Lakenheath come from behind to advance beyond Beccles Town in the Suffolk Senior Cup quarter-final
Never has the old adage 'a game of two halves' been a truer reflection of events than what unfolded during Lakenheath's 4-2 victory over Beccles Town in the quarter-finals of the CNet Training Suffolk Senior Cup this afternoon.
For 45 minutes hosting Lakenheath were well below par. It seemed as though they lost every individual battle – particularly in midfield – and truth be told, lower-league Beccles could count themselves unfortunate to have only gone into the break two goals to the good. Put simply, but for the performance of Charlie Beckwith in the home goal, the visitors may well have been out of sight.
And yet as soon as Shaun Avis' 51st-minute free kick halved the deficit, Lakenheath were a totally different proposition. With the aforementioned Avis operating in a slightly deeper role, the home side started to win first and second balls and the half-time introduction of a ball carrier in Kelvin Enaro also made a telling difference.
Three further goals accompanied that set-piece from Avis to book Lakenheath a place in the semi-finals alongside fellow Thurlow Nunn League First Division North sides Ipswich Wanderers and Framlingham Town, as well as Suffolk & Ipswich League outfit Bildeston Rangers.
It was Luke Bailey who caused Lakenheath the biggest headache during the first half. The number 11, who kept drifting unopposed between the lines, had already struck the base of the post when he gave Beccles the lead in the 19th minute with a cool effort that curled inside the far post.
The same player scampered clear in the 32nd minute after some more slack defending, but on this occasion Beckwith made himself big and won the duel. Nevertheless, just five minutes later Lakenheath's number one was picking the ball out the back of his net again.
Liam Harvey-Cooper had been thwarted by the offside flag just moments before, yet he showed no sign of any lingering frustration with a driven effort from Bailey's square pass to double Beccles' lead.
The next goal was always going to be crucial – had Beccles scored it, the tie would have surely been put to bed. Thankfully for the home side it was Avis, who scored a hat-trick in last week's British Legion Cup final, that produced the goods with a free kick that got the better of the wall and Josh Cable in goal.
Sensing blood and with their tails now up, Lakenheath sought an equaliser and it duly arrived three minutes after the hour mark. Full-back Alex McIntosh was almost certainly attempting to pick out a team-mate with his cross from the left flank, but the ball drifted beyond Cable and flew in via the far post.
And within four minutes the turnaround was complete thanks to Cable, who had a moment to forget. The visiting 'keeper rushed outside his box to deal with a lofted pass forward, but he misjudged the bounce of the ball and after it drifted over him, Tom Thulborn was alert and ran through to smash into an empty net.
To Beccles' credit there was no sign of any white flags being waved and Lakenheath were indebted to Beckwith again in the 73rd minute when he stuck up a hand to turn away substitute John Remblance's powerful effort from close range.
It proved to be a key moment in the tie because with 80 minutes on the clock Avis completed the job with a looping header – his second goal of the game and crucially it gave his side a cushion.
Remblance went close again in the latter stages with a volley that Lakenheath defender Casey Underwood got back on the line to clear, but aside from that the remaining few minutes were largely free of incident – much to the delight of boss Ben Cowling, who was less than impressed with that first-half display.
Lakenheath: Beckwith, Webber (Corbyn 46'), McIntosh, Hawley, Underwood, Callaghan, McCabe (Enaro 46'), Clarke (Banks 90'), Avis, Thulborn, Manels
Beccles: Cable, Harmer, Udell, Newman, Fulcher, Hodfes, Husband, Heaney, Harvey-Cooper, Staines, Bailey
Suffolk News Man of the Match – Charlie Beckwith: The Lakenheath goalkeeper made some key saves at very important times. Without him, there's every chance the comeback wouldn't have been possible. Also a mention for Shaun Avis, who made a big difference having dropped deeper in the second half.
* For reaction from Lakenheath manager Ben Cowling, see this week's Bury Free Press and Newmarket Journal print editions.
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