AFC Sudbury captain Reece Harris fires first goal of the season to win play-off semi-final in five goal thriller against Grays Athletic
AFC Sudbury came from behind twice at home to Grays Athletic at The MEL Group Stadium tonight to book their place in Saturday’s Pitching In Isthmian League North Division Play-off Final with a 3-2 victory.
Captain Reece Harris scored what proved to be the winner with his low 71st minute free kick finding the bottom corner from 22 yards in front of a crowd of nearly 700.
The second-placed Yellows, who had finished 19 points ahead of fifth-placed Grays, had looked off the pace in the first half, but Reggie Lambe replied to Sam Bantick’s 14th minute opener with a fantastic 25-yard effort 11 minutes before the break.
Grays got themselves back ahead within three minutes though via captain Lewis Clark firing home following a Bantick cross breaking loose.
Sudbury upped their game in the second half though and were gifted their second eqauliser when Macauley Joynes was shown a straight red card for handball against Josh Stokes’ shot across goal.
Nnamdi Nwachuku was made to wait but eventually kept his cool from the resultant penalty in the 56th minute.
The Yellows could and should have killed off the Essex visitors thereafter with a plethora of chances but they were never really troubled at the other end until stoppage time when Hughes showed good command of his area.
The victory, jubilantly celebrated by the large home following who created significant noise throughout the game, sets up a home play-off final tie with Heybridge Swifts back on their 3G pitch on Saturday, with the latter having won 2-0 at Lowestoft Town.
Having rotated his squad for the end of their regular season at the weekend, just Joe Grimwood remaining from the side who started the 2-1 defeat at Great Wakering Rovers, with no place in the squad for former professional Lionel Ainsworth.
Grays, in contrast, fielded 10 of their starting 11 from a 2-0 home win against Hullbridge Sports with the only change seeing former Sudbury man Bantick come in, having scored after coming off the bench at the weekend.
The first chance of the semi-final tie saw Sudbury captain Reece Harris send a curling central free kick over the crossbar from 28 yards out in the fourth minute.
But Grays went within a lick of paint to the opener three minutes later when Callum Watts’ fierce strike from 25 yards was touched onto the crossbar by David Hughes before going out for a corner.
Hughes had to be alert to danger again in the 10th minute as he held onto a snapshot from Watts from the edge of his penalty area.
The goal the lively visitors had been threatening arrived four minutes later. Following Ben Hunter sending a half chance well over at one end, Grays broke quickly with a long ball which put Bantick away down the right channel and the former Sudbury player fired inside the far post from the corner of the penalty box.
Sudbury’s passing was lacking its usual accuracy at times but they drew level with a real moment of quality from Lambe in the 34th minute, his dipping effort from 25 yards, following Harris finding him in space from a throw-in, dropping into the top right-hand side of the net.
Parity lasted less than three minutes though as Bantick, who had been running the game, sent a ball into the box from the left-hand side which Sudbury’s defence failed to deal with and from a bouncing ball captain Clark rifled home from eight yards.
Stokes claimed in vain for a penalty soon after following a tangle with goalscorer Clark while a late chance in stoppage time for the hosts saw Stokes send a looping header over the bar from a deep Hassan delivery.
Bantick sent an effort from outside the box wide early in the second half but there was soon a new vigour about Sudnbury’s play that had been lacking and Hassan created room for a shot but it lacked sufficent power.
The 53rd minute provided the turning point of the match though as from a Harris delivery from the left, Stokes sent it back towards goal and the referee signalled for a deliberate handball against Joynes, leading to a surprise red card being shown.
The protestations took a while to die down, as did Joynes to leave the pitch, initially heading to his team’s dugout, before Nwachuku, who had struggled to find a clear sight of goal in open play, cooly firing his spot kick above the reach of his his former goalkeeper.
They came close to taking the lead soon after but both Stokes and Hassan found opposing sides of the side-netting in quick succession.
Grimwood headed wide from a corner to the far post as the pressure ramped up further before the breakthrough monent arrived in the 71st minute from another dead ball moment.
After Lambe was brought down just outside the penalty D, Harris stepped up to the free kick and having not scored a goal all season, his low curling shot found the bottom left-hand corner to the delight of the home crowd.
Lambe had a couple of chances to wrap things up, thundering a volley over the crossbar before Hassan sent an arrowing effort whistling past the far post.
As the clock ticked down at 3-2, Grimwood was on hand to stop a threatening attack from the 10 men before Roman Campbell lifted an effort well over the bar.
Lambe sent another effort just past the post from a Nwachuku lay-off up the other end before he went off to a standing ovation.
Hassan had another sight of goal from the edge of the area but it was comfortably saved by Sambridge.
The Grays ‘keeper came up to take a couple of late free kicks with one seeing centre-back Callum Leahy win a header but Hughes managed to keep hold of it at the second attempt.
Hassan ran the ball into the corner before Sudbury’s fans were put out of their misery in the seventh minute of stoppage time as the referee's whistle was greeted by celebrations at making Saturday’s promotion shootout at King’s Marsh.
AFC Sudbury: Hughes, Brown, Harris, Hunter, Grimwood, Gipson, Stokes, Chatting, Nwachuku, Lambe (Cocklin 84’), Hassan.
Unsued substitutes: Mayhew, Andrews, Carroll, Stronge (gk).
Booked: Chatting (66’).
Grays Athletic: Sambridge, Joynes, R Winn (G Winn 56’), Clark, Leahy, Gordon, Watts, Bantick, Hahn (Stagg 78’), Campbell, Agyakwa (Osei-bobie 86’). Unused substitutes: Homans, Griek.
Booked: Bantick (42’), Gordon (90’), Clark (90’). Sent off: Joynes (53').
Referee: Jack Willmore.
Attendance: 670
SuffolkNews Man of the Match: Reggie Lambe. Probably his best display in a Sudbury shirt, causing numerous problems for the visitors and one moment of sublime quality for the first equaliser. Came close to adding another.
