Three goals in three games for Laurence Sorhaindo as Emley AFC extend lead at the top

By Martin Eastwood

Laurence Sorhaindo scored his third goal in three matches as Emley AFC moved five points clear at the top of the Northern Premier League Division 1 East.

The Pewits beat Carlton Town 4-0 at the Fantastic Media Welfare Ground on Saturday.

It was a second successive 4-0 win for Emley, their fourth win by the same scoreline of the season so far, their 14th goal in the last four games and their fourth clean sheet in a row.

In another impressive team performance, there were excellent individual showings, plenty of attacking quality but, more importantly, some magnificent defensive work.

Sorhaindo is in goal-scoring form as he works his way back to match fitness after a long spell out following ankle ligament reconstruction.

Amir Berchil has been Emley’s top performer so far and he fired Emley ahead in the 11^th minute when Nathan Curtis cushioned a header into his path.

It could have been 2-0 in the 19^th minute when Berchil was brought down in the box but Sam Parkin’s spotkick was brilliantly saved by keeper Felix Annan.

Carlton fought back but it was Emley who took control of the game with a second goal which had a touch of good fortune about it.

With Emley’s attacks limited in the previous 10 minutes or so, it was a relief to be awarded a free kick some 25 yards out.

Parkin floated a beautiful ball onto the head of Jack Cowgill who met it with a good, firm header which smacked the post and then hit the unlucky keeper flush on his shoulder before cannoning into the net.

The second goal knocked the stuffing out of Carlton and it was 3-0 in first half stoppage time when Berchil was again fouled in the box and Curtis gave Annan absolutely no chance with the penalty.

In the 56^th minute Carlton were reduced to 10 men when Alex Howes was sent off for an awful challenge on Berchil, who took some real punishment throughout the game.

Carlton eventually ended up with five yellow cards plus the red, three of them for crude challenges on Berchil as they were completely blitzed by Emley’s left winger.

Sorhaindo made it 4-0 in the 66^th minute when he collected a defence-splitting pass and steadied himself before firing a low shot across the keeper and into the bottom corner.

Emley go to Bradford Park Avenue on Tuesday October 22 (7.45).