After heavy rain and winds were forecast for the weekend, Saturday morning was spent in the dry working out some alternative fixtures in case the game at Shortwood was called off. I found a few possibilities and saved various bookmarks onto the phone so we could monitor postponents as the morning wore on. While I was doing this I got a call from Alan to let me know that he was on the hard shoulder of the motorway after a lorry had shed some of its load and some wood had gone under his car - this reduced his gears from 5 to 0, luckily he was able to brake and get to the side of the road.
Andy and I left Salisbury and on the drive up to Stroud the rain got heavier and heavier. More games in the area were getting called off but there was no news on the pitch condition as Shortwood. After a wander round the shops we drove to Nailsworth for lunch - only to find the pub kitchen didn't open until the evening! A quick drink was followed by a trip to the chippy we had spotted earlier and then we drove up to have a quick look at Forest Green's ground before heading up some narrow roads to the top of the hill where Shortwood's ground is found.
I jumped out of the car and wandered over to the turnstiles where the gatekeeper confirmed that the game was on and that there was a clubhouse to shelter in before the game. The promise of beer meant that Andy was soon out of the car and after paying £5 for entrance and a programme we were in. Last season Shortwood had a successful run in the FA Cup but were beaten 3.0 by Bemerton in the FA Vase so this tie was an opportunity for the hosts to take revenge. Bemerton had gone out of the Vase in the last two seasons at this stage - both times to late extra time goals.
There were two stands along the side of the pitch and some shelter at the near end of the ground next to the clubhouse which gave a decent view of the pitch. I nominated the new stand as the vantage point for the game as the main "Howard Webb" stand had some posts at the front which would have made taking photographs more difficult - although it offered better shelter from the driving rain.
The home team decided to kick into the strong wind in the first half and this gave Bemerton an opportunity as the ball was carrying a long way in the wind. In the 6th minute a free kick was punted 30 yards into the area and flew over the keeper's hands and into the top corner. The effort was disallowed by the referee as he felt the keeper had been impeded by two Bemerton players who had jumped with him for the ball. This seemed a bit harsh as it didn't look like they had fouled him and the ball looked to be out of his reach.
Bemerton seemed to be coping with the conditions better in the first quarter of an hour with some good passing football. They were attacking in numbers but couldn't play a good cross or final ball to set up a straightforward opportunity to test the keeper. Shortwood hadn't created much until the 16th minute when they intercepted the ball in midfield and played a good through ball low down the middle for a player to chase. He beat the defenders to the ball and then took it wide round Bemerton's keeper to pass it into the net. A well taken goal.
The rain started to clear around the 20 minute mark although it was still very windy. Andy had his umbrella up in the side of the stand to try and keep the wind and water at bay and on a couple of occasions he was almost blown out of the stand. The wind might have been better used to reflate the deflated Bemerton players as Shortwood took control of the game. They had one opportunity cleared off the line and Bemerton almost conceded an own goal when a clearance from a low cross was just placed wide before a Shortwood foot could get to the ball. Another attempt on the halfhour saw the ball ripple the side netting when a shot from an acute angle hit the stanchion from outside the goalmouth.
In the 38th minute Shortwood put a shot over the bar and Bemerton copied this five minutes later when the ball was carefully worked across the box only for the shooter to lean back at the crucial moment. This was only a temporary respite and Shortwood should have scored again moments before half time. The ball was won on the left side and a great long cross found a player running in on the right side. His efforts to reach the ball were in vain as his attempt to place the header on target led to the ball flying wide of the near post.
Andy retired to the covered standing by the bar (and later to the bar itself!) for the second half while I returned to the stand. In the 50th minute Shortwood had a good shot turned wide for a corner. The corner was floated into a congested penalty area and cleared out but only to a Shortwood player who hit an unstoppable shot into the back of the net. The Bemerton players protested that the keeper had been impeded by an attacker which stopped him from being able to attempt to save the shot but the keeper waved away their protests. The protests and verbals continued for several minutes and led eventually to a player being booked and the bench being spoken too. As the Shortwood manager observed, "This lot could whinge for England".
Bemerton should have got back into the game three minutes later when a ball into the box finally managed to find an orange shirt, only for Sanger to take a heavy touch instead of shooting first time and losing control of the ball. A minute later and another good opportunity was wasted. This time a cross was played to the back post and the header was on target but bounced off the bar and down onto the goal line where a defender gratefully cleared the ball before it could be forced over the line.
Shortwood realised that the game wasn't over yet and stepped up a gear with a great run down the right wing. When the cross came in there were two unmarked home players in the box. The first player left it for his team mate but his attempt at a diving header didn't make contact and he ended up diving under the ball. The home team took a 3.0 lead in the 63rd minute. A corner was delivered to the far post where a Shortwood head rose high above the defence and steered the ball over the keeper's hands and into the goal.
Bemerton continued to get frustrated with the way the game had gone and another player was booked for continual dissent with the officials. There were a couple of tackles from both teams that led to some verbal altercations and the atmosphere turned a bit sour. By the end of the game Bemerton's passing game had been reduced to hoof and hope and Shortwood almost added a fourth from a one-on-one chance when the striker chose to pass the ball wide to a team mate instead of taking a shot. This allowed Bemerton to recover the ball.
There was enough injury time for the Bemerton keeper to make some acrobatic saves to tip shots over the bar and for his counterpart in the Shortwood goal to make a good save with his feet before the referee decided to put Bemerton out of their misery and blow the final whistle. A good performance from the home team to tie the FA Vase series at 1 a piece - be interesting to see if these teams get drawn against each other again next season for a decider!
No comments:
Post a Comment