Rushden Rangers 2 v Thrapston Town
5
Football. The power to infuriate, the power to frustrate, but also the power to inspire, to fill the heart with joy and even persuade an old hack out of retirement in this, a most interesting football week.
After the midweek Wembley fiasco, when half the side went missing quicker than a DWP computer disk, how we needed some cheer this weekend. And did we get it; first Sam’s “big fat ‘ed” got a little closer to the Geordie chopping block, then Royston Keane gets tonked, and finally and most amusingly old Taggart gets sent to the stand to savour defeat in comfort. All this to warm the heart on a day that was colder and frostier than a Benitez: Hicks phone call…
Could it get any better today, as the Town travelled to Rushden for a floodlit encounter at Hayden Road? Well as it transpired all those aforementioned powers were experienced in 70 minutes, watched by a large tea time crowd.
Thrapston started well enough. An early move saw Jordan Davis convert and celebrate with a double flip with pike – although the landing wasn’t perfect, he scored well for artistic impression. However, a false sense of security now purveyed the Town ranks, and as the crowd amused themselves behind the dug out with cliché after footballing cliché, so the tide turned Rusden’s way.
First, a Keystone cops moment as Buster Keaton’s short free kick, failed to find Charlie Chaplin and a goal ensued in a hilarious, uproarious way. Next a fine Rushden move – so good to watch that the thrapstonites did just that, and allowed an unchallenged forward to round it off in style and give Rushden the lead. Just before half time Devante Hodgson rounded off a decent move to allow Town to go in all square, a little undeservedly so.
Half Time; words were required, and utterances were made in the away dressing room. In the second half a different Thrapston emerged. They tackled and challenged and ran and supported each other in a way that that been so completely and abjectly missing in the first half.
As a result, they completely dominated, but took time to convert this into a goals advantage. Then Tom Alsop started a move down the left, and when the ball was pulled back by Hodgson to the edge of the box Alsop was on hand to rifle home. Next up, a Rivett Throw finds its way to Alsop who takes the ball on and steers the ball home to give Town some daylight, well floodlight anyway.
With 5 minutes left Josh Ledward rounded off a man of the match super sub performance in the fairclough, circa 1977 styli with a goal to see the town home and clear at the top of the division.
A game of two halfs; from sick as a parrot to over the moon in the space of a half. Three points, a 100% floodlight record and a confidence boosting second half performance which means that at the half way point in the season, Town lead the way in the division.
Final Score Thrapston Town Five, Rushden Rangers Two.
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