Bury Town 1-0 AFC Sudbury match report: George Quantrell scores only goal of Southern League Premier Central Division derby to give Blues bragging rights

George Quantrell’s second-half goal secured Bury Town a 1-0 victory from today’s Southern League Premier Division Central clash with neighbouring AFC Sudbury at the Getaway Cars Stadium.

Derbies often tend to be tight and cagey affairs with neither side willing to give the other an inch, but this one bucked the trend.

Both teams signalled their attacking intent as early as the sixth minute. Sudbury’s Marcel Lewis showed good feet inside the Bury box and then had his deflected effort palmed to safety by Charlie Beckwith before Bury raced straight up the other end with a counter-attack move that ended when George Quantrell’s shot from the edge of the box was routinely collected by Marcus Garnham.

Bury then went on to control proceedings for a period. In the 11th minute Ethan Mayhew’s slide rule pass from midway inside the Sudbury half released Cemal Ramadan, who saw his low effort saved by the legs of former Bury glovesman Garnham.

And Garnham’s opposite number Beckwith was also in stubborn mood. In the 19th minute he threw himself to his left to keep out Kaidon Tower-King’s driven strike, while an off-balance Callum Page could not steer the rebound on target.

Bury then had two attempts in quick succession, the first of which in the 29th minute saw Charlie Lewis get back on the line to clear Ramadan’s looping header. And two minutes later Mayhew’s shot from the edge of the box was always rising after Ally Conway had smartly dummied Quantrell’s square pass.

It was AFC that got themselves on top for the remainder of the half and they would have been rewarded but for a smart double stop from Beckwith in the 42nd minute. For the second time in the contest he got down well to thwart Tower-King and then he got up quickly to deny Page.

Bury boss Cole Skuse was shaking his head as he headed down the tunnel at the break and perhaps after a few choice words his team started the second half brightly. Harley Curtis’ downward header had Garnham shifting to his left to make the stop in the 47th minute and the experienced goalkeeper was soon in action again to hold Mayhew’s dipping effort from distance.

On the hour mark Quantrell drove forward with purpose from deep and eventually switched play out to the right, from where Conway dropped a shoulder to gain a yard on Sudbury left-back Jacob Goredema and then flashed an effort no more than a yard wide of the target.

Sudbury’s response was both immediate and positive. Kane Gilbert’s shot from just inside the box was pushed wide by Beckwith, who 30 seconds later kept hold of Marcel Lewis’ mis-cued attempt from Page’s lay-off.

Sudbury boss Danny Laws introduced midfielder Liam Pearce into the action in the 71st minute and his impact was almost instant. A neat nutmeg pass found Tower-King inside the box and after the young attacker had sorted out his feet, his powerful strike did not trouble Beckwith.

It had been a spell of Sudbury domination but Bury got themselves back on the front foot with 76 minutes played. Some good hold up play from substitute Tom Stagg eventually found Conway wide on the right and his cut back picked out Tommy Hughes, but after taking a good first touch his shot lacked composure and comfortably cleared the crossbar.

Yet within two minutes, the Blues had broken the deadlock. Fresh from scoring his first goal for the club following his summer move from Leiston at the weekend, Quantrell once again showed his clinical touch. The attacking midfielder was given the time and space to turn inside the Sudbury box and he duly picked out the bottom corner with his left foot.

Perhaps feeling a little hard done by to be behind, Sudbury pushed forward. In the 83rd minute Page’s deep cross from the left found Charlie Lewis at the back post and the right-back smashed a bouncing ball that required two hands from Beckwith to keep out.

Gilbert’s effort also drifted off target as the encounter ticked towards stoppage time, while Bury could have settled any doubts over the outcome when Quantrell intercepted Ollie Parsons’ back pass and beat Garnham with a low shot – only for Lewis to get back and clear off the line for a second time in the game.

Bury Town: Beckwith, White, Parr, O’Malley, Mayhew (Flowers 86’), Hughes, Conway, Davis, Quantrell (Carroll 90’), Ramadan (Stagg 71’), Curtis (Curry 90’)

AFC Sudbury: Garnham, Lewis, Clements, Parsons, Goredema (Heron 90’), Turner, Mulqueen (Pearce 71’), Lewis, Gilbert, Tower-King (Munday 90’), Page

Attendance: 1,338