AFC Sudbury Men
Matches
Mon 02 Jan 2017  ·  Premier Division
AFC Sudbury
AFC Sudbury Men
D Williams (46')
1
1
Lowestoft Town
So Near Yet So Far

So Near Yet So Far

Tony Simpson4 Jan 2017 - 22:01
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Late Equaliser Denies AFC

A. F. C. Sudbury welcomed Lowestoft Town to the Wardale Williams Stadium for the first fixture if the New Year and a large crowd was in attendance for the Suffolk derby. Ryan Henshaw and Sam Clarke were serving suspensions, but former Lowestoft man Erkan Okay returned from his suspension, Jordan Blackwell took the number seven shirt and James Baker donned the number nine shirt as he reverted to his old forward role.

Lowestoft Town kicked off the game attacking from left to right as viewed from the Brian Tatum Stand. A brace of early offsides curtailed the home attacking effort and A.F.C Sudbury looked solid at the back from the start as early chances were few and far between. Lowestoft Town were forced into an early change when Chris Henderson was replaced by ex-AFC man Jamie Forshaw.

Craig Parker put in a fine tackle to snuff out a Lowestoft attack on eleven minutes and was awarded a free-kick to further alleviate the danger. The first real chance fell on sixteen minutes when the Harvey Hodd saw his shot deflected for a left wing corner. Two Ryan Jarvis corners followed in quick succession, Hodd latching on to the second and firing his shot wide of Marcus Garnham’s right hand upright.

James Baker then did well on half-way, sending the ball on to Craig Parker who in turn tried to release Dylan Williams, but the Lowestoft defence coped well with the advance and halted his advance before either a telling pass or shot could result.

On the half-hour Jordan Blackwell looked to open up the Lowestoft defence, but was robbed by an excellent tackle. Unfortunately the pacy Sudbury mid-field man was left on the ground and needed to be stretchered from the field. Alfie Carroll was called into action after the lengthy delay.

Aidan Austin exchanged passes with James Baker and his shot was the first real save of the afternoon for Jake Jessop in the Lowestoft goal albeit a comfortable one. On thirty-eight minutes Aidan Austin was hurt in a similar collision as he tried to set the home side going again, this time the injury wasn't as serious as the Lowestoft Physio provided the treatment.

On forty-three minutes Dylan Williams cut in from the left to shoot over the crossbar and at the other end Aidan Austin rose to powerfully head clear a left wing cross with Harvey Hodd in very close attention. The industrious Aidan Austin then found Rob Eagle whose long-range shot went disappointingly over the Lowestoft crossbar.

Six minutes of added time were played at the conclusion of the half and perhaps contained the game’s greatest talking point. Rob Eagle’s fine run into the right hand side of the Lowestoft penalty area saw his cut in from the goal-line and appear to be tripped. Nothing was awarded as the home side appealed vehemently for a penalty and Eagle was shown a yellow card, presumably for simulation or dissent.

Half-Time AFC Sudbury 0 Lowestoft Town 0

Aidan Austin’s injury led to his being replaced at the commencement of the second half by Sam Bantick.

The half started superbly for A.F.C. Sudbury. A left wing corner saw Rob Eagle’s delivery flighted out of the penalty area and brilliantly dummied by Craig Parker. The ball fell to Dylan Williams (pictured) who thundered a twenty-five yard drive into the net with Lowestoft ‘keeper Jessop a mere bystander.

Craig Parker was fouled on fifty-three minutes just outside the Lowestoft penalty area as Sudbury continued to press the visitors. Rob Eagle struck his free kick over the home crossbar as the home side started the half with real purpose and threat. More controversy followed just after the hour when Sam Bantick’s right wing run into the penalty area proved too much for the home defence. He appeared to be fouled by Lowestoft ‘keeper Jake Jessop, but no penalty was awarded and James Baker’s follow-up shot was somehow smuggled off the line.

At the other end, as play began to swing between penalty areas, Jamie Forshaw drew a save from Marcus Garnham, who gathered safely at the second attempt. Jack Wilkinson managed to thwart another Lowestoft attempt on the home goal before on sixty-six minutes Shaun Bammant managed to hit the ball over the crossbar with an ugly shinned effort with the goal gaping. Bammant then released Ryan Jarvis with a neat pass, but the Lowestoft number eight fired straight at Marcus Garnham who made no mistake with a clean gather.

On seventy-two minutes a Harvey Hodd tackle left Erkan Okay in some discomfort as the tricky Sudbury number four battled for possession on half-way. Erkan was eventually replaced by Saturday’s goal-scorer Luke Callander as Sudbury looked to close the game out. It was all hands to the pump as Sudbury maintained their back line with some steel and grit.

Following a free-kick with just a minute left, Adam Smith delivered a curling set-piece which another ex-Sudbury man Jake Reed rose to head home for the Lowestoft Town equaliser. With four minutes of added time signalled, A.F.C. Sudbury still pressed for the winner, Rob Eagle returning a Craig Parker pass with the latter firing a low shot wide of the right hand post as time ran out on an entertaining and good-spirited derby in which both sides played some excellent football, particularly in the second half.

Att 392

Richard Whiting

Match details

Match date

Mon 02 Jan 2017

Kickoff

15:00

Attendance

392

Competition

Premier Division

League position

12
Lowestoft Town
16
AFC Sudbury
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