Gloucestershire County League

Cheltenham Civil Service 2 Thornbury Town 4

ON very cold afternoon

Cheltenham Civil Service and Thornbury Town dished up an excellent game of football with the visitors taking the three points in the end.

It was Thornbury who opened the scoring on 19 minutes from a long ball out to Luke Franklin wide on the left he cut the ball back across the box and Craig Lancastle was there to finish it off.

Within two minutes the home side were level and it came from Jack Sklener who fired a fierce twenty five yard drive across keeper Alex Lippiatt into the far corner.

Lancastle could have restored the visitors lead on twenty seven minutes but after shuffling his way past several defenders he shot straight at Griffiths.

The visitors did however take the lead on 34 minutes again it came from the left side and this time it was Toby Bennett who got into a scoring position and squeezed the ball in from a tight angle.

Thornbury’s Scott McLeod went close with a shot that went just over a couple on minutes later.

Cheltenham had a great chance to level just before the break from a long ball pumped in from the right that found Sonnie Burrows unmarked but his powerful shot from close range was excellently saved by Lippiatt.

The second half started with a bang as the home side made it 2-2 in the very first minute from a very good strike from Jack Sklenar.

Within four minutes Thornbury were back in front and excellent passing move put Lancastle through on goal and he neatly slipped the ball past the helpless Griffiths.

In the 61st minute Sklenar had a marvellous chance to bring the score level again after Sam Mason had broke down the right flank and sent the ball into Sklenar but the strike pulled his shot wide of the target.

Teejay Bick went close for the home side with a rasping twenty five yard shot that went just past the post on seventy three minutes.

Danny Thompson came on for Thornbury and one of his first moves was a good break down the right and a cross into the box and with three Thornbury players racing into the six yard box it came to Toby Bennett who contrived to lift it over the crossbar.

Cheltenham went down to ten players on eighty eight minutes when Callum Preece received a second yellow card and then a red. With just a minute left on the clock the home side gave away a penalty when Danny Haines was felled in the box.

Toby Bennett stepped up to take the penalty but Tim Griffiths pulled off a great save.

Three minutes into time added the home side brought down Craig Lancastle in the box for a second penalty. The striker decided to take the spot kick and dully planted it in the back of the net for his hattrick.