Thaxted Rangers 2 : 1 Papworth

Thaxted returned to winning ways at the weekend, with a hard fought win against old rivals Papworth. This fixture involving the two longest serving clubs in Div 2a in recent times has seen Papworth very much in the driving seat.

In fact you have to go back to 3rd October 2009 since Thaxted secured the 3 points with a 3-1 victory at Finchingfield, with a brace from Paul Potter and a goal from Ricky Ives.

On Saturday, both teams had to contend with a very heavy pitch and a strong wind, which favoured the home side in the first half. Thaxted took advantage of this and were the better side in the opening exchanges.

Charlie Daniels came close early on when he hit a post following a good run, then Shane Vince hit the post with a good header from a corner.

Papworth had a few openings too, but Steve “Widge” Larsen was equal to anything thrown at him. On the half hour, James Lacon steered the ball home following a corner from the left, so 1-0 at half time.

The second half and the wind seemed to pick up somewhat and Thaxted had difficulty getting out of their own half and had to defend valiantly.

Then a breakaway and Tom Clark was felled by the Papworth keeper, resulting in a penalty to Thaxted which was duly despatched by Charlie Daniels. 

Papworth continued to press though and were rewarded when a corner was initially cleared off the line by Chris Grout, but Liam Greef pounced on the rebound.

This stirred Thaxted back into action and could have restored their two goal advantage when Charlie Daniels pushed the ball past the last Papworth defender and was clear on in goal when the referee pulled it back for offside following a flag from the linesman.

The referee realising he had made a dreadful mistake put his head in his hands and apologised.

More controversy was to follow when Papworth were awarded a free kick on the edge of the area when it appeared to be inside the penalty area.

The later stages of the game Thaxted controlled well and Papworth ran out of ideas, the home side securing their first win of the year. It’s a trip to Fowlmere Reserves up next for Thaxted.

Team: S Larsen, S Mead, A Potter, A Macdowell, S Vince, J Lacon, J Kichenbrand, C Grout (capt), C Daniels, J Hansen, T Clark, Subs: P Potter, Goals: J Lacon & C Daniels (pen)