Bury Town goalkeeper Charlie Beckwith ‘destined for high level’ says Ben Mayhew in wake of Leiston super-display as Blues bow out of Suffolk Premier Cup
There are only two goalkeepers across the Pitching In Isthmian League’s four divisions that have had to pick the ball out of their net less times than Bury Town’s Charlie Beckwith– 10 times in 11 North Division matches – so far this season.
And while he is in-between the posts for the Ram Meadow club, Ben Mayhew believes Bury Town’s promotion bid, despite falling off top spot on Saturday, is very much in safe hands.
Tuesday night’s Endeavour Automotive Suffolk Premier Cup first round home tie with Leiston brought together two of Suffolk’s brightest up-and-coming goalkeepers.
So it should not have come as a surprise that there was only a single goal over the 90 minutes for the 300-plus crowd to witness, with higher-league Leiston prevailing.
But the fans will have certainly admired the string of fine saves at both ends as the glovesman put in their claims for the man-of-the-match award.
While our SuffolkNews one ended up going to 25-year-old former professional Billy Johnson – who made his debut for Stevenage in the EFL Trophy almost four years to the day – it could have easily swung the other way if 24-year-old Beckwith’s team-mates had managed to find a way past him late on.
One man who certainly appreciated the goalkeeping displays on Tuesday was Mayhew, still registered to play himself at 38 but now into his second season as a coach with the Blues.
“Billy’s a great goalkeeper,” he said, “Leiston are very lucky to have him and likewise with us.
“Charlie’s been with us a year now and his trajectory is just up and up and up every week and I think that’s shown in the last few weeks where he’s picking up man-of-the-match performances.
“He’s all-round, Charlie; there’s no weak part of his game anymore and he will go and play at a high level, I’m sure, hopefully with Bury, but if not with us it will be with somebody.”
Ironically, Beckwith started his senior career over at east-coast Step 3 outfit Leiston, but found his chances to hold down the number one shirt hampered by another excellent glovesman, in Sam Donkin.
He subsequently went on to find a footablling home in west Suffolk at Lakenheath, helping guide former manager Ben Cowling’s side up to Step 5 football for the first time in the village’s history as well as being a key figure in their historic Suffolk Senior Cup triumph in 2020/21.
So when Mayhew was tasked with finding Cole Skuse and Paul Musgrove a permanent goalkeeper, with the club having relied on bringing in young prospects from Norwich City and Ipswich Town on loan for a number of seasons previously, he knew exactly who to call.
He said: “He’s 24, which is quite young for a goalkeeper. He’s got probably 250 senior appearances across Step 3, 4 and 5; he’s played around 50 games for Leiston, which he reminds me of every week!”
“I think he probably played four seasons at Lakenheath. He loved his football there, but he always had ambition to play higher.
“We've had a good year working together now. I feel like he's improving even still.
“He's his own harshest critic. To be fair he doesn't need me poking holes in him.
“He's a better goalkeeper than I was, so I can't give him too much grief!
“We identify things and we work on them in training.
“We speak with Cole and Muzzy about how they want to play and we try and mould the way we train to that. It's working. He's invaluable to us.”
An 88th-minute strike from Ben Fowkes coupled with a heroic goalkeeping display from Johnson, who came through the ranks at his local club Beccles Town, saw Leiston extinguish Bury’s dream of a playing in a Portman Road final in May in the Suffolk Premier Cup.
Chris Wigger and Darren Eadie’s side were undoubtedly the better side over the course of the 90 minutes against their lower-level hosts but could not find a way past the excellent Beckwith.
It looked like the much delayed first-round tie, taking place on the same night as the quarter-finals – two stages on – began was heading to a penalty shootout with Leiston having looked much the more likely but having passed up several golden chances.
But with both sides having been denied by the crossbar, the deadlock was finally broken by the unmarked Fowkes, who guided home a right-wing cross with a flick of his boot, having slipped in between a sizeable gap between Joe White and Tom Thulborn.
The in-form Pitching In Southern League Premier Central team – who had taken seven out of nine points from their last three away games and won their last two to sit 14th in the table – will now host divisional rivals Lowestoft Town in the second round.
It leaves Bury to focus solely on their league campaign, having gone into Saturday’s home game with Waltham Abbey top of the Pitching In Isthmian League North Division and looking for a fifth straight win.
But a disappointing 2-0 defeat in that game – only their second in 11 league matches – leaves Skuse and his management team facing up to back-to-back defeats and down in third spot.
It is far from doom and gloom though as, heading into two quickfire away local derbies they are just one point off new leaders Tilbury with a game in hand on them and joint-second side Witham Town.
First up is a trip to St Ives Town to face former pro Jamie Cureton’s Cambridge City on Sunday (3pm) – moved due to St Ives being at home on Saturday – before they then make the short trip down the A14 to take on Michael Shinn’s Newmarket Town on Tuesday (7.45pm).
‘So many positives to take’
But despite going into the pair of games off the back of a their second home loss in the space of four days, Mayhew believes there were plenty of positives to draw from their latest display at Ram Meadow.
The former Soccer Am resident keeper, whose former clubs includes Ely City, Scole United, Stanton and Walsham-le-Willows, said: “Look, we've not had the luck of the draw much in this cup over the last few years.
“We've played Needham (Market, holders) in the first game last season, Leiston in the first game this season and, to be honest, it's come at a pretty bad time for us with injuries and players not available.
“So we had to shuffle the pack a little bit tonight, but I thought the lads, as we were saying in there, did really well. They're in the game for most of it.
“Leiston probably edged the chances, but we probably could have had two or three ourselves.
“So, there's so many positives to take from that. Yes, we're out of the Suffolk (Premier) cup, but it now gives us full focus on the league, which is the main priority.”
