BCAFL Division One

Thornbury Baptist Church FC 4-2 Bath Churches FC

After a brutal defeat at the hands of Clevedon last week, Thornbury found themselves 2-1 down with twenty minutes left on the clock against an improving Bath Churches side. Two goals in four minutes from Jimmy Cooke and Toby Williams turned this one for the Baptists however and a brilliant late strike from Aidan Maddox finally put the three points beyond doubt.

Thornbury were the dominant side in the early exchanges with Maddox crossing for Cooke who fired just wide and Nile Haskins-Spellman cutting in from the right flank to have an effort well saved by the Bath keeper on 18 minutes. Yet the visitors were gifted a lead when a thirty yard free kick slipped through Davis Newcombe’s grasps in the driving rain. Fortunately he was swiftly reprieved when Rich Ocone’s header fell to the feet of Maddox who finished coolly past the keeper into the far corner.

Having been against the wind and rain for 45 minutes Thornbury felt an upper hand at half time but had remarkably suffered a fourth serious injury in central-midfield in just five games, losing Sam Williams with a knee injury just before the interval. Things got worse for the hosts when Bath netted their second against the run of play on 60 minutes, a neat finish from the centre-forward having slipped through the Thornbury defence.

The game turned with two headers. First Cooke rose highest to head home a Phil Loadwick throw-in and then Toby Williams seemed to sail through the air before planting a bullet header into the corner from a Nile Haskins-Spellman corner. Two goals in four minutes seemed to knock the stuffing out of the visitors and was the lift Thornbury needed to see this one home. When Ben Paddy found Aidan Maddox some twenty-five yards out on 85 minutes, the Thornbury striker steadied himself before smashing his second of the morning and third of the season sweetly inside the far post for an early goal of the season contender.

Thornbury face last year’s cup-finalists Woodlands in the BCAFL Cup on Saturday.