Tadcaster Albion were defeated in their final NCEL Premier Division game of the season on a fine Spring afternoon at home to playoff-bound Beverley, the winner arriving in the 90th minute courtesy of second-half substitute Luka Suluburic. The Brewers were reduced to 10 men prior to conceding and weren’t able to recover despite a solid defensive performance.

Before kick off, the whole ground rose to their feet to give a heartfelt minute’s applause for the late season ticket holder David Lewis, described as “a true non-league football fan” on the club’s Twitter page who “will be sadly missed .

Fraser Middleton-Tozer earned a place in the starting lineup following an impressive cameo in the last home outing against Hallam and began brightly, sending a low cross from the left which was cut out but looped into the air with Charlie Thompson able to head it towards goal and force Oash into a smart early save.

The home side were getting stuck in with plenty of grit in the opening quarter of an hour, but Beverley went closest to scoring early on as James Piercy found McCauley Snelgrove in space on the right edge of the penalty area. His cut back found former Brewer Elliot Andrew, who notched 20 league goals whilst registered with the club, with two much room only for Sam Green to get down quickly and make the save with his leg.

Green was called upon again on 25 minutes when Andrew threaded a pass to Snelgrove and the number 10 aimed another pin-point cross that skimmed the surface and a backheel at the front post nearly caught out Tadcaster’s keeper but the ball was steered clear of crossing the line.

Andrew’s second chance to notch a goal against his old club came not long after, catching workhorse centre midfielder Andrew Shepherd dwelling on the ball just shy of the ‘D’ and dragging a wasteful effort wide of the post.

The first half had died down considerably and was mired with fouls yet Tadcaster were showing a decent resolve not to have their defence pierced by Beverley, who knew that they might be heading out of the playoff places with the score level.

The promotion chasers were looking the more dangerous side and had the last chance of the first half. Following a scrap 30 yards from the Beverley net, the ball was offloaded to Eddie Birch, the replacement for an injured Tom Algar, and worked out to the left before Snelgrove saw his shot well-blocked.

Although Tadcaster were briefly reduced to 10 men as Keiran Greenway was sent to the sinbin for dissent, the second half was fairly even until over half an hour in. Credit was due to captain Dan Thirkell and Andrew Shepherd, constantly giving shouts to organise their teammates and nip in with important interceptions.

But their discipline was slowly breaking down and attacking midfielder Ronnie McGrath was shown two back-to-back yellow cards for a bookable challenge on halfway and his involvement in the melee that was sparked by the foul, involving nearly every player on the pitch -Tadcaster had to see out the last 15 minutes with 10 men.

Winger Glen Sani, who was the focus of many attacks in the first half, came close to scoring the opener as the contest entered the last 5 minutes after Nathan Ofori escaped the challenge of powerful centre back Heaton in the left channel and managed to pick out his teammate. Sani’s shot was well blocked.

Substitute Cameron Connolly created a promising chance of his own, using his strength to shield the ball with his back from Thirkell and scamper past him for what may have been the first time all afternoon before his shot was beaten away by the right glove of Green.

Growing more and more desperate for a winner, Beverley’s final push forward would prove one too many for Tadcaster to repel. Sani had the ball at his feet and with his back to goal struck a tidy reverse pass to Ofori on the left, catching the defensive line too high. Cutting the ball back from the byline, he found an unmarked Luka Suluburic on hand to place an accurate shot into the bottom left and leaving Green rooted to his feet. 0-1.

Tadcaster finish 17th in their second consecutive season in the NCEL Premier Division, a healthy 10 points clear of the relegation places. The Brewers collected the majority of wins at the Young Guns Arena and will look to build on their qualities at home heading into next season.

And the Beavers? It transpired that Albion Sports has been beaten away at Handsworth and they would have made the play offs anyway!

Tadcaster: Green, Charlesworth, Wilson, Thirkell (C), Heaton, Shepherd (87’ Georgiou), Thompson (87’ Owen), McGrath (76’ sent off), Middleton-Tozer (61’ Tomlinson), Norman (77’ Ibrahimi)

Beverley: Oash, Larkin, Stockhill (65’ Sellars), Hotte, Plummer (Knaggs), Piercy, Sani, Algar (26’ Birch), Andrew (57’ Connolly), Snelgrove (57’ Suluburic), Ofori

Tony Howarth Golf Man of the Match : Andrew Shepherd

Attendance: 296

Report from Oliver Whitmore – Photos Courtesy of Keith Handley