space between the midfield and forward line. On 12 mins Maher again cut in to try another effort but it took a heavy deflection and made it easy for Visser to gather.

The Blues were being stretched and were working hard out of possession but needed to get hold of the ball themselves to ease some of the pressure. On 13mins Green looked to do so and was fouled under the challenge of a couple of Pics players but the referee allowed play to continue and Charles took advantage to put in a dangerous low cross from the left that Harrison had to put out for the first corner of the game. The corner was cleared but Rushall continued to ask questions of the Blues defensive capabilities and were showing why they were two leagues higher. Good defending by, at first, Keenan and then Opoku conceded another couple of corners the latter of which saw a hooked effort easily caught by Visser.

It was therefore against the run of play that saw Leek nearly take the lead after 22mins. Green went into a challenge with a Rushall opponent in midfield and with both players on the ground Buckley was first to the loose ball and advanced a few yards before playing it out to Carr on the right. He curled in a cross that Rob Stevenson got to in front of the goalkeeper with his header clipping the bar. It was the closest either side had come to taking the lead.

Not to be deterred, Rushall again passed their way back up the pitch and Maher was found in space. He was able to turn and play a ball through into the path of Farmer inside the area but as he was about to shoot Buckley got in a well timed challenge to dispossess the Pics player.

Then it was Leeks turn again on 25mins as the game briefly opened up and went into a short end to end spell. Tim Grice was able to get a flick on to Stevenson who, himself, helped it on to Carr and he managed to ride a couple of challenges to advance into the area. Unfortunately, the last challenge on him was enough to cause him to take a heavy touch and allow Weaver in the Rushall goal to slide out and gather just ahead of the Town player.

The game settled again with neither side being able to gain any real ascendancy but, following a similar pattern to last year’s final, it was the higher league side still having the majority of possession and still trying to use the full width of the pitch to create any openings with Leek showing defensive resilience.

However, on 34mins an uncharacteristic mistake from Visser nearly undid all of Leeks hard work up to that point. Charles again attempted to put in a cross from the left. Buckley got enough on it to take the pace out of it and Visser went to gather at his near post. However, the keeper inadvertently allowed the ball through his legs but fortunately Harrison was on hand behind him to clear the danger before Rushall could take advantage.

The referee earned the ire of the vocal Leek supporters for the second time on 37mins when giving a foul for Maher near the edge of the area. The Pics forward had already gone to ground earlier trying to draw a foul from Keenan without being spoken to when, on this occasion, being faced by both Keenan and Harrison he touched the ball forward to his left but moved to his right away from the path of it to run into Keenan and make it look as if he was being blocked off with the referee falling for it.

Fortunately the Blues were able to deal with the free kick and actually launch a counterattack which saw the hard working Buckley get forward and put in a near post cross that a Pics defender was able to get to just before Grice.

Keenan’s battle with Maher continued and, on 40 mins, the Leek defender probably put in the block of the game to deny his opponent. Green had mis-controlled the ball just outside his area and Rushall were quickly able to get it wide once more. The cross came in from the left behind a number of players to find Maher but Keenan came out of nowhere to produce a flying block to prevent the goal bound effort.

As the game went into stoppage time at the end of the first half both sides created a further chance. On 47mins to the ironic cheers of the Blues fans Town were awarded a free kick just inside the Rushall half. With Harrison and Opoku acting as decoys at the far end of the area the ball was played low into the feet of Stevenson on the near side. He was able to turn inside his man and hit a left footed shot but it was a couple of yards too high.

Then just a minute later a defence splitting pass saw Farmer running onto the ball. However both Buckley and Harrison were able to get back and put the Pics player under enough pressure that he dragged his effort well wide to ensure the game remained goalless going into the break.

LEEK TOWN 0 - RUSHALL OLYMPIC 0 HT

Leek kicked off the second half and were immediately on the attack. A neat one two between Buckley and Grice dissected three Rushall opponents but the full backs driven cross was too strong for both Carr and Stevenson to get on the end of and Rushall were able to break upfield. This led to a dangerous cross that Visser had to punch away showing good command of his area.

It was then on 49mins the opening goal arrived. Rushall again looked to get in Charles down the left and Carr initially did well to get back and manage to challenge and get in front of the Pics full back to the ball. However, he was then dispossessed and Charles was able to fire in a cross that struck Buckleys arm with the Leek player being too close to do anything about it and the referee had no hesitation in awarding penalty.

Alex Fletcher, who would have a quietly effective game in the Pics midfield, always seeming to be in the right place to pick up the loose ball or be available to set a Rushall attack in motion, made no mistake from the spot with a powerful shot to Visser’s left as the keeper dived to his right.
There have not been too many games this season where Leek have had to come from behind but, undeterred by their misfortune, the Blues set about their task with a determination.

On 54mins Tom Carr received the ball inside the Rushall half and with little support available ran at the defence. He was clumsily challenged some 30 yards from goal but kept his feet to go on before being upended just outside the area. The referee blew for the obvious foul but then, incredulously, took the ball back and placed it at the 30 yard mark rather than the more dangerous position closer to the goal. Suffice to say the position of the free kick meant all Leek could do was deliver a cross into the box. Keenan did so, curling a long one over to the far post when Carr had run round the back to meet it and square it across the goal but was amazed to be given offside as the assistant referee compounded his colleague’s initial mistake.

Carr showed some neatwork footwork and produced another good run at the Pics defence down the right on 58mins, but his good work was not matched by his cross that didn’t beat the first man. Stevenson won Leek’s first corner after 60mins as the Blues continued to press but Keenan was also guilty of not beating the first man as good opportunities to test the Rushall defence were not being taken.

After being found by a pass from Buckley, Carr did get a better cross into the box on 62mins, aiming for Stevenson, but the striker was unable to get the better of his defender on this occasion, whilst Rushall were proving they could be a threat on the break as Charles and Maher combined before the latter’s shot lacked composure and flew high and wide.

Leek Manager Josh Brehaut made a change after 63mins, bringing on Reilly for Grice and moving Carr into a more central striker position.
Reilly’s first contribution to the game came almost immediately as he cut out a pass in midfield and fed it to Stevenson. He ran at the defence and got lucky when the ball rebounded to him after an initial challenge but then did not make the most of it as he too lacked composure and his left footed effort was wild, and higher and wider than that of Maher.

Stevenson did come closer, however, a couple of minutes later on 69mins with one of his trademark efforts. Initially Harrison had won the ball and strode out of defence before finding Stevenson on the left. He beat his man but overhit his cross into the area. Carr did well to retrieve the ball and, along with Weir and Reilly, did really well to retain possession and work the ball over to Stevenson on the left once more. This time the striker cut in and ran along the edge of the area past a couple of Pics defenders before curling a right footed effort at goal that looked as if it was going in. However, unlike his finishes against Stalybridge and Kidsgrove earlier in the season this time the ball just flew the wrong side of the post.

Leek’s top scorer this season repeated the effort not long after on 72mins. Weir and Green exchanged passes before finding Stevenson in a similar position. Again he took the ball inside and looked for the far post but this effort was a little wider that his previous one.

Leek were certainly on top at the stage and there was a lot of suspicion and derision directed at Rushall keeper Weaver as he suddenly sat down on the ground requesting treatment which had the effect of bringing the Blues momentum to a halt.

The continuation of a number of strange refereeing decisions was also not helping the Blues. A clear push in the back of Carr went unpunished and then when Harrison again surged forward after winning a tackle and was blocked off and obstructed by a Rushall player the referee saw something that no one else in the ground did and gave the free kick against the Leek centre half!

The game entered into the final ten minutes with Leek pressing and pushing more men forward as they needed to do. But it obviously made them vulnerable to the counterattack. Rushall had a couple of opportunities to get a killer second goal; Opoku produced a beautiful last ditch challenge to deny Oseni a run on goal, whilst McLintock headed over the bar when well placed before Oseni did manage to get in behind the Leek defence before the ball was eventually scrambled clear.

Charles also had a 25yd free kick held by Visser after Keenan had taken his frustrations out on Maher with a scything challenge that could have earned a booking but didn’t.

As 6 minutes of added time were indicated Leek were awarded a free kick inside the Rushall half which maybe gave them a last chance. The delivery from Keenan was cleared to the far touchline where it was retrieved by Opoku, supported by Harrison. The two centre halves did well to keep possession under pressure from a number of Rushall defenders and Harrison eventually managed to turn his man. Harrison’s shirt was deliberately being pulled from behind by the defender trying to recover his ground but both the referee and his assistant gave nothing as the cross was easily cleared, when Leek would surely have preferred a free kick on the edge of the box.

And then, as Rushall tried to break from the clearance Grocott won back possession with the ball going in the direction of his challenge but the referee blew for a free kick and then yellow carded the Town captain! That proved to be the culmination of a frustrating night for Leek as Rushall showed good game management and some controlled possession against the tired legs of their opponents to run down the clock in the dying stages and retain the trophy for the second consecutive year.

The Blues players, however, could hold their heads high having proved once again as they did against the likes of South Shields and Fylde, that they are able to compete against much higher ranked teams and, on another day with another set of officials, may have got something out of this game.

LEEK TOWN 0 - RUSHALL OLYMPIC 1 FT

REPORT BY WINNERS LAD

Photo Gallery courtesy of Jim Booth HERE