Match report by Cayden Sands

Despite late goals from Finn Donovan and Ben Grech-Brooksbank that seemed to offer a glimmer of hope, Thackley’s run in the West Riding County Cup would unfortunately end at the first round with a 3-2 loss to Horbury Town.

This result was the culmination of a good effort from a heavily altered Dennyboys side that ultimately couldn’t quite get the better of the NCEL Division One table toppers on the day. There were plenty of changes as Forrester (GK), Bako and Smith all made their full debuts and on the bench came Woodward, McNally and Lambert all came in on the bench looking for further appearances.

Thackley began the game in good fashion, enjoying the majority of the time spent with the ball at their feet and creating some early chances, with Donovan and Tawheed Ahmed both showing promising signs.

However, it would be the hosts that would take the lead somewhat against the run of play in the 15th minute after a free kick over on the far side from Sam Kyeremeh managed to make its way into the box before being tapped home from a yard or two out by a mostly unmarked James Cusworth, giving Horbury the advantage.

Following the goal, the Dennyboys found themselves on the back-foot, with Horbury nearly doubling their lead after Gibril Bojang set up Cusworth in a very good position, be he was unable to make the most of this and failed to score.

The hosts’ disappointment would soon turn back to joy in the 28th minute when a poor clearance from Thackley led to some disarray at the back before the ball found its way to Billy Mole for Horbury, who was allowed a good effort at goal from distance that sailed into the net, making the Dennyboys pay for the error and giving them a mountain to climb from this point onwards.

Going two goals down seemed to inject some new life into Thackley, with Ahmed again being amongst the best of the action after he almost managed to assist a Joe Mitchell effort, before he then latched onto a cross from Nathan Hunt that looked certain to end up in the goal, only for Paul Hagreen to pull off perhaps the best save of the game to keep it out.

The half progressed with the Dennyboys still pressing for a goal back, but these efforts almost meant nothing when in the 40th minute, Mole found himself through on goal in a one-on-one against Forrester before rounding the keeper, but his shot somehow missed the mark and could only go past the far post, sparing Thackley’s blushes as half time began to creep in.

As the referee was set to blow his whistle, the Dennyboys had one more chance when Donovan was able to deliver a promising free kick into the box that made its way to Mitchell from a low angle, but the resulting shot could only hit the side netting, confirming that Horbury would go into the break with a two goal advantage, a reward for a clinical showing up to this point.

Half time: Horbury Town 2 v 0 Thackley AFC

Both sides got the second half underway in strong form, with the 51st minute having Cusworth force a good save out of Forrester before the Dennyboys would counter and create space for Grech-Brooksbank to seemingly get a goal back, only for this to be flagged offside.

This passage of play appeared to revitalise the hosts, who put some much needed breathing room between themselves and the Dennyboys in the 57th minute after a team move created room for a cross to the head of Brad Swain, who managed to comfortably head the ball past Forrester and seemingly put the result beyond doubt at this stage.

Thackley made it clear that they weren’t going to give up easily as the game passed the 60 minute mark, with Donovan and Ahmed both having good efforts caught by Hagreen within a few minutes of each chance.

The pair then showed a promising link-up in the 72nd minute after some impressive work from the former saw him keep the ball against a pair of markers, but this would lead to the ball being played off to Ahmed, who narrowly missed from a tight angle.

Just as the game seemed to be getting away from the Dennyboys, a sudden lifeline emerged in the 77th minute when Donovan would beat Hagreen in a sprint for the ball, allowing him to have all the time he needed to place the ball into an empty net and get a goal back at an important time.

The dramatic moments continued to compile as Grech-Brooksbank saw a shot cleared off the line almost immediately following Donovan’s goal, before a rare blemish for Horbury saw them reduced to 10 men after Isaac Donlon was shown a second yellow card for kicking the ball away.

Thackley would capitalise on this, getting a second goal back after some good movement allowed for Grech-Brooksbank to control the ball on the wing before driving into the box and releasing a well placed shot that had the beating of Hagreen and landed safely in the bottom left hand corner to set up an exciting last few minutes.

It was all Dennyboys from this point on for the most part as Hunt saw another chance go begging in the 87th minute after a powerful volley in a crowded penalty area went just over the bar.

The added time period arrived and the beginning of this saw perhaps the most gutting miss of the whole game for Thackley when after some good movement of the ball, Grech-Brooksbank would play it down to a waiting Luke Rhodes, whose effort from just outside the area looked to be going in, only for it to curl in the air and miss the goal altogether.

From here, Horbury managed the game well and held out to seal another impressive victory in a 24/25 season full of them, with this result sealing their progression to the next round of the West Riding County Cup at the expense of the Dennyboys.

Full time: Horbury Town 3 v 2 Thackley AFC

Next up we have another away match on Saturday 26th October 2024 as we face Handsworth FC in the NCEL Premier Division.

Horbury Town team: Hargreen; Swain; Spencer; Curran; Travis; Schofield; Mole; Feirn; Cusworth; Kyeremeh; Bojang. Subs: Smith; Playford; Leach; Donlon.

Thackley AFC team: Forrester; Bako; Bodle; Mitchell; Rhodes; Parsons; Donovan; Hunt; Grech-Brooksbank©; Smith; Ahmed. Unused subs: Higginson (GK); McNally; Sugden.

Horbury Town Scorers: Cusworth (15mins); Mole (28mins); Swain (57mins)
Thackley AFC Scorers: Donovan (77mins); Grech-Brooksbank (82mins)

Attendance: 98