n SPORT Thornbury pull clear of drop zone

AS the end of the season approaches, Thornbury Town have managed to secure some important wins to pull themselves away from the bottom of the Uhlsport Hellenic Premier Division.

They probably need at least one more win to make absolutely sure of survival.

Nine games in a month took its toll on the squad but, despite suffering a number of injuries to key players, a run of five games without defeat in February and March saw Thorns pull away from the foot of the table.

Following a 1-1 draw at Royal Wootton Bassett in the Challenge Cup, Town hosted league leaders Malvern Town, and upset the form book.

Having suffered only two previous defeats in the league, the visitors were humbled 3-0, with Jack Sheppard-Cozens, Jack Smith and Harvey Pritchard netting.

Thorns followed this up with a 1-0 win at Mangotsfield United, courtesy of another SheppardCozens goal. The next two games saw Town concede late goals to drop important points, both games against Tuffley Rovers and Brimscombe ending in 2-2 draws.

Difficult trips to high-flying

Worcester Raiders and FA Vase semi-finalists Corsham Town ended in defeat, as did a home fixture against Roman Glass St George. A poor first half saw Roman Glass take a 2-0 lead into the break and while Jack Smith pulled a goal back on the hour mark, Town couldn’t snatch an equaliser.

The Reserves' hopes of County Cup glory were ended at the semi-final stage, with unbeaten St Vallier going through on penalties after a 2-2 draw.

However the team didn’t let this disappointment affect them, coming away from high-flying Patchway Reserves with a 2-1 win, Harrison Young netting twice.

This was followed up with a 5-0 home win against Lawrence Rovers, Young again scoring twice but outshone by James Cooke’s hat-trick.

Currently lying fourth in the table, but with games in hand on the sides above them, the League title is very much in the Reserve teams hands although they have still got 12 league games to play. The A team’s stop-start season has affected their push for promotion and a run of defeats in the last month to Mendip Broadwalk (2-3) Hanham Abbotonians (0-1) and AFC Mangotsfield Reserves (1-3) has seen them drop down the table. With two games remaining at the time of writing, Luke Jones, the A team manager, will be hoping to finish the season on a high with a couple of wins.

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