Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Game 29: Laverstock & Ford 2.6 Lymington Town (WESS PREM) 17.11.09










Headed over to Laverstock with Andy to see if they could improve their home form under new management against a Lymington team just above them in the table. In the opening period both teams created some opportunities from corners. Laverstock had a shot on target but directly at the Lymington keeper after 8 minutes while Lymington saw a shot cleared by a header off the line and a free header placed wide from the follow up corner a few minutes later.

Laverstock had a good chance to take the lead in the 15th minute following a run down the right wing from inside their half to the corner of the box. The ball was pulled back to the edge of the area and while the first player running in missed the ball, the second player did connect with a shot only to see it fly over the bar. They did take the lead three minutes later from another break down the right. This time the cross was hit to the back post and found a Laverstock head. The ball bounced down and in to the net.

Lymington started to put some pressure on but the Laverstock defence held firm with some good clearances and timely headers. In the 34th minute a ball was played across the Laverstock box from the right and eluded all 3 Laverstock defenders but no-one could get a touch on the ball to steer it towards goal. Laverstock were reduced to counter-attacks but managed to score a second goal in the 38th minute. The ball was cleared to the right wing and then played across the box to an unmarked player who slotted the ball back across goal and past the keeper.

At this point I started to wonder if Laverstock could win the game as the Lymington team didn't looked to have settled into the game. This didn't last long as Lymington pressed forward again. They had a long shot that flew the wrong side of the post and in the 44th minute another long shot on target. The keeper had the ball covered but let it spill out rather than catch it as he had done on a couple of previous occasions. A Lymington player followed it up and put a shot to the keepers left which went just wide of the post. It didn't look as if the keeper had touched it but the referee awarded Lymington a corner from which they scored.

The Laverstock lead didn't last long into the second half. In the 51st minute Lymington won another corner and got the equaliser with a diving header. Laverstock heads were down and Lymington continued to put the pressure on their backline, helped by a defensive line that was so high up the pitch it was almost in the Laverstock half!

In the 73rd minute the pressure finally paid off as Lymington took the lead from a quick break down the left wing. The ball was pulled back to the centre where a player tapped the ball across to a team mate running in on the back post. He took a shot and hit it past the keeper from a tight angle. The Laverstock keeper went down in some pain and both physios were soon on the pitch. It turned out that he had broken his finger trying to make the save and the bone had gone through the skin. An ambulance was called and after a delay of five minutes or so the game continued with a substitute keeper.

Laverstock had a couple of attempts at goal but no clear cut chances as Lymington pressed for more goals. They added a fourth in the 80th minute, a fifth in the 84th minute and a sixth in the 90th minute. The fourth goal came from a low cross into the box. The first shot was blocked by a defender but he was unable to stop the second shot from 8 yards out. The fifth came from a break down the right with a high cross to the back post finding an unmarked player who put a well placed header between the keeper and a defender. The final goal came after Laverstock lost the ball in the midfield. After a great dribble down the right the winger crossed the ball into the six yard box and a team mate shot past the keeper.

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