REPORT: Royston Town 1-2 Quorn

Goals from Finn O’Boyle and Zak Goodson helped Quorn to their first league win in over a month as Joe Iaciofano’s late penalty proved to be little more than a consolation for struggling Royston Town. The Reds almost made the dream start as Goodson found himself with a free shot at goal from the edge of the box in the first minute, but he curled his effort wide.

Jacob Fenton, who bagged a brace the week before, was dominant leading the line for Quorn, but also missed the target when he had a shot from range in the 6th minute. The Reds didn’t have to wait too much longer to take the lead, O’Boyle opening the scoring in the 12th minute with his fourth goal in the past seven matches. The electric forward was played through on goal by Cain Noble, taking the ball around Louis Chadwick, though he could have gone down under the challenge of the Royston ‘keeper, O’Boyle stayed on his feet and curled the ball into the far corner from a tight angle.

Adam Harrison was also busy in the Quorn goal, making a stupendous save before the half hour mark, tipping a powerful drive over to maintain the lead. Chadwick was next to make a fine stop as Noble’s effort was blocked, Goodson latched onto the loose ball and fired a blast in from close range that the Crows’ shot-stopper stood-up to, having to shake off a stinger to continue.

O’Boyle almost had a second before the break, but ended a mazy run with a shot that went narrowly over the bar. Quorn had definitely had the better of the first half, but failed to make the most of the advantage, taking a narrow 1-0 lead in at half-time. The Methodists stepped up the dominance after the break, eventually rewarded by Goodson’s 15th goal of the season before the hour mark.

Intricate passing down the left saw a ball into the middle that O’Boyle flicked onto marauding full-back Silvio Bello. The versatile defender dug the ball out of his feet to cue up Goodson for a simple finish and deserved a 2-0 lead. Quorn continued to drive forward, looking to finish off their bottom-of-the-table opponents, but Royston proved a stubborn challenge, refusing to lie down.

For the final twenty minutes the Crows gave their supporters something to get behind, pinning Quorn back into their own half for the remainder of the match. The Reds scarcely looked too troubled but when they gave away a penalty in the 87th minute, Iaciofano stepped up to convert, making for a nervy ending. Captain Adam Murray had a good chance to equalise deep into stoppage time, but headed over from close-range as the Reds took all three points from their first ever visit to Garden Walk.