Football
Luckie double earns Alvechurch a point

JAZZ LUCKIE continued his recent prolific form in front of goal with a brace to help Alvechurch earn a 2-2 draw at high-flying Bridgnorth Town in a Midland Alliance thriller on Saturday.

There was a sensational start to the match - which saw a depleted Alvechurch hand a start to 17-year-old William Calkeld alongside James Cosgrave in central midfield - as three goals were scored inside four minutes.

In the first minute the hosts' Karl Griffiths curled an unstoppable shot into Liam Maher's left hand corner to open the scoring but the visitors were level two minutes later when Ryan Edmunds' free kick from the left was headed in off the post by Luckie.

Just a minute later though Alvechurch trailed again when Griffiths' cross from the right was headed home by Liam Bood via the underside of the bar.

On the half hour mark Luckie headed over the bar but his determination to get into scoring positions was rewarded eight minutes before the break when he got on the end of Ryan Hatfield's right wing cross to power home another header.

Luckie almost put his side ahead before the break but slipped when well placed as he tried to latch on to Omari Sterling-James' cross.

The game appeared to have turned decisively in Alvechurch's favour just after the restart when Town's Jason Pike received a second yellow card for a late challenge, but the hosts dug in and made life difficult for the visitors to assert their numerical superiority.

The best chance for a winner arrived 20 minutes from time when Tristian Dunkley headed wide of a gaping goal at the far post after getting on the end of Sterling-James' cross from the right.

Despite the disappointment of failing to earn maximum points, this was a creditable point for mid-table Alvechurch against their sixth placed hosts and they continue to move in the right direction as they prepare to entertain winless and rock-bottom Ellesmere Rangers tomorrow.

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