Tadcaster Albion kicked off November with a sucker-punch last minute defeat against Thackley.

Despite the result, it was a much improved performance from the reverse fixture, as Elliot Andrew scored in the first-half before Thackley turned the-second half on its head and scored twice - including a debatable 91st-minute penalty from Ben Grech-Brooksbank.

Tadcaster aimed to make amends for their poor defensive display in last month’s home fixture, which they managed to do extremely well in the first-half while maintaining their usual early attacking dominance.

The Brewers really should have gone ahead in the ninth minute after a perfect cross by Luca Bolino found last week's hat-trick hero Andrew with a free header in front of goal, but his effort went wide.

Albion stayed busy at the back, with Dan Thirkell and Jimmy Knowles working tirelessly as they kept the home side largely at bay and when Thackley did manage to break through, Sam Green was solid, having to make quick, reflex saves against Antony Brown and Grech-Brooksbank.

The latter came closest to scoring with a snapshot in the box, forcing the Taddy Shot stopper to react quickly to thwart the attempt and then latched onto a free-kick, as he attempted to loop it over the keeper with a header, which came agonizingly close to goal.

Taddy eventually got their goal after a couple of chances in a row.


RECOMMENDED READING:


First a glancing header from Andrew hit the post, before Bolino almost pulled off what would have been an unbelievable goal, as he twisted and dazzled his way past the Thackley backline.

However, just as his last touch got away from him, Andrew was in position again, this time firing the ball into the bottom right corner.

The home side responded immediately; Lewis Sugden tried his luck with a 30-yard free kick before some heroic defending following a loose ball from a corner ensured that Taddy would take their one-goal advantage into the second half.

Thackley were almost left looking red-faced as they allowed Albert Ibrahimi to steal possession of the ball in the final third, but his curler met with a last gasp block by Liam Hudson.

From this point on, the home side began to dominate: Grech-Brooksbank had a golden chance to score in the 53rd minute with a volley from yards out but he blazed the ball over the bar.

Nevertheless, their first goal came less than a minute later as Finn Donovan broke away from Charlesworth on the right-wing and squared the ball across the box to Brown, who could not miss.

With Thackley looking for a winner, Donovan continued to be a problem for the Taddy backline, creating a chance for Brown who forced a stretching save from Green with 15 minutes to go.

Green would also be tested by other dangerous efforts from Donovan, with Grech-Brooksbank also firing into the side netting.

It looked as if the two sides would settle for a point, when in added time, Fatlum Ibrahimi put in a seemingly legal tackle on Donovan just inside the area, but the referee pointed to the spot for a controversial penalty.

Grech-Brooksbank stepped up from the spot and made no mistake in sending Green the wrong way to win the game for the home side.

Tadcaster would have one final chance in stoppage time to salvage a point. A free kick on the edge of the area was whipped into the box, however, Thackley substitute Dempsey fell in the box, which the referee decided was grounds for a dropped ball, despite Tadcaster having possession in a dangerous area.

TADCASTER ALBION: Green, Owen, Charlesworth (Tweed, 75), Thirkell, Knowles, Kitchen (Shepherd, 79), Bolino, Greenway, Andrew (Hines, 82), A. Ibrahimi (Ellington, 75), Cassius Gill (F. Ibrahimi, 75)