Upperthong’s hopes of lifting the RCD League Under 14 Division 4B title suffered a setback when they lost 5-3 at home to third-placed Thornhill United.
The players arrived at Upperthong’s Sands ground in bright sunshine but a breeze that grew stronger throughout made controlling the ball very difficult, and anything above head height was likely to end up in the car park or the stream!
With the wind at their backs, Upperthong pinned their opponents in their own half for the first 10 minutes but, despite the dominance, shooting chances were at a premium with only a William Bennett effort over the bar to show for their work.
Thornhill quickly realised they would have to play on the ground if they wanted to ease the pressure and, when a Tom Townend cross from the left found Nathan Senior at the far post, the Thornhill striker made no mistake from six yards. Upperthong’s response was quick, clean and clever when Bennett found space through the middle to drive home an equaliser within a minute (1-1).
With half time just moments away another Thornhill attack resulted in Josh Rowthorn being bundled over in the penalty area, giving the referee no choice but to point to the penalty spot.
Max Ryder coolly placed the ball beyond keeper Jack Redfearn’s reach to restore Thornhill’s advantage with the last kick of the first half (1-2).
Now playing against the increasingly strong wind, Upperthong were slow out of the blocks and Nathan Senior made them pay by scoring a third goal for Thornhill within minutes of the re-start.
And Upperthong’s day got even worse when Jack Lewelyn scored from long range to leave Upperthong chasing three goals just to get back on level terms.
The home side needed a response and found one with the move of the game when Luke Sanderson and Daniel Parr combined to provide Oliver Brook with a tap-in to restore his sides confidence at 4-2 down.
A Ben McGreavy effort was deflected over the bar and Townend forced a good save from Redfearn as Thornhill forced the home defence of Chris Szoradi, Finn O’Dea, Dallas Howes and Luke Sanderson into some excellent tackling.
Despite their efforts, Upperthong were undone again when the tricky Townend broke through to place a perfect chip over the keeper.
Owen Dawson was beginning to cause problems for Thornhill with some promising runs on the right and he was unlucky to see an angled shot rebound from the bar and just beyond Harry Wooler’s outstretched leg in the follow-up.
Upperthong mounted a late rally and Thornhill were made to suffer a nervy ending to the game when an excellent Dawson pass found Bennett, who drilled a low shot past keeper Nathan Townend. Moments later, Bennett missed the chance of a hat trick when the reliable striker scuffed his shot wide with the goal at his mercy.
Upperthong remain in second place but they don’t need any more slip-ups if they want to finish in the promotion positions.
