High-flying Thackley are no match for Bulls

Gary Bradshaw gets a shot in on goal at Thackley. Photo by Peter Craggs.

In doing so, they inflicted Thackley with their biggest defeat of the season and kept their first league clean sheet this term.

A spectacular overhead kick from Gary Bradshaw opened the scoring, goalkeeper Jason White doubled the lead from the spot and Matty Plummer completed the scoring in the second-half.

In the opening minutes Jimmy Ghaichem put in two telling crosses that the visitors failed to capitalise on. Ghaichem was to cause havoc at the back for Thackley until he was substituted 15 minutes from time to a big round of applause.

Danny Naylor fired wide on ten minutes from a Bradshaw corner and at the other end Ben Joyce saw his header clip the post on 18 minutes.

The Bulls took the lead on 21 minutes, as Ghaichem and Plummer worked a throw in on the right flank and found Ryan Williams who played a neat chip into the box for Bradshaw. The striker was a little in front of the ball but a superb overhead kick saw the ball rocket past Matt Covey in the Thackley goal.

White saved comfortably from a low Joyce drive on 29 minutes, then three minutes later AFC Mansfield doubled their lead. Ghaichem wriggled his way into the box and was upended by Jerome White. Jason White came forward and smashed the ball past Covey for his third penalty conversion this season.

Jerome White was t hen shown a straight red card after a very high tackle on Williams that left the winger needing treatment.

Naylor was booked at the beginning of the second-half and then nearly increased AFC’s lead when he just failed to connect to a through ball from Plummer.

Two chances then fell for the home side but Broadbent and Joyce both fired straight at Jason White.

Jon D’Laryea then found Ghaichem out on the right, and the winger’s low cross found Bradshaw whose neat turn and shot was deflected for a corner on 70 minutes.

From the corner Bradshaw played a short pass to Plummer who turned past two defenders before curling his shot past Covey for Mansfield’s third goal.

The fight had gone out of Thackley now and the visitors were able to stroke the ball about in midfield, Bradshaw sent clear by D’Laryea but his chipped effort just cleared the bar.

AFC Mansfield:

White, Plummer, Dudley, Allott, Timons (C), D’Laryea, Williams, Naylor (Annable 80), Patterson, Bradshaw, Ghaichem (Karkach 75). Subs not used: Wilson B, Wright, Madin.