REPORT: AFC Sudbury Reserves 5-2 Cornard United

A stream of second-half goals saw AFC run out 5-2 winners, to progress to meet Long Melford in the next round.

Sudbury pressured Cornard from the kick-off, with several shots in the opening few minutes.

And Sudbury’s dominance paid off in the eighth minute: The Yellows were gifted the lead as the referee awarded a controversial penalty, which Lee Sharp easily slotted, past Cornard keeper Tim Jefferies.

Straight after, Cornard hit the attack with a shot from midfielder Jamie Chesney hitting the crossbar and out for a goal kick.

In the twentieth minute, Ricky Spriggs was booked for a foul.

Sudbury goal-scorer Sharp brought down a Cornard attacker in the penalty area, the referee awarding a spot-kick. Matt Knight converted the kick in the thirty-first minute.

After the break Harvey Cawtheray came on for Sharp.

United took the lead in the fifty-sixth minute, as Matt Knight bagged a brace, after running past the AFC defence.

Three minutes later Steve Chisholm was replaced by Shane Benham for AFC and then in the 68th minute, Cornard’s Brad Dix came on for Kieran Smith.

On seventy minutes a Sudbury attack saw a shot that Dave Dowding cleared off the line, with the ball flying out of play for a corner from which in the seventy-first proved vital as the ball came to Ricky Spriggs whose shot equalised for the Yellows.

In the 74th minute, Charlie Knight was substituted for Richard Heath.

But a few minutes after, Jefferies was unsighted as a shot from Mark Bailey was drilled into the net to give the hosts the lead for the second time in the match.

In the eighty-first minute, Bailey received the ball, and passed to the unmarked Ryan Swallow who fired the ball in to give Sudbury a two-goal advantage. A minute later, Tom Lait came on for Andy Fisher for Sudbury’s third, and final substitution of the night.

Sudbury put the game beyond Cornard, as Swallow’s 88th minute strike put Sudbury 5-2 up to send the Yellows into the First Round.

-Compiled by Louis Byers for AFC Sudbury