Recap
Bishop’s Stortford 0-1 AFC Sudbury Match Report
21/4/25
Pitching In Southern League Premier Central Division
Hamish Arnold
Ryan Henshaw returned to haunt Bishop’s Stortford with the goal that secured AFC Sudbury’s survival in the Southern League Premier Central Division on Easter Monday. The former Blues captain – who led the team to the Isthmian League Premier Division title and promotion two seasons ago – scored the only goal of the game to leave the Blues needing a win on the final day at Bromsgrove Sporting to remain at Step Three, unless Redditch United or Barwell drop points.
Myles Cowling’s shot was blocked by a sliding Mark Haines in the box, before a low shot by Joe Neal went wide of the bottom left corner. Jake Turner picked up the ball on the edge of the box for the visitors but his low shot was watched wide by Elliot Krasniqi. Henshaw jumped to meet Marcel Lewis’ free kick from the lift but couldn’t make contact, before he headed clear Cole Dasilva’s corner at the other end, Presley Evans met it with a first-time volley shot, but shot wide.
Stortford broke from a spell of Sudbury pressure and Rashawn Scott led the counter attack, he slid the ball through to Luka Chalwell, but a weak touch allowed Charlie Lewis to recover and tackle the midfielder. Scott’s long throw from the right was cleared back to him, he passed to Dasilva on the overlap, who fizzed a low cross to the middle of the box but Fabio Virciglio fired over the bar. Evans saw his low shot saved at the near post from a right wing cross, the ball had made its way through to him after Chalwell failed to make contact with an overhead kick in the middle. Cowling cut in off the left wing and shot right footed, Virciglio made the block and saw the ball loop up into Krasniqi’s arms.
HT 0-0
Evans fired wide on the volley from a half-cleared long throw from the left, before Thomas Dickens’ late run to the back post from a corner nearly forced a breakthrough but he poked the ball over the bar. Substitute Nahum Melvin-Lambert won the header from Dasilva’s deep free kick, but Thompson couldn’t turn and finish from the knock down when he took up a central position in front of the goalkeeper. Matthew Miles fired over the bar from outside the box, before Bradbrook parried Scott’s right footed shot but only onto the crossbar, and Dasilva’s rebound shot was blocked for a corner. Krasniqi saved Cowling’s low shot from the middle of the box, then was left stranded when he came to claim a deep free kick but misread the flight of the ball, but he would have been relieved to see Brad Russell clear off the line. Marcel Lewis’ free kick from the right was headed by Jaden Ogwuazor but coudln’t get the ball clear, and Henshaw found the bottom right corner with a left footed volley from 10 yards. Thompson thought he had found the equaliser late on with a glancing header from Dasilva’s corner, but it was cleared off the line, before Russell fired narrowly wide from 25 yards late on.
FT 0-1
TEAMS
Bishop’s Stortford XI
1 Elliot Krasniqi (GK)
2 Cole Dasilva
4 Gary Cohen (Melvin-Lambert 45’)
5 Jake Thompson (c)
6 Mark Haines
10 Bradley Russell (Yellow card 28’)
11 Rashawn Scott (Yellow card 79’)
12 Fabio Virciglio (Forde 81’)
14 Luka Chalwell
16 Jaden Ogwuazor (Yellow card 71’)
17 Presley Evans (Charles 60’)
Subs
3 Harry Forde (Yellow card 82’)
8 Mason Cook
9 Nahum Melvin-Lambert
15 Ryan Charles
19 Eyituoyo Akinbulumo
AFC Sudbury XI
1 James Bradbrook
2 Charlie Lewis (Yellow card 60’)
4 Jake Turner (c) (Yellow card 71’)
5 Ryan Henshaw (Goal 76’)
6 Thomas Dickens
7 Matthew Miles
8 Oliver Peters
9 Joe Neal (Yellow card 90+4’)
10 Myles Cowling (Bradley 89’)
11 Callum Page
17 Marcel Lewis (Pearce 90+3’)
Subs
12 Liam Pearce
13 Kasey Clark
14 Ben Bradley
18 Luca Terminiello
19 Stanley Richardson
Attendance 708
