AFC Sudbury fire five past Needham Market at Colchester United to record club’s seventh straight victory in the Suffolk U18s Midweek Cup
AFC Sudbury’s latest crop of talented academy players continued the club’s domination in the Veo Suffolk U18s Midweek Cup at Colchester United FC tonight with four second-half goals putting Needham Market to the sword in a 5-1 victory.
It was a seventh straight triumph from as many finals for Danny Laws’ side but the Jack Ladbrooke-captained Yellows were certainly made to work for the silverware by a bold Needham side who gave as good as they got for 60 minutes.
In fact, the last of the five Suffolk FA finals to be staged at the Jobserve Community Stadium this year, following Ipswich Town being unable to host due to their pitch renovations, hinged on a few minutes either side of the hour mark.
With James Letts having levelled Bobby Badham’s exceptional 30-yard strike that came on the stroke of half-time early in the second period, Seth Chambers looks almost certain to give Needham a 2-1 lead in the 59th minute before a flying save from Ryan Dunne.
Within two minutes it was Dunne’s opposite number, Lawrence Robinson, who was picking the ball out of his net following a fine individual goal from Jamie Bennett.
From there there was no looking back for Sudbury as first year Reuben Swann coolly dispatched two fine throughballs from Liam Pearce in a nine minute spell inside the last 20 minutes.
And substitute Kaya Donohue pounced on a defensive mistake to add the icing on the cake in the final regulation minute.
For Needham it was their first appearance in this guise of the U18s cup, having been knocked out 2-1 by Sudbury in last year’s semi-finals.
And Dean Grogan’s side, who in contrast to their opponents were made up of more second years than first years, started brightly with Brandon Greenleaf firing a long-range effort wide while a couple of corners from Clayton Osborn put early pressure on ‘keeper Dunne.
Up the other end Pearce headed a corner wide while Robinson was quickly off his line to save at the feet of Pearce and then Bennett as his defence left gaps for the Yellows to exploit.
Dunne had to make a key save of his own in the 21st minute to deny Chambers’ header from close range after he was found at the far post by a great deep cross from Osborn.
Lucca Braddon got a sniff of goal just before the half-hour mark but the Needham player stabbed the ball wide of the right-hand post.
Up the other end Bennett cut in down the right side of the area but his curling left-footed effort lacked the power to trouble Robinson.
Taylor Clark, one of a trio of Needham players who have pushed on in Kevin Horlock’s first team this season, fired in a fierce shot in the 31st minute that Dunne initially spilled by diving on.
Another first-time effort from Clark sent the ball spinning wide of the left-hand post while, on the stroke of half-time, Dunne held a Fraser headed under his crossbar from a deep Osborn free kick.
But with the minute of additional time almost up, the 400-plus crowd let out a collective gasp of awe as Badham, who made his England Under-19s futsal debut earlier this season, burst onto the ball 30 yards from goal before lashing it wonderfully into the top right-hand corner.
Sudbury started the second half strongly but it was Needham who were celebrating an equaliser four minutes in with Letts on hand to convert a rebound from Fraser’s shot from a Chambers throughball into the net.
A great diagonal ball out of defence from Ciaran Burke put Swann into the area but he got far too under the bouncing ball.
Up the other end Dunne produced a moment of magic in the 59th minute to claw away a Chambers effort from a Fraser cross destined for the top corner.
And that missed opportunity to take the lead was to soon prove costly as the Needham defence failed to deal with Bennett’s run into the area along the right-hand touchline and the striker, on a path towards the penalty spot fired in through a crowd of players from around eight yards out.
It was 3-1 in the 70th minute when Pearce's perfect throughball slipped Swann in behind the Needham defence and the no.54 cooly slid the ball under Robinson’s dive.
Soon after Rea, proving a real handful down the left wing, fired into the side-netting after beating his marker.
Needham came close to getting a goal back when Chambers got free down the right but his cross was agonizingly just a shade out of reach for substitute Dimitri Gray.
Again Sudbury showed what clinical looked like when the same combination of Pearce to Swann delivered their fourth in the 79th minute with another low finish from inside the area.
The first year was put in for a chance of his hat-trick but was denied by a good block from Robinson who had narrowed the angle at his near post.
Chambers took another fine deep ball into the box from Osborn on his chest before volleying it well wide as Needham looked to reply.
But a defensive lapse in concentration in the 90th minute led to the fifth and final goal as substitute Donohue nicking the ball off the feet of Stanley Fovaroue and took it wide of the goalkeeper before applying the finish.
Five minute of stoppage time passed before, as has become very familiar over the years, the Yellow shirts got to celebrate with what has become their trophy.
AFC Sudbury: Dunne, Arnold (Donohue 78’), Badham (Hart 86’), Burke (Smith 75’), Bennett, Chilvers, Ladbrooke, Lambert (Everleigh 66’), Pearce, Rea, Swann.
Unused substitutes: Catley.
Booked: Burke, Smith.
Needham Market: Robinson, Osborn, Greenleaf, Crosthwaite (Buxton 77’), Smith, Fovargue, Braddon (Gayle 72’), Clark, Chambers, Letts (Eddie Barker 77’), Fraser.
Unused substitutes: Ed Barker, Tucker (gk).
Booked: None.
Referee: Adrian Sannerude.
Attedance: 431.
SuffolkNews Man of the Match: Reuben Swann. Among the youngest in his team but showed a maturity beyond his years with two cool finishes and some nice link-up play. Bobby Badham also deserves a mention for his outrageous goal and Ryan Dunne’s equally impressive save was also a key moment.