Quorn AFC  v  Tamworth

Sat 8 Aug - 15:00 Pre season friendly

Quorn AFC

0-5

Tamworth

Match Report

The Lambs return to live football action came 154 days since the last run out against Stratford, days before the 2019-20 league season was cut short.

Since then the world has become a wholly different place and the so the visit to AFC Quorn was a surreal event with only a very small number of club officials on the terraces and the two squads at opposite ends of the Farley Way 3G surface in a behind closed doors encounter, with Government guidelines in place, FA direction being followed and social distancing being observed.

Due to the searing heat, the match itself was almost played in four quarters, with extended drinks breaks in each half.
Tamworth got the game underway and immediate took the play to their hosts.
New signing Shaquille McDonald looked hungry going forwards while Jordan Cullinane-Liburd and Lindon Miekle slotted into the side almost seamlessly in the centre of defence and on the right wing respectively.
Alongside them were two trialists that we’re not able to name, but we can say that they were not unfamiliar faces.
And the remainder of the starting eleven was definitely no surprise, nor was the style of play as Ryan Beswick took control in the middle alongside Aaron Forde with Bilal Yafai looking to receive balls or provide them through to the number 9 on his own up front.
Chances in the final third came regularly and McDonald was always in the thick of the action either creating spaces or testing his shooting boots, forcing home keeper Corbette to react in the first 10 minutes.
The Lambs kept up the pressure and took the lead on 12 when Yafai slotted home a diagonally goal bound effort from McDonald (1-0, 12 mins)
Nine minutes later is was 2-0 and this time McDonald got his rewards after Forde threaded the ball through the Quorn back line and McDonald took it around the keeper before slotting it home from the right of the box. (2-0, 21 mins)
It didn’t take long for the third to come and Yafai perhaps could have finished the left sided cross himself but unselfishly ghosted over the ball allowing Meikle to rifle home from 8 yards out much to his and his teammates delight (3-0, 28 mins)
McDonald continued to try and add to his tally but was denied by Corbette on 33 and the first change of the game came on 35 with Tyrell Waite replacing the number 9 up front.
And it didn’t Waite long to get on the scoresheet, picking up the ball on the edge of the area and firing home past the flat footed keeper (4-0, 38 mins)

Second half changes

The second half saw Tamworth make six changes before the restart, and Quorn came out with more of a sense of purpose than was seen in the first perhaps mindful of not wanting a similar scoreline against them in the next 45 minutes.
McDonald though was looking for his second and fired past a defender and would have beaten the keeper but his shot rose over the corner of bar and post on 55.
He directed an angled shot wide of the mark soon after and Quorn mounted a rare threat on Jas Singh’s goal with Gladman picking up Dale’s right sided cross but was unable to fire it home forcing Singh in a low stop.
As the ‘second half side' found their feet and blew the cobwebs away new signings Dexter Walters and Tom Tonks started to make their presence felt while the returning duo of Lathaniel Rowe-Turner and Jimmy Fry looked like they had never been away.
Walters was causing problems down the left while also firing in numerous corners and youngster Ryan Tait stood out in The Lambs midfield, taking the play to Quorn at every opportunity.
On 64 Mangondoza was booked for a frustrated tackle on the continually tricky Walters.
Waite notched his second goal of the game on 75 with a fine volley off McDonald’s chip into the box from the right (5-0, 75 mins) and nearly bagged a hat-trick in the next move but couldn’t wrap his foot far enough around the ball to curl it inside the far post.
As the time ran down it was clear the heat was starting to affect the speed of play but neither side was relaxing their intent and McDonald saw his late freekick glance off the wall to take it just wide of the mark before the final whistle blew on a good work out, minutes on the pitch and a cleansheet.

1st half: Singh, trialist, Wilder, Beswick, Magunda, Cullinane-Liburd, Miekle, Forde, trialist (Waite 35), Yafai, McDonald

2nd half: Singh, trialist, Rowe-Turner, Tonks, Tait, Cullinane-Liburd, Fry, Walters, Waite, trialist, McDonald

Corbette, Ryquist, Scanlon, Godd, Dawson, Whyman, Oshungbure, Russell, Dale, Hart, Gladman
Subs (all used), Mangondoza, Phipps + 5 trialists

YC: Mangondoza 64