Goals from Luke Rhodes, Slater Barnes and Ben Grech-Brooksbank helped Thackley cruise past strugglers Winterton Rangers by a 3-0 scoreline on Tuesday evening.

There was one change to the starting lineup from the game against Campion AFC, Antony Brown missing out with a slight knock and Adam Terrelonge-Jones coming in to replace him. With a "free weekend" this week, Brown should be back for the Handsworth (15th March) game all being well.

The Dennyboys began the game well, with them being able to put plenty of early pressure on the visitors, with a dinked effort from Lewis Sugden on 14 minutes that forced a good save out of Ryan Musselwhite going out for a corner.

It would be this corner that would conjure up the game’s first goal, with the ball clicked on by Finn Donovan at the front post before being headed into the net from a yard or so out by Rhodes to give Thackley an important early advantage.

The Dennyboys would continue to pressure their opponents following the opening goal, with a great bit of team football culminating in a cross from Barnes that found an open Grech-Brooksbank in the box, only for the latter’s header to go over the bar in a move which had double figures for passes and would have been one of the goals of the season had it gone in.

The visitors’ struggles would continue as the half progressed, with them being allowed very little room to create an opportunity of any form, which gave Thackley the room they needed to try and extend their advantage.

Sugden would have more opportunities after his earlier contribution, with a pair of chances in the 36th and 37th that did enough to trouble Winterton, but they were unable to find the net, with the first one being a powerful low shot that was collected by Musselwhite before the latter was a volleyed effort that dipped up and over the bar.

The Dennyboys wouldn’t have to wait long to extend their lead however, with Barnes receiving the ball from a free kick from Matty dempsey on the left hand side of the box after 40 minutes before managing to curl the ball with his right foot, allowing it to travel low into the bottom right-hand corner of the goal, giving Thackley a crucial goal before half time.

Two goals almost became three in the 42nd minute after a thunderbolt of a shot from Grech-Brooksbank from distance looked to be going in, but it could only rattle the crossbar and bounce down and off the line before being cleared away.

Shortly after, the referee’s whistle would bring the half to an end with the Dennyboys firmly on top, but still needing another goal to establish a comfortable advantage for the remainder of the game.

HALF-TIME: Thackley AFC 2-0 Winterton Rangers

Thackley began the second half in a similar fashion to how they began the first, with them quickly establishing further superiority over their opponents.

It would be the 55th minute when this momentum would again come to pass thanks to a wonder goal from Grech-Brooksbank, who made up for his earlier effort with what looked like a cross from an impossible angle that ended up travelling over Musselwhite’s head and into the far top corner of the net, further cementing the Dennyboys’ dominance.

The 63rd minute would provide another effort from a similar angle, this time from Sugden, who was able to get some power on it before forcing another save from Musselwhite.

The game’s substitutions would be introduced not long after this moment, with one that made himself known for the Dennyboys being youngster Xantino McNally.

The young forward would almost have a goal of his own just two minutes after entering the game when he managed to get his head to a cross from Sugden in the 75th minute, with this effort being collected by Musselwhite.

Winterton weren’t going to go down without a fight, with Kian Humphriss doing his best to reduce the deficit in the 81st minute thanks to a promising header that could only go over the bar, failing to trouble Luke Wilson between the sticks as a result.

From here, Thackley managed to see out the rest of the game without issue, with the referee’s whistle soon bringing a dominant display from the Dennyboys to a close, with the whole team being able to take credit from their performance.

FULL-TIME: Thackley AFC 3-0 Winterton Rangers

Thackley will now have an extended break following this game, with their next fixture being a return to the Meridian Stadium at Dennyfield to take on Handsworth FC on Saturday 15th March.

Thackley AFC team: Wilson; Parsons; Rhodes; Sugden; Dempsey; Hudson; Donovan (Hamdosh 85mins); Mitchell (Ahmed 45mins); Terrelonge-Jones (McNally 73mins); Grech-Brooksbank©; Barnes (Kavanagh 85mins).
Unused Subs: Jancevski.

Winterton Rangers team: Musselwhite; Hill; Rotheram; Griffin; Fawcett; L.Ridley; Thompson; Ellender; Bacon; Moody; Humphriss.
Subs: Robinson; S.Ridley; McCaffrey; Walker.

Thackley AFC scorers: Rhodes (14mins); Barnes (40mins); Grech-Brooksbank (55mins)

Winterton Rangers scorers: None

Man of the Match: Ben Grech-Brooksbank

Attendance: 123