Despite the earlier heavy November rain, a dry afternoon meant that Andy and I were more concerned with some fog that was starting to move across the pitch as we arrived at Laverstock's ground. Andy parked the car so we could watch the game in the dry if conditions deteriorated and as the two teams came out for kickoff the haze on the far side of the pitch had drifted away.
Laverstock haven't won a home league game this season while Winchester have drawn 11 games so both teams were in the bottom half of the league prior to this fixture. However Winchester could count on the experience of former Portsmouth and Brighton defender Guy Butters and in the opening quarter of an hour started to dominate the game. The first goal arrived after 14 minutes from a free kick on the edge of the box. The ball was hit forward with pace and one of the Winchester players ran across the area and glanced the ball with his head past the home keeper.
Laverstock had a good opportunity to equalise a minute later. The ball was played high and bounced just outside the area. The Winchester keeper came to the line and attempted to catch the ball as it dropped into the area but was beaten to it by a Laverstock player. He passed the ball back to a team mate to take a shot but his on target shot wasn't far enough away from the covering defenders who were able to clear the ball.
In the 23rd minute Winchester made it 0.2 when one of their players took the ball through the middle and hit a great shot from the edge of the box up into the top left corner of the net. Laverstock were lucky not to have conceded a penalty for handball a couple of minutes earlier or to have no players booked after a couple of late tackles. As with the first goal, Laverstock had a good chance to equalise just after conceding. On this occasion Heath got past the defence on the far left and put a great ball into the middle but the player following up hit his shot way over the bar.
Winchester extended their lead in the 35th minute following some good wingplay on the right. The ball was passed into the penalty area where a Winchester player spun to beat his marker and played a quick and low ball past the Laverstock keeper to a team mate who slid in and scored from close range. In the 40th minute it was 0.4 to the visitors. Another freekick was conceded on the edge of the Laverstock box and this time it was played to feet. The impressive number 8 twisted round and hit an excellent shot into the top left corner.
After the excitement of the first half, the second half was fairly dull until both teams made all their substitutions around the 70th minute. Suddenly the game was brought to life by the fresh legs and in the 75th minute it was Winchester - who had included a goalkeeper substitution - who won the ball in midfield and played it in to the middle. Laverstock tried to play offside but the two Winchester players who ran forward were both onside. This numerical advantage meant that one player was able to take the ball towards the keeper before passing the ball across to his teammate to score once the keeper was committed.
Laverstock created a couple of chances but both shots were hit straight at the Winchester goalkeeper.In the 79th minute Winchester made it 0.6. The ball was worked along the edge of the box and then to the right of the defence. The Winchester player dummied the defender and slipped the ball past him before smashing a shot along the ground and in. The visitors should have scored again with a chance similar to the 6th where a passback would have found a free team mate to tap the ball in but the striker went for a chip over the keeper that was saved.
To everyone's surprise the next goal came from Laverstock in the 85th minute. They won a corner and when the ball fell into the box a volley of frustration connected and the ball was cracked into the back of the goal before the keeper could move. Winchester had a couple more chances but both were well saved by the Laverstock keeper who had a better game than the scoreline suggests.
No comments:
Post a Comment