Following the latest lockdown it was good to be back playing today! It was Featherstone however who started brighter and got the better of the early exchanges. On 5 minutes, following a mistimed tackle in the box, Featherstone converted a penalty kick to take the lead. This early dominance from the home team continued as Thornes struggled to get into the game. On 19 minutes, Thornes lost the ball in midfield and were punished as Featherstone converted a through ball to double their advantage.

After conceding the second goal Thornes heads could have dropped, however today this seemed to be the signal for them to start to play some better football. On 20 minutes, following some good work on the Thornes right, midfielder Breann Ferrati found himself with a chance inside the Featherstone box, but unfortunately couldn’t hit the target. This miss however seemed to spur Thornes on and 2 minutes later left wing back Josh Clasper met a cross from the right by Jed Firth to head home from 12 yards. This goal seemed to instill further belief amongst the Thornes players who were now pressing for an equaliser.

The Thornes defence of debutant Jay Barnes, Sam Sharman and Konrad Krok had settled into the game by this point and the midfield trio of Josh Topp, Breann Ferrati and Ben Snaith were now winning more possession for the team, subsequently bringing wide players Alex Tunningley and Josh Clasper more into the game.

On 31 minutes it was the latters good play down the left, combining with the lively Alex Nolan who put a ball across the 6 yard box for the on rushing Breann Ferrati to smash home the equaliser. This was well deserved as at this point the momentum had definitely swung in Thornes favour following their shakey start. Neither team could add to their totals before the break and the half ended 2-2.

Thornes shuffled the pack at half time, introducing Charlie Donnelly and Eyuel Minassie into the action for the second half. Thornes started the 2nd half as they finished the first and on 48 minutes took the lead. Jed Firth pressurised the Featherstone defence and pounced on a mistake to slot home from outside the box.

Thornes were then forced into a defensive change as centre half Sam Sharman had to come off injured. Immediately after this another mistimed tackle in the Thornes box resulted in a second penalty of the afternoon for Featherstone. Unfortunately for Thornes, one of their players let his frustrations get the better of him, disagreeing with the referees decision too strongly, resulting in him being given a red card. Following this the Featherstone striker stepped up to take the penalty, only to find Thornes keeper Matty Aniolkowski on top form with a brilliant diving save to his right to deny them the equaliser. This moment in the game definitely galvanised the 10 men of Thornes who dug in and looked determined to not give up their lead without a battle.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, Thornes continued to battle well all over the pitch and on 60 minutes following a shot by Jed Firth, Eyuel Minassie was first to the rebound to smash home and extend their lead. This gave Thornes some breathing room but it was clear that Featherstone still posed a threat. The Thornes defence, marshalled by Jay Barnes and assisted by Jack Monsarratt and Breann Ferrati needed to stay strong to prevent the opposition finding their way back into the game.

On 73 minutes, Alex Tunningley and Eyuel Minassie combined well and the latter played a delightful through ball for Jed Firth to run on to. He still had a bit of work to do though, however after beating at least 2 defenders and the keeper he calmly slotted home for Thornes fifth of the afternoon. Thornes celebrations were cut short however as Featherstone almost immediately scored their third, being caught out by a ball over the top which was finished confidently to bring the score back to 3-5.

Once again though, Thornes did not let this set back affect them. Almost immediately Thornes went down the other end and following some great inter play by Eyuel Minassie and Jed Firth, Ben Snaith capped off a fine personal performance with a superb bit of skill and finish past the keeper to make it 3-6.

Going into the last 10 minutes with a 3 goal cushion, Thornes continued to press and on 81 minutes the dangerous Jed Firth grabbed another from the edge of the box with a neat finish into the corner. There was still time for one more though and once again it was Jed Firth, who brought down a Featherstone goal kick, got it out of his feet and found the back of the net from a good way out to cap off an excellent Thornes performance.

Final Score: Featherstone Academical 3 - 8 Thornes U18