Game 33: Laverstock & Ford 3.4 United Services Portsmouth (WESS 1) 05.04.08

Decided to visit Laverstock today for the visit of US Portsmouth. Although we’re now in the last month of the season, this was the first time that the two sides have met with the reverse game in Portsmouth next Saturday.


Both teams have been on a good run of form and it was no surprise to see a number of goals in a topsy-turvy fixture.





Laverstock took the lead in the 15th minute with a carefully placed lob over the keeper from the right of the penalty area. In the 30th minute US Portsmouth equalised with a route one goal. The keeper played the ball up the pitch and the recipient of his pass ran on and shot past the keeper. Eight minutes later and the same tactics allowed US Portsmouth to take the lead.




Laverstock equalised from a close range shot in the last minute of the half, helped by the ball holding up in the wind and allowing the cross to be made. They retook the lead in the 60th minute from the penalty spot. It looked like the player had taken a dive but the referee decided it was a penalty and gave two bookings to US Portsmouth players for disputing the call. Good job I kept quiet! The penalty was struck to the keeper’s left and in.


It took US Portsmouth five minutes to bring the game back to all square. The ball was played down the left side and then crossed back into the centre of the box for a US Portsmouth sub to pass it into the net with the goalkeeper unsighted by another US Portsmouth player who was played on by the Laverstock defence.


In the 80th minute US Portsmouth scored another goal in this exciting game to give them a 4.3 lead. A run down the outside right beat the defence and the player took the ball into the area and shot past the approaching keeper from an acute angle.





Right at the end of the game Laverstock thought they had won another penalty when the referee pointed to the area after a tackle but he had awarded an indirect free kick. The Laverstock player who took the kick decided to go for power and see if the ball got a deflection but he got too clean a strike on it and ended up blasting the ball over the bar.


As we entered injury time Laverstock laid siege to the US Portsmouth goal to try and get another equaliser. They thought they had scored when the goalkeeper missed a ball from a corner in the middle right of the area but the shot was cleared off the line.