REPORT: Quorn 3-0 Corby Town

By Kurt Barnes

Quorn won a crucial six pointer against Corby Town in front of a bumper crowd that reached over 500. Cain Noble’s first half brace put the Reds in cruise control at half-time with Zak Goodson adding a wonder strike shortly before full time.

Quorn’s first chance came inside sixty seconds as Goodson’s near post shot was easily gathered by the Corby keeper Ross Durrant. Corby hit back straight away on the break winning a corner that fortunately came to nothing, with a header going over. The Reds were in again in the fifth minute, as a frantic opening saw Lucas Alonzi’s shot easily saved by Durant.

The hosts were looking the stronger of the two sides and were soon 1-0 up when the Steelmen found themselves in trouble from an errant back pass. Noble was in the right place at the right time, beating Durrant to the ball and wheeling away to celebrate as he turned the ball in from a narrow angle.

Corby had a few bites of the cherry to get back level. A corner from the visitors on the 16th minute was a fantastic opportunity but a poor header went over the bar. They earned another opportunity just a minute later though, but Neo Dodson shot wide. The Reds had managed to withstand the pressure from Corby and on the 26th minute won a freekick in a dangerous area. However, the usually pinpoint accuracy from Ryan Beswick was somewhat lacking and his freekick sailed over.

The visitors countered in the 29th minute after a freekick that came to nothing but fortunately for Quorn the offside flag came to the rescue. Corby were on the lookout for an equaliser which would have been a bitter blow for the Reds but Jordan O’Brien’s effort went agonisingly wide.

Quorn were soon back amongst the chances, when Rodrigo Goncalves received the ball after a tantalising cross that was met by Noble, but he was so unlucky to put the ball wide after coming so close to a second. Just a minute later it was 2-0 to the Methodists as Goodson latches onto Reece Fyfe’s ball into the corner. The pacey forward jinked inside, only to see his shot parried by Durrant. However, Noble was in the perfect position to score, tapping in for his 11th goal of the season.

Town came out in the second half, desperately looking for a goal to get them back into the game. Captain Rory McAuley’s header went just over within a minute of the restart. Noble could have had his hat-trick on the 54th minute if it wasn’t for a well-timed touch from Durrant to keep his team in the game. Corby were desperately trying to get back into the match and countered ferociously but the end product wasn’t quite there, with an awful cross that didn’t trouble the Reds.

Quorn controlled proceedings from that point, comfortably holding the visitors at arms-length. It wasn’t until the introduction of Paddy Webb and Jordan Clark that the Reds started to push forward again in search of a third goal to kill the contest. In the 80th minute Beswick tried his luck when Durrant was off his line, but the Corby shot-stopper recovered well.

Webb came close to adding an eleventh of the season when he rounded the keeper, but his effort was cleared off the line. He collected the ball, only to see another effort blocked. Goodson was next to try his luck but the same defender made a third block on the line. Webb eventually forced the ball over the line, but the Assistant flagged for offside.

Goodson and Webb did eventually combine for a third, showing incredible desire in the final minute. Webb chased down a clearance, keeping it in play and pulling the ball back into the middle. Goodson stepped up to the edge of the D and unleashed a thunderbolt into the top corner, celebrating with a spot of breakdancing as Quorn stretched their lead at the top of the table back to 19 points. Next up for Beswick’s side is an away trip to bottom side Grantham Town.