Toolstation NCEL Premier Division
Thackley 0-4 Armthorpe Welfare
Armthorpe striker Liam Radford in a race with Thackley’s Jerry White. Picture: Steve Pennock
Armthorpe Welfare’s hopes of avoiding relegation suffered a blow as a below par performance saw high flying Thackley run out clear winners.
The result bolsters Thackley’s aim of finishing in the top four.
After a fairly uneventful first 20 minutes Thackley had claims for a penalty waved away on 20 minutes when Dan Broadbent broke into the box and went down under a challenge but referee Aaron Bannister was unimpressed.
But, six minutes later, the home side broke the deadlock. A good run from Ryan Farrell down the Thackley right saw him let fly with a shot from the edge of the box which Liam Copley could only parry into the path of the onrushing Mike Garrod who followed up to score.
A poor clearance from Copley on 29 minutes later saw Garrod clean through but he scuffed his shot well wide.
On 36 minutes Thackley extended their lead when Broadbent was allowed space on the edge of the box to fire a low 20 yard shot past Copley and just inside the right hand post.
Any hopes of a Welfare revival were thwarted ten minutes after half time when Broadbent easily beat his marker on the left of the box before firing an angled shot past Copley.
Two minutes later Welfare thought they had reduced the arrears when Jack Waldron powered in a header from a Chris Gowen corner but the referee disallowed his effort for an apparent foul.
Farrell saw a speculative shot clip the top of Copley’s crossbar on 72 minutes before Luke Robinson wrapped up the scoring by finding the net at the far post following a ball in from the Thackley left.
Radford came close to grabbing a Welfare consolation on 83 minutes when he lashed a 20 yard shot narrowly wide of the left hand post.
The Teams
Thackley: Wilson, Bentham, O’Brien, McGuire, White, Snowden, Farrell, Whiteley, Garrod, Broadbent, Eustance. Subs: Hargreaves, Broadley, Robinson.
Armthorpe Welfare: Copley, Nelson, Gowen, Walker (Collins 50), Gibbons, Waldron, Johnston (Bonser 79), Aspinall, Radford, Mansaram, Kearsley (Kawodza 65). Subs unused: Pearse, Massamba.
Thanks to Steve Pennock.