Dacre seals victory for Ambers

There was a new face in The Ambers goal to see out the year, with loan signing from Sheffield United, Josh Chapman deputising for the unavailable Ben Townsend, with Josh Dacre being handed the Captain’s armband for the day.
With The Ambers looking to extend their unbeaten run of three games, it was not surprising to see them on the front foot from the off, and a series of early corner kicks saw the visitors goal under threat, Logan Chapell having the best opportunity but just failing to connect cleanly in a packed area.
Thackley seemed content to soak up the pressure and try and hit The Ambers on the break, and the home side were indebted to Dacre who cleared superbly off the line as Whiteley fired in an effort from the edge of the box which beat the diving Chapman.
The chance certainly spurred on The Dennyboys and they started to apply some sustained pressure of their own which forced The Ambers into some last ditch defending. Normanton chipped a long range effort onto the top of the net before Chapman saved well after Muller found a yard at the back post and fired in a venomous shot.
Back came the hosts though to produce the best chance thus far. Ant Mackie broke well from his own half and fed Marley Grant, but the winger’s shot was well saved by Wilson in the away goal at the expense of a corner. The custodian was then well placed to tip a clever Leon Howarth chip over the bar before an overlapping Darius Smith flashed a decent drive across the face of the goal.
As the game ebbed and flowed, it was the visitors who finished the half in the ascendancy, Muller and Rothel hitting strikes off target before Ibrahimi raced clear but eventually ran out of steam and was crowded out before he could get a shot away.
There was controversy in the opening seconds of the second half when Howarth raced away and was taken out by the onrushing Wilson well out of his area, and for a second, the Thackley contingent must have had their hearts in their mouths remembering an almost identical incident in the August FA Cup tie which resulted in the keeper being red carded after fouling Grant on that occasion. However, this time, the card was correctly, only a yellow much to the relief of the visitors.
Almost immediately, a foul on Harry Mitchell earned Hall a yellow card and Thackley paid the ultimate price when Ehsan Mohammed’s free kick found Dacre all alone at the far side of the area, and the centre back smashed the ball home for the opening goal after 49 minutes.
Normanton then dragged a good opportunity wide for the visitors before Mitchell extracted some revenge with a foul on Hall that earned him a yellow card, before The Ambers introduced Leon Osborne and Jacques Etia from the bench.
The subs almost had an immediate impact when Osbourne and Smith combined to play Etia in, but the ball got caught up under the striker’s feet and the chance was gone. Mohammed then brought a low save from Wilson before Mitchell spurned a golden opportunity, heading well wide from Howarth’s cross when unmarked, and Jamie Austin’s audacious chip was inches off target after he picked up a loose clearance.
Despite the building Ambers pressure, Thackley showed they were still in the game when substitute Sibanda raced through following a clear but unpunished foul on Chapell by a team mate, but the resulting effort was too high and didn’t trouble Chapman who had been confident throughout in everything asked of him. However, a minute later, the young keeper was once again in Dacre’s debt after the skipper capped an excellent performance by somehow clearing Normanton’s effort off the line when it looked certain to find it’s way into the back of the net.
As the seconds ticked away, Sibanda volleyed another good half chance over the top after Mitchell had set him up and right at the death, sub Bailey Hobson, having just collected a yellow card in a ten minute cameo performance, almost rounded things off as he raced into the area but his poked effort at the near post was kept out by Wilson.
The referee blew for time and it was a third clean sheet for The Ambers who were just about worthy winners in a very close game that could, in truth, have gone either way.