Bristol Churches FA Division One

Widcombe Wanderers 3 Thornbury Baptist Church 4

AFTER a disastrous opening game of the Season, Thornbury showed plenty of character to pick up a very welcome three points from their trip to Bath on Saturday morning.

A number of changes to the Thornbury ranks saw Will Jones making a first league appearance in goal and last season’s 30-goal man Jimmy Cooke slotting in to centre-back alongside Nic Tymko.

James Rosser at left-back, made a first league start in several years.

It was Cooke who had first sight of goal when he headed a James Hancox corner against the near post on eight minutes as Thornbury started much the brighter on a typically immaculate Bath University playing surface.

Ash Tuck headed another Hancox cross just wide but wasn’t to be denied second time round.

This time, on twenty minutes, Aidan Maddox won the ball on half-way and set Hancox away again down the right.

Another pinpoint cross found Tuck arriving and his header cannoned in off the bottom of the crossbar for a confidence-boosting lead.

When that lead, and Tuck’s personal tally, was doubled before the half hour mark, Thornbury were bossing proceedings.

This time a John Cordle pass set Tuck away and he chipped the onrushing keeper.

At the other end, Thornbury were relatively untroubled until they failed to clear a deep free-kick and were fortunate to escape a penalty when the referee deemed a Will Jones challenge on the Widcombe striker to be a fair one.

That luck ran out right on the stroke of half-time though when the same striker let fly from 25 yards and found the bottom right-hand corner.

It proved a pivotal goal because ten minutes into the second-half, Thornbury had shipped two-more goals and suddenly at 3-2, looked to be staring down the barrel of a second league defeat.

This was Tuck’s day though and when his turn of pace saw him bearing down on the keeper, one-on-one, on 75 minutes, a nonchalant nutmeg finish secured his hat-trick and set up a thrilling finish to the game. 4 minutes later he was involved again in the winner.

A trademark long-throw from James Hancox was headed on by Cooke and Tuck’s shot was only parried towards the back post where it was the young winger James Ponting stealing in to fire the ball home for his first goal for the Club, fittingly in front of his father who indulged in some zealous celebrations on the touchline.