Highlights: AFC Sudbury 3 Grays Athletic 2

What a Play Off Semi Final we had. Five goals, controversy, and entertainment from first whistle to last.

There were nineteen points between AFC Sudbury and Grays Athletic at the end of the regular season, but the gap between the sides was paper-thin at the MEL Group Stadium on Tuesday night.

Athletic hadn't defeated the Yellows since March 2019, and had lost both encounters during the regular season, but there was no hint of nerves as Sam Bantick fired home the opener on fourteen minutes, firing across the goal into the bottom corner. The Yellows responded ten minutes later, a Reggie Lambe pile driver from distance finding the top corner, but it took only two more minutes for Athletic to regain the lead, Lewis Clark hammering home.

The match turned in favour of the hosts ten minutes after the restart, a shot from Josh Stokes blocked on the line, and the referee deciding that it had been done so illegally, showing Macauley Jones a red card for handball. The opinion of Yellow's boss Rick Andrews, given after the game, was that it should have been neither a penalty nor a red card, so it seems rather harsh on Athletic, but Sudbury took advantage, Nnamdi Nwachuku converting for his FORTY NINTH goal of the season- and with nineteen minutes remaining the hosts got the winner, Reece Harris firing low into the bottom corner to deliver a famous victory.

Image from Steve Screech.

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