Match Report: Parkgate 3-0 Dronfield Town

A 3-0 home victory over Dronfield Town saw the Steelmen secure their seventh straight win and leapfrog their visitors into 8th place in the league.

Ahead of the game, Parkgate manager Andy Dawson made two changes to the side that beat AFC Emley last time out, with Simon Harrison coming back into the side, and the return of top goalscorer Bruno Holden proving crucial in this midtable matchup.
 
Parkgate came out the slightly more positive of the two sides, with the ball spending significant periods of play within the Dronfield final-third in the opening stages of the game.
 
It wasn’t until the 25th minute that the first real chance of the match arrived though, when a brilliant piece of skill from Zak Khalifa, who chipped a rabona across the box, forced a save out of the Town ‘keeper from a Bruno Holden header.
 
The Steelmen continued to push forwards, and Holden soon had another chance to open the scoring. This time around, it was Brandon Bagley who put an inviting ball into the box for Holden, however, the forward saw his effort saved by the ‘keeper before being flagged offside.
 
Parkgate were finally rewarded for their persistence just before half-time, when, in the 41st minute, Bruno Holden fired the Steelmen ahead. After Reece Hands saw his original effort saved by the Dronfield ‘keeper, the forward was on hand to slot home and give his side the lead at the break.
 
Half-time: Parkgate 1-0 Dronfield Town
 
The Steelmen picked up where they had left off at the end of the first-half and continued to take the game to visitors after the interval. Such pressure was eventually rewarded on the hour mark when, after some patient build-up play, Zak Khalifa put the ball across the box for Reece Hands to apply the finishing touch from close range.
 
The score was soon made 3-0 in the 69th minute, when Bruno Holden grabbed his second goal of the game in unerringly similar fashion to which he claimed his first. After an effort from Elliott Simpson was saved, the Steelmen’s top-scorer was on hand to slot past the ‘keeper on the rebound, and all but secure the three points for Parkgate.
 
The game wasn’t quite done though, and Chris Butt was still called upon to make a number of excellent saves before the end of the game.
 
First, the Parkgate number one pulled off a brilliant save from close range to deny Dronfield a consolation, and then, after making an acrobatic save to protect the Parkgate goal and his clean sheet, Butt started a counter attack that saw both Bruno Holden and Zak Khalifa go close.
 
Full-time: Parkgate 3-0 Dronfield Town

The win sees the Steelmen move above Town and into 8th place in the league.

Parkgate Team: Chris Butt, Ben Starosta, Freddie Russell, Matt Crookes, Owen Fieldsend, Elliott Simpson(C), Reece Hands, Simon Harrison, Bruno Holden, Brandon Bagley, Zak Khalifa.
Substitutes: George Morris, Brad Davies, Alex Pugh, Josh Hobson, Mack Collinson.
 
Attendance: 110