There was a boost before the game as Luke Wilson returned from a 2 month injury absence in place of Michael Roxburgh in net. Also returning to the team were Finn Donovan and Liam Hudson after suspension, with Harry Parsons also fit again after a knock to return on the bench.

For most of the early stages, the Dennyboys looked in control of the game and seemed to be the more likely of the two sides to open the scoring, with Slater Barnes in particular looking lively.

However, Eccleshill would take the lead in the 15th minute against the run of play after a well-worked goal from the whole team left Thomas Priestley-Standing with enough space to compose himself before the resulting effort at goal rolled past returning goalkeeper Luke Wilson and into the net.

The Dennyboys did well to recover after going behind and were able to restore the game’s momentum to the same level it had been at prior to the hosts’ goal.

This factor would pay off in the 26th minute when Thackley equalised courtesy of Ben Grech-Brooksbank, who managed to latch onto a loose ball inside the box after some good build-up play from the team before poking it past the goalkeeper to restore level pegging in the game.

The Dennyboys would continue to establish control over the game following the equaliser, with Finn Donovan and Antony Brown combining for an excellent chance for the latter on the 36 minute mark that just went over the bar.

Only two minutes later however, Thackley would take the lead for the first time in the game courtesy of Lewis Sugden, with him making the most of a free kick in a difficult position on the left wing by hitting it low and through a sea of players from both sides before it eventually landed in the bottom right-hand corner of the net to complete the comeback from behind.

From here, the half would largely fizzle out, allowing the Dennyboys to go into the half-time break with a narrow but deserved advantage that they would certainly hope to solidify after the interval.

HALF-TIME: Eccleshill United 1-2 Thackley AFC

As the balance of the second half moved firmly in Thackley’s favour following the half-time break, chances quickly began to show themselves as the team looked to establish control.

The 58th minute would then produce another fantastic moment for Sugden, who scored his second of the game thanks to another free kick, with this one resembling Ronaldinho’s effort against England in the 2002 FIFA World Cup as it flew over everybody before tricking the goalkeeper and landing in the top left corner of the net, much to the enjoyment of the visiting support.

After this goal, the amount of clear chances in the game reduced to a level that gave the Dennyboys a good chance to fully begin the consolidation of their lead, with Eccleshill having very little in the way of opportunities to mount a comeback of their own thanks to some great work from the whole of the Thackley team.

Substitute Tawheed Ahmed would then spring the game back into life in the 82nd minute by extending the Dennyboys’ lead to three goals following a through ball from Donovan that Ahmed latched onto before firing into the roof of the net. Moments before, Ahmed had seen an effort saved following a flowing team move and this was just rewards for a bright performance from the bench.

Thackley weren’t done there, with Brown managing to finally get a goal of his own in stoppage time thanks to another link up with Ahmed, who showed impressive pace to take the ball down the wing before squaring it to the forward, who converted his opportunity and finished up what will surely go down as one of the memorable games of the Dennyboys’ season up to this point.

FULL-TIME: Eccleshill United 1-5 Thackley AFC

This result keeps Thackley firmly in the top five of the NCEL Premier Division, with their next game being a return to Meridian Stadium, Dennyfield to take on Frickley Athletic on Saturday 21 December 2024 (3pm KO).

Eccleshill United team: Hughes; F.Khan; Gordon; Subhani; Laban; Bumhira; Ndlovu (c); Priestley-Standing; McKiernon; Gorji; S.Khan.
Subs: Atta; Britton; Thornton; Sumaili; Hussain.

Thackley AFC team: Wilson; Rhodes (Gibbon 84mins); Bodle; Hudson; Dempsey; Sugden (Tektas 75mins); Donovan (Jancevski 84mins); Mitchell; Brown; Grech-Brooksbank (Ahmed 66mins); Barnes (Parsons 66mins).
Unused subs: None

Eccleshill United scorer: Priestley-Standing (15 mins).

Thackley AFC scorers: Grech-Brooksbank (26 mins), Sugden (38 and 58 mins), Ahmed (82 mins), Brown (90 mins).