Red card mars Haddrell milestone

Leek Town update, by Michael Cope

Leek Town striker Matt Haddrell made his 100th appearance for the club in the home defeat against Sheffield on Saturday but his achievement was overshadowed by a controversial sending off in the 32nd minute of the game.

Blues were two-one down at the time having taken an early lead, but when Sheffield’s Steve Woolley swung a corner into the six-yard box, Blues’ keeper Joe McCormack was bundled into the back of the net by giant Sheffield striker Jason Bradley.

Haddrell also stumbled behind the line into the goal where the ball hit him on the hand before being hacked clear.

Andy Gascoigne blasted the spot kick way over the crossbar but Blues had to battle through the remainder of the game with only 10 men.

Haddrell began his career at Newcastle Town, before moving on to Vauxhall Motors and having a short spell as a professional at Macclesfield Town.

He returned to Harrison Park for a second spell in July 2011 from Kidsgrove Athletic having previously joined Leek in 2004 making over 60 appearances mainly as a central defender.

Haddrell then enjoyed spells at Congleton Town and Kidsgrove where he was successfully converted to a striker scoring 25 goals in the 2009/10 season.

So far this season Haddrell is Blues’ leading scorer with 20 strikes from 37 appearances but has been forced to stand in as a central defender for the last two games due to injuries within the squad.

Grice commits
Leek Town striker Tim Grice has committed himself to the club by signing an 18-month contract tying him to the Harrison Park outfit until the end of next season.

Grice was signed in September 2011 from North West Counties League side Eccleshall but began his career in the Stoke City academy and was also on the books at Aston Villa.

The tall striker, who has also played locally for Wolstanton United and Alsager Town, initially struggled to hold down a regular place in the starting line-up but he has now seized his chance following the departure of James McCarthy to Fylde.

Grice, who has waited patiently on the bench since joining the club, has now netted 8 goals including three in the last two games.

More player news
Leek Town skipper Darren Tinson has recovered from the groin strain that has seen him miss the last three games but now the veteran defender is struggling to shrug off a niggling cartilage injury.

Vastly experienced Tinson has been a tower of strength at the back since joining Leek from Nantwich during the summer but he is now awaiting the results of a scan to see how bad the damage is.

Defender George Ray is undergoing intensive physio treatment at Crewe Alexandra from where he is partway through a 3-month loan spell at Harrison Park.

Anthony Danylyk, who was forced to withdraw before the kick off against Sheffield on Saturday with a groin strain, has been hit with a four-match ban following his harsh dismissal in the recent game against Belper.

Normally the punishment would have been a three-game suspension but as he had already picked up a red card with his previous club Altrincham this season, the FA have added a further one-match ban.

Defender Aden Johnson returned to the action on Saturday as a playing substitute after recovering from a foot injury and a mystery virus that has seen him side-lined since 18 February at Lincoln.

Midfielder Sean Turner gained some valuable match action last week when he turned out for Leek CSOB and then made a surprise start on Saturday when he replaced Anthony Danylyk who withdrew from the game minutes before the kick off after suffering a groin strain in the pre-match warm-up.

Winger Richard Minor, who had knee surgery earlier in the season has suffered a set-back to his recovery and may need a second operation to repair the damage.

Meanwhile, Blues’ coach Kenny Birch-Machin has stood down from his role at Harrison Park for personal reasons.

Coming up
Despite being at home for a further six games this month Blues officials are hoping that their level of support will be sustained as the team looks to achieve its goal of reaching the play-offs.

Blues’ fans have recently taken up one of two offers designed to ease their financial burden after the club offered cut-price admission tickets for home games during the month.

Chairman Andy Wain has again re-iterated the club’s play-off ambitions and hopes that despite Saturday’s result, the Leek faithful will turn out in numbers to help the club achieve its goals.

Next up is Romulus who visit Harrison Park on Tuesday 7.45pm, and the Chairman is hoping that the gate will be up around the 275 mark as the team looks to get its play-off aspirations back on track.

However, it wont be easy for the Roms are in a false position down in 19th place having picked up 34 points from 34 games.

Their downfall this season appears to be a poor away record having picked up just one win on their travels this term.

Leek manager Lee Casswell will be looking to bolster his threadbare squad ahead of the game as injuries and suspensions begin to take their toll.

Of paramount importance is a midfielder to replace Danylyk and Casswell is hoping to bring one in to line up against Romulus on Tuesday

Monthly Draw
The Leek Town Monthly Draw for January was made at Magic Textiles, Churnet Works last Tuesday and the results were as follows:

1st prize £300 No 93 John Machin

2nd prize £150 No 126 Chris Molden

3rd prize £50 No 103 Patrick Moss, No 179 N Woolridge

4th prize £25 No 158 Alex Derrington, No 8 Norman Taylor, No 55 Mike Ruane, No 222 Eric Avins

The draw was conducted by Mr J Webster and was checked and verified by Matt Beeby of Magic Textiles.

There were 260 entries.

Blues stage fundraising events
Leek Town have announced details of a number of fundraising events including:
-Monday 19 March Leek Sports Awards, 7.45pm

-Saturday 31 March Curry and Comedy Nite after the home league game against Loughborough. Admission by ticket priced £20 available from Matt Beeby on 07712 584356, Gavin Bateman on 07972 350170 or any members of the management team.

- Leek Town Golf Day at Leek Golf Club, Birchall on Wednesday 4th April. Teams of four are invited to enter at a cost of £200 per team.

Fee includes bacon butties with tea and coffee on arrival followed by hot food after your round of golf.

For further details or to enter a team, please call Robin Halton on 0794 385307.

Where next?

Waite signs two-year deal 17-year old agrees terms with Ilkeston
Fair Play Winners - February Premier Division - FC United of Manchester. First North - Durham City. First South - Ilkeston FC.

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