Gloucestershire Football Association Minor Cup quarter-final replay

Thornbury Baptist Church 4 The Sanctuary 0

AFTER last week’s eventful cup quarter-final tie ended in abandonment after 84 minutes with the visitors leading 2-0, Thornbury were both surprised and very fortunate to be granted a reprieve by the Gloucestershire Football Association to be able to play the match again.

The Association ruled as late as last Thursday evening that the fixture would have to be replayed on Saturday and fortunately, with the sides due to meet in the League anyway, the only challenge was getting the pitch to a playable condition.

The first game had been abandoned so late after a bad injury to a player which left him waiting in pain on the pitch for an ambulance.

The replay was not without incident either.

The kick-off was delayed by 45 minutes as the surface slowly thawed and from the minute the action got underway, it was evident that Thornbury were not going to make the same mistakes that had appeared to see them exiting the competition last week.

The Baps started much the stronger and forced a deserved lead when Sam Nichols met a James Hancox corner with a powerful header on 22 minutes.

Just minutes later however, they lost lone-striker John Cordle to a hamstring injury and he was replaced by Will Crabtree, who took full advantage of his opportunity to impress.

There were further chances for Jimmy Cooke, Steve Clare and Stu Kelly in the first half, but the game was very much in the balance at half-time and there was a pervasive tension in the atmosphere with the visitors, somewhat understandably aggrieved at the GFA decision and now finding themselves behind.

Thornbury began to exert their dominance in the second half but needed to add a second goal to keep their confidence going.

And it was a moment of individual brilliance from Will Crabtree down the right flank that gave them just that.

He chased what looked like a lost cause down the field and had the strength and guile to beat his man before chipping the ball back for Jimmy Cooke to head past the keeper.

It was a goal that psychologically crushed the Sanctuary team and unfortunately that frustration began to spill over.

Thornbury added a third when Stu Kelly fired home from the edge of the box and it was four on 69 minutes when Steve Clare headed home a loose ball after Sanctuary failed to deal with another Hancox corner.

The last twenty minutes saw a few bookings for the visitors as emotions boiled over and Thornbury’s reserved celebrations reflected an honest recognition of the odd circumstances that have now given them a fantastic opportunity with semi-final to come.

Thornbury have no scheduled fixture this week but will have a keen eye on the draw for the next round of the competition as they seek to return to Almondsbury where they won this Cup for the first time in 2014.