AFC Sudbury Reserves/Under 21s fell to a heavy defeat as
Needham Market Reserves thrashed the home side 7-0 in the Thurlow Nunn First
Division.
The Yellows had a strong start and saw Luke McGhee’s shot
blocked by visiting keeper Curtis Thaine, who easily claimed the ball in after
the opening 90 seconds.
At the opposite end of the pitch, Needham’s corner crossed
into the box saw Connor Cormack latch onto the ball who fired wide of the goal.
Needham could have taken the lead in the sixth minute as
Brendan Heath crossed to Ben Hope who was unable to latch onto the ball despite
an empty goal.
In the tenth minute, Corey Wood did some good work down by
the corner arc to keep the ball on while being kept under pressure from AFC’s
Harry Craig with the Needham striker eventually able to cross the ball into the
penalty box where it met Ben Hope who fired into the net past stand-in AFC
goalkeeper Dan George to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
In the nineteenth minute, the visitors doubled their lead as
Brendon Heath smashed the ball past goalkeeper George.
Seven minutes later, the Yellows could have pulled a goal
back as they earned a free-kick 25-yards outside of goal. The ball was crossed
in by Harry Craig but a visiting defender headed the ball away before Hope made
the final clearance.
In the 30th minute, Ben Hope netted his second
goal of the match as he slotted past goalkeeper George.
Six minutes after the goal, the home side had an excellent
chance to score: Jordan Brazitis made an excellent run from the halfway line to
put the youngster past the Marketmen defence, in a one-on-one situation with
the oncoming goalkeeper who bravely dived down to Brazitis feel to push the
ball away but only in the path of Tom Lait who was unable to fire past the
defenders who ran back to support the goalkeeper.
There were no more noteworthy chances for either side going
into the break, as the visitors held their heads high and would prepare to
defend their lead.
Into the second-half and the Yellows began to improve their
passing around the midfield, tricking the Needham players.
Brendan Heath’s 53rd minute shot was no trouble
for Dan George who watched the effort curved over the bar.
A minute later, Sam Last fouled Needham’s Brendan Heath who
collided with each other. The resulting free-kick was a low shot from Paul
Seward who fired the ball straight at keeper George.
In the 57th minute, Danny Bloomfield went down
with a back injury after being shoved by an AFC defender outside the penalty
area. The ball eventually went out of play for the referee to call on the
Needham physio. Bloomfield was able to continue with the game, after coming
back on a few moments after play restarted. A minute later saw Harrison Ford
and Ryan Spallow come on for Jordan Dye and John Carver in the visitor’s first
alteration of the evening.
Brendan Heath increased Needham’s lead with his effort
curling past AFC’s Dan George in the 63rd minute. But Heath was
unable to get a hattrick, as he came off for Matt Poxon, a minute after.
In the 69th minute, substitute Ryan Spallow gave
Needham a five-goal advantage as he fired in at the second attempt following
his original effort being blocked.
From the restart, Luke McGhee threw the ball towards Cowley
who was dispossessed outside the box before seeing the ball cleared into AFC’s
half.
Adam Mills crossed the ball into the box in the 79th
minute to Harrison Ford, who was in the perfect position to head the ball home
past George to send Needham 6-0 up before Ford scored late on to round off a
perfect day for the visitors.
Once again, a smart move between Jamie Cowley and Luke
McGhee sent McGhee forward to shoot at goal, but it was easily saved by
visiting goalie Curtis Thaine, who was rarely threatened throughout the match,
in the final piece of action in the match.
Report by Louis Byers
Other reports from yesterday's FANbase games including AFC Sudbury First team's win over VCD Athletic is available here.
Att: 47
AFC: Dan GEORGE, Harry CRAIG, Scott BARNES, Evan GARTAND,
Billy CURSONS, Sam LAST, Tom LAIT, Liam O'MARA, Jamie COWLEY, Jordan BRAZITIS,
Luke MCGHEE
SUBS: No subs named
NEEDHAM: Curtis THAINE, Ben HOPE, Adam MILLS, Paul SEWARD,
John CARVER, Connor CORRICK, Jordan DYE,
SUBS: Harrison FORD, James BRADBROOK, Ryan SPARROW, Deryn
CLARKE, Matt POXON