Match Report - Flixton vs Thornton Cleveleys

Flixton FC 3-4 Thornton Cleveleys

NWCFL First Division North | Valley Road

We suffered a frustrating 4-3 defeat at Valley Road as Thornton Cleveleys came from 3-1 down to take all three points.

The visitors made an early breakthrough through Jordan Beavers in the third minute, but we responded well and worked our way back into the game.

Our pressure was rewarded just before half-time when Aaron Dwyer equalised in the 43rd minute, sending us into the break level at 1-1.

We made a strong start to the second half and quickly took control of the game. Lewis-Simon Byrne put us ahead in the 50th minute, before Dwyer scored his second just three minutes later to give us a 3-1 advantage.

Thornton responded through Joshua Winder in the 61st minute, before Winder struck again in the 75th minute to level the game at 3-3.

Two minutes later, the game took another turn when Cameron Mason was shown a straight red card. With no recognised goalkeeper on the bench, Benni Smalls-Braithwaite took the gloves as we were forced to see out the game with ten men.

The visitors made the extra man count, with Beavers scoring his second in the 84th minute to complete the turnaround.

We continued to push for an equaliser despite being a man down, but couldn't find the goal as an entertaining afternoon at Valley Road ended in a 4-3 defeat.

Attendance: 230

Team News

Starting XI: Cameron Mason, William Mendy, William Calligan, Jeffry Edos Oni, Jacob Ngoy (C), Jordan Butterworth, Benni Smales-Braithwaite, Isaac Graham, Lewis-Simon Byrne, Aaron Dwyer, Collins Tanor.

Substitutes: Kieron Molloy, Hilal Khan, Uche Chinohso Eze, Louis Holden, Milan Lalkovic.

Match Statistics

Although Thornton saw more of the ball, we remained a threat going forward throughout the afternoon.

• 37% possession

• 14 shots

• 18 total attempts

• 150 completed passes

• 3 goals scored

We spent 36% of our possession in the attacking third, with 30% in the middle third and 34% in our defensive third.

Of our passes, 77% came in the middle third, with 16% in the attacking third and 7% in the defensive third.

Looking Ahead

We have an immediate opportunity to respond as we're back at Valley Road on Tuesday night.

We welcome Darwen FC in the First Round of the Edward Case Cup North, with a place in the next round up for grabs.

Flixton FC vs Darwen FC
Edward Case Cup 1st Round North
Tuesday 6th October | 7:45pm
Valley Road, M41 8RQ

We’ll be looking to bounce back from Saturday’s defeat and continue our cup run.