Memorable season unfolding for Dave Cannon and his AFC Sudbury Reserves side in league and cup

Dave Cannon is on the cusp of overseeing AFC Sudbury Reserves’ most successful ever season in the Thurlow Nunn League – and he is hoping his academy boys can make more history in the league and county cup.

Ahead of going to seventh-placed First Division North neighbours Cornard United tomorrow (3pm) the Yellows lie sixth in the table following an unbeaten run of 13 matches, winning 11, from November 13 to March 4.

A victory at the Ards would see them overtake the side’s previous best ever points total since stepping up from the same Eastern Counties League’s reserves competition ahead of the 2013/14 campaign.

The previous best total came in the 2015/16 campaign with 52 points securing their highest finishing spot of 10th, from what was then a 19-team division.

“It was a fantastic run,” said their manager Cannon of their recent unbeaten run, which ended in a 4-1 home defeat to Harwich & Parkeston the weekend before last as they rotated players ahead of Saturday’s big cup game.

“We just need three more points now to beat our best ever return and that was done with not all academy players. To do this with wholly under-19s is fantastic.”

He feels the first-team using less of that age group than in recent years – as they challenge at the top of the table with some experienced summer signings – has been one of the factors in their strong performance so far this season.

He also believes the current academy crop has provided ‘the best strength in depth there has ever been’ since it began as a full-time entity in July 2015.

This season the side are not only hoping to become the first reserves side to finish in the play-off spots, with the format only in its second season, but are also looking to become only the second reserves side to lift the Suffolk Senior Cup and the first this century.

A first-half brace of goals from the side’s captain, midfielder Liam Pearce, on Saturday put the young Yellows well on their way to booking a place in the CNet Training Suffolk Senior Cup semi-finals.

At a Macron Suffolk & Ipswich League (SIL) Senior Division title-chasing side in Ransomes Sports, Reuben Swann’s mazy run and low finish a minute after the restart soon put the outcome beyond doubt.

It means they get a shot at becoming the first AFC Sudbury side to feature in the final of Suffolk FA’s most historic competition which dates back to the 1885-86 season. Sudbury Town Reserves did go on to lift the famous trophy in 1986/87 while Ipswich Town Reserves (1937/38) and Leiston Reserves (2021/22) both lost in the showpiece that has been contested at Ipswich Town FC or Colchester United FC in recent years.

And Cannon was left beaming about their latest display in the competition.

“We spoke beforehand about keeping your cool in what can be quite a hostile environment in the SIL with older teams, and they dealt with that really well and just played their game,” he said.

“They stood up to the physicality and we were just too organised, athletic and technically too good and comfortably won 3-0 in the end.

“As an adult team in an adult game that is probably the most complete performance because you get a lot of times with younger players where it’s brilliant for 20 minutes and they switch off for five.

“In that five you’ve then conceded two goals and you end up losing the game.

“We were really good against their set pieces, we were strong on our set pieces and when our chances came, Liam Pearce, who has scored a lot of goals this season, was a big player in a big moment which is something that we’d all spoke about.

“His second goal was fantastic, he brought it down from a long ball over the top and then in his running stride he blasted it past the ‘keeper and moved onto his celebration.

“You could see them physically deflated by it.

“The the third goal with Reuben he went past two or three and hit a low shot into the corner and that was game, set and match really.”

The team learnt last night via BBC Radio Suffolk that they will be heading to Bury Town's Atalian Servest Ram Meadow Stadium to take on another SIL side in Halesworth Town in the semi-finals on Friday, April 14 (7.45pm).

The other tie will see Framlingham Town take on Claydon at the Millfield, home of Hadleigh United FC on the same evening in another Thurlow Nunn League versus SIL Senior Division match-up.

Meanwhile, Cannon admitted he was not sure exactly what the current rules were if a reserves side were to finish in the promotion play-off spots, but believed they may be able to play them but not then go up should they win.

Cornard United go into this weekend’s home game with AFC Sudbury Reserves (3pm) having lost 2-0 at Holbeach United on Saturday in the first game since top scorer Scott Sloots’ departure to Stowmarket Town. Frontman Lewis Blanchett did mark his return to the club by coming off the bench.

Tom Clark’s Cornard side will be looking to put the 2-1 loss at Sudbury on February 25 behind them this weekend.

Cannon said: “We had a really good game against them at home.

“There are so many boys that have been in our system there and vice-versa here so it will be a really good game.”