THORNBURY TOWN 1-3 CRIBBS (AET): THE MATCH REPORT...

Cribbs Rouse Themselves Three Times To Advance In The FA Vase

Thornbury Town 1-3 Cribbs (aet)…

It was telling that throughout much of this tie, the group of young folks to my right chatted about jobs, university or domesticity, for the entertainment provided by these two teams was paltry. There were few goalmouth thrills, hardly any shots on target and somehow, rather surprisingly, a lack of urgency bar the latter stages of the second period when Town finally realised that they needed a goal to regain parity, following Jake Hodgson’s earlier header for Cribbs. Thornbury finally scored one when Brandon Benjamin’s 24 yarder skidded past visiting goalie and ex-Slade guitarist Dave Hill, but that meant another 30 minutes of overtime and with the air chilling, a dark and ominous cloud clawing its way across the pitch and the surface getting heavier, some spectators were almost audibly groaning…   

I MANAGED TO BLOT MIKE HALFORD, THE REF', OUT...

LET US BEGIN...

Referee Mike Halford told me afterwards that the pitch had been tough to play and run on and I thought that the thick grass wasn’t conducive to any kind of slick passing either but as a spectacle, this was an FA Vase tie and it really ought to have been more emotive, more exciting and more urgent. It simply wasn’t. 

REF: "THREE BLOKES WENT INTO A PUB WITH A PARROT..."

MIKE HALFORD NOTICES THE EXIT SIGN.
"IS THAT MEANT FOR ME?"

Cribbs scored at the start of and at the end of overtime, through the unfortunate Nathan Sage’s own-goal and then replacement Ethan Feltham’s nudged finish, whereupon he raced to a corner-flag in a dark corner of the ground to celebrate, where no-one was standing. A chap to the left of me made a comment about it, which is evident on the video clip… It wasn’t me, Ethan… 

"LET ME REMOVE THIS SLUG FROM YOUR EAR, M'LAD..."

YEO HAS JUST NOTICED THE WHITE BOARD WITH HIS NAME SPELT AS 'LEO'...

The opening period was, er, tedious. So little actually happened of any real interest that fouls committed began to be noted on my dictaphone. The visitors pushed forward from the start, true, but all they had to show for that was a low George Kellow volley which drifted harmlessly wide of the right upright, a low effort by solid central striker Jason Vincent which home goalie Kurtis Parkin saved falling left and a free-kick by Kellow which Parkin also fell left to claim easily. The gloveman’s warm-up serving had surely been more taxing than either of those two shots… Lewis Hedges went off early for Cribbs and indeed, his replacement Nathan Legge was lively but his only shot was blocked by the excellent Sage.

A SPOT OF HEAD-NUDGING ON THE BENCH...

ANDREWS SIMPLY DOESN'T LOOK BOTHERED ABOUT THE WARNING...

Thornbury saw Harry Brock miscue at 16 yards. And, er, that was about it… Skipper Joe Guest and Sage were effective for the hosts, Marcus Wormwell tried to get forward from right-back and Rhys Hodgson was a decent performer but otherwise, only the pace of Harry Brock stood out. Cribbs were well served by central defenders Tom Anthony and Tom Burns, who was booked for an unwise challenge during the opening 45 minutes. Jordan Yeo on the right flank linked well with the talented Andre Freckleton but apologies must go to Yeo, for his name was written as Leo on the team-sheet, hence my mistakes on the commentary…

REF: "NO NEED FOR YELLOW MR KELLOW MY GOOD FELLOW..."

WHEN YOU REALISE THE NEED FOR THE TEAM TO PULL ITS SOCKS UP...

Kellow ran the channels, Greg Andrews was a ball-winner as well as a passer but skipper Jake Hodgson looked comfortable in his midfield role and it would be his header which shoved Cribbs ahead after the break for biscuits and a pot of strong tea. In truth, Cribbs had some tall players in their line-up and it seemed that they might take advantage of that from corners or free-kicks but lean home ‘keeper Parkin had coped well until Yeo’s right-side flag-kick was nodded into the empty net by Jake Hodgson, for Parkin hadn’t got to the ball, taking him out of the equation. 

0-1...

In response, Thornbury were able to lean on Harry Brock’s rushes, as well as the pace of substitute Jacob Farthing and fellow replacement Jim Brock but the only real efforts at goal before Benjamin’s strike were wayward: over the top by Harry Brock and even further astray by Rhys Hodgson. Sage nodded a corner past the left upright too but as desperation crept in and with Cribbs looking like they felt they had done enough to win, a clearance fell to Benjamin and he rapped a low 24 yarder past Hill and just inside the left stick, to force some noise from the home fans and cause an interlude in the general chatter from the group of young folks mentioned above… 

1-1...

Overtime was signalled by Mr Halford, during which he would book both 12s, Toby Bennett (whose heart certainly hadn’t been left in San Francisco…) for the hosts and Feltham for the guests… Subsequently, Cribbs snatched a goal right at the start of the first extra period, when the tricky Yeo shoved a low centre across the 6 yard box from the right. Sadly for Sage, his attempted intervention at the near post succeeded only in diverting the ball past Parkin. A shot by Cribbs substitute Oscar Pearce looked awful and I said as much on the commentary, for it rose way too high from a good position but it had apparently taken a deflection off a home defender. Apologies, Oscar…

1-2...

The teams switched ends and Pearce shot low at Parkin, whilst Town’s Jim Brock saw a drive deflect off Burns for an unproductive corner. And then Feltham began to irritate the home supporters, falling down a couple of times, completely messing up a shot and then receiving his yellow card but the villain would become more of a hero, as he took Freckleton’s assist and poked the ball past the advancing Parkin to seal the tie from close range…

THE SUN-TRAP...

THE SKIPPER TAKES A BREAK...

It was dark by the finish but fair play to Town for their game efforts, despite the general poor quality of play on offer from both teams for the majority of the match. Cribbs deserved to go through to Round 3 however and Burns, Freckleton, Matt Spiller, Anthony, Kellow and Yeo all played their parts in the victory but Andrews and Jake Hodgson really held the team together. Some hard defensive work was put in by Tom Webb for the Reds, Mark Viner battled hard in midfield, as did Craig Lancastle in attack, despite the lack any real service. Harry Brock, like the fireworks his name suggests, was a bright spark but Guest and Sage certainly commanded their troops well, performing admirably.

1-3...

Me? A dark walk up to the exit of Mundy Playing Fields and through the town to find my car for the 75 mile journey back to Solihull and a beef dinner…

It’s what I do, after all… 

TEAMS:

THORNBURY TOWN:

KURTIS PARKIN, MARCUS WORMWELL, RHYS HODGSON, MARK VINER, BRANDON BENJAMIN, DAVE JONES, HARRY BROCK, NATHAN SAGE, CRAIG LANCASTLE, JOE GUEST (CAPT), TOM WEBB.

SUBS:

TOBY BENNETT, OLLIE RAWNSLEY, LUKE FRANKLIN, JACOB FARTHING, JIM BROCK.

CRIBBS:

DAVE HILL, ANDRE FRECKLETON, MATT SPILLER, TOM ANTHONY, TOM BURNS, JAKE HODGSON (CAPT), JORDAN YEO, GREG ANDREWS, JASON VINCENT, GEORGE KELLOW, LEWIS HEDGES.

SUBS:

ETHAN FELTHAM, JOE HALL, NATHAN LEGGE, OSCAR PEARCE, JAMES DEROSA.