Garforth 0 Thackley 2

Town were missing defender Jack McCarthy through suspension but were boosted by the return of Danny Harris who took a place on the bench.

Both teams looked to get forward from the start, Town started brightly but struggled to convert their play into scoring opportunities. On 6 mins Nick Black got down the right and put through Mark Simpson but he was shut out by the Thackley defence before he could get a shot away. A poor kick out by Paul Hagreen three minutes later almost let in Thackley’s Mike Garrod in space but a crucial block from Jassim Alali diverted his shot wide.

Tim Robertson was arguably Garforth’s standout player in the early stages and a good ball over the top almost saw Black score his first goal since 9th November on 18 mins but Dennyboys keeper Ed Hall was off his line quickly to clear away. Four minutes later a cleverly taken free kick on the right saw Robertson feed Andy Hawksworth to fizz a low ball across the goalmouth but with sadly nobody to convert.

Town looked more likely to score but as we’ve seen often in these circumstances at home this season it was the opponents who responded by taking the lead. From Tom Dugdale’s left wing corner half an hour in Damian Hopkins was given space to deliver a powerful header into the top corner.

Spencer Lund is still looking for his first club goal and almost did on 34 mins when put through by Black but the offside flag was raised.
The visitors wasted little time in asserting their lead and added a second four mins later. The ball was given away to Doug Stevenson on the left who instinctively lobbed Hagreen from just outside the box to make it 2-0.
A minute later Garforth had the offside flag to thank for not having a bigger mountain to climb when Ryan Farrell broke clear and found the far corner of the net.

Town had been guilty of overplaying it against a side who were defending well and giving us little time on the ball. Our best spell of the game came just after the break with much better passing and movement but Hall remained untroubled. Graham attempted to freshen things up on 55 mins by bringing on Danny Harris and Sinmi Oyebanji (for Lund and Ashley Preece respectively) but it was Thackley who nearly extended their lead just after the hour mark. Elliot Holmes headed against the bar, the rebound falling to the head of Garrod who was denied by Hagreen’s fingertip save.

Hall was finally given something to think about on 68 mins when some good play set up Robertson to drive from distance but he was able to gather. It was a frustrating afternoon for Simpson who on 71 mins was set up by Black out wide but Hall was out quickly again. In a flurry of chances for the visitors a Garrod ball in from the right on 73 mins across the six-yard box required a crucial clearance from Hawksworth to steer away from an awaiting Nick McNally. From the resulting corner captain Patrick McGuire’s header brought another save by Hagreen.

The action then shifted to the other end of the field with Town finally creating clear chances. On 76 mins Rupere was inches away from the target when his powerful strike from the edge of the box hit the side netting. A good move shortly after saw Black beat the offside trap to square to Simpson who could only fire straight at Hall. On 87 mins Simpson smashed over the bar after an excellent through ball by Rupere. Into injury time and down at the other end Farrell was denied by the feet of Hagreen and moments later a low strike from Robertson flashed wide.

A disappointing afternoon after Wednesday’s heroics but a deserved win for the hard-working visitors who take the points back to Bradford for the second season running.