Omar Sanyang's stoppage time goal at the end of the first half was enough to condemn Thackley to a 1-0 defeat on the road at Pickering Town on Saturday. This result, whilst not having a major effect on the Dennyboys' table position, represents a near repeat of last week's disappointment at Parkgate as the team enjoyed some portions of dominance, but ultimately failed to convert their chances.

There were issues for Thackley to contend with in advance of the game. The news that goalkeeper Luke Wilson has suffered an injury which may keep him on the sidelines for a while meant the emergency signing of Kyle Trenerry from Brighouse Town for the game who made his debut. Matty Dempsey has also picked up a rib injury from the game against Penistone Church and missed out. Finally, the team bus was stuck in an accident on the A64 which meant they did not arrive until 2.40pm, over an hour after the scheduled arrival time, and the game kicked off late at 3.25pm.

Despite the disruption Thackley began the game strongly and on top, with Luke Rhodes having a volleyed effort narrowly cleared off the line after six minutes in a moment that offered a chance for plenty of optimism going forward.

The Dennyboys continued to pile the pressure on their opponents, with the next major opportunity coming on 19 minutes when Ben Grech-Brooksbank did well to turn with the ball at his feet in the box before attempting a low driven shot that showed promise, but this was ultimately dealt with by Alfie Burnett in goal.

From here, the hosts managed to grow into the game and have some moments of their own, though Thackley weren't going to be deterred, with a free kick from Lewis Gardner on 30 minutes again managing to test Burnett.

As the half wound down, Sanyang began to make his presence felt, with him forcing a good save out of Kyle Trennery in the 43rd minute.

Shortly after, the breakthrough came for the hosts when a miss-hit corner from Finn Donovan allowed Pickering to march down the pitch before Sanyang was there to latch onto a squared pass before beating Trennery and giving his side the lead, something they would keep as the referee blew for the half time break.

Half time: Pickering Town 1 v 0 Thackley AFC

The Dennyboys began the second half strongly, with Tawheed Ahmed finding Antony Brown in the box, though the forward couldn't convert the resulting effort into a goal with a volley just wide of the post.

Despite being on the backfoot in terms of the game's momentum, the hosts continued to frustrate Thackley, with Ahmed's promising effort from a reasonable distance on 58 minutes being well caught by Burnett at the second attempt.

As the Dennyboys began to push more bodies forward looking for an equaliser, this allowed Pickering to capitalise and have some promising moments of their own, even to such a point that they thought that the lead had been extended in the 72nd minute, only for the play to be pulled back for a foul on Trennery.

An injury to the Thackley keeper and the delay that followed managed to halt the game's momentum, with an 80th minute flurry of missed chances just about summing up the team's luck.

The hosts would have one more opportunity as the game wound down, with Ify Ofgoebu having a ferocious volley on 86 minutes well saved by Trennery.

Pickering would consolidate their lead through a long added time period, slowing the game down with injuries, free kicks and throw ins where the referee could arguably have taken a stronger role (especially given Brown picked up an early yellow card for "delaying the restart of play), securing the victory and keeping the Dennyboys recent mixed fortunes on the road going in the process.

Full time: Pickering Town 1 v 0 Thackley AFC

Another frustrating afternoon on the road means Thackley drop to 5th in the table. Next up is the visit of Rossington Main to Dennyfield on Saturday 12 October 2024 (3pm KO).

Finally, a special mention to full back Mark Everingham who played his last game for a while as he leaves to go travelling. Evo will be a big miss to the team and we wish him well on his travels and look forward to welcoming him back.

Pickering Town team: Burnett; Thornton; Lovick; Drury; Avison: Dawson; Harrison; Brooksby©; Brown; Sanyang; Wood.
Subs: Kelly; Leyland; Calvert; Cass; Ofgoebu.

Thackley team: Trenerry; Everingham; Gardner; Morrisey (Smith 84mins); Hudson; Rhodes; Donovan (Holcombe 70mins); Mitchell (Sugden 64mins); Brown; Grech-Brooksbank© (Hunt 84mins); Ahmed (Bradshaw 84mins).
Unused Subs: None

Pickering Town scorer: Omar Sanyang (44 mins)

Thackley scorers: None

Attendance: 159.

Photo: from Pickering Town website.