Despite the visit of the Blue Square Premier league leaders Oxford United to Salisbury for a 3 o'clock game, there was a decent crowd of around 150 by the time this game kicked off and the terrace we normally watch from was packed. Bemerton were second at the start of play but from the opening period you could have thought the team in green and white were challenging for the title as Laverstock made several good chances. The final touch was lacking each time the ball came into the Bemerton box, otherwise they would have been several goals down by the fifteen minute mark.
The breakthrough finally came in the 16th minute. Laverstock's main threat was coming from pacy wide man Youseff Bamba and when he couldn't take the ball down the right wing he decided to cut in and take a shot from the edge of the area. Porter in the Bemerton goal didn't hang onto the shot and the spilt ball fell straight to one of the two onrushing Laverstock strikers. Without hesitation he volleyed the ball into the back of the net.
The lead only lasted four minutes as Bemerton managed to pull a goal back against the run of play. The ball was played down the right wing for a cross to come in from near the byline to the centre of the area. Jack Slade rose up and from my vantage point I could see his header was heading for the top corner as soon as the ball touched his head. The Laverstock keeper made a brave effort to try and reach the ball but to no avail.
The game then settled down as both teams pushed for another goal and also had a reasonable shout for a penalty turned down by the referee. There were some strong tackles and a nasty clash of heads just after the half hour which saw a Laverstock player requiring treatment from both physios before he could continue.
Bemerton took the lead from another cross in the 39th minute when they beat the offside trap and took the ball down to the left byline. A low cross found its way into the box and a Bemerton head stooped down in the centre to knock the ball past the keeper and into the back of the net.
The referee had kept good control on the game but there was a flurry of yellow cards just before injury time for some late tackles and verbals - two for Bemerton and one for Laverstock.
Laverstock had a great chance to equalise as the game went into injury time when the Bemerton keeper came well off his line to try and clear the ball and only succeeded in punching it to Bamba. He hit a first time chip wide of the post with an empty goal to aim at and should have taken some time to control the ball first. This mistake proved costly as Bemerton took the ball up the other end and scored a third. Another cross came in from the right and a missed clearance allowed a Bemerton player to kick the ball past the keeper who had dived the other way in anticipation.
These defensive frailties were addressed in the second half as Laverstock made two substitutions and went to a disciplined 3-5-2 formation. Their players stuck to their roles rather than pushing forward and leaving gaps for Bemerton to exploit. In the 51st minute Laverstock came really close to pulling a goal back as a superb dribble from midfield was followed up with a screamer that the Bemerton keeper just managed to touch onto the crossbar. The ball bounced over but the touch was missed by the officials who gave a goal kick.
Laverstock continued to press and managed to bring the scoreline to 3.2 in the 71st minute with an excellent shot from the left of the penalty area that curved round the keeper and into the side netting. Bemerton looked a bit nervous at the back and their passing wasn't as effective as the latter part of the first half. They brought on a sub up front who made all the difference in the last ten minutes.
In the 80th minute he crossed the ball from the left and found an unmarked Adam Jones who put his header onto the crossbar when it seemed easier to put it on target. The game was finally settled in injury time when he broke through the Laverstock defence on the right and drew a defender with him as he ran into the area. He then played a pinpoint pass to Joe Sanger who was unmarked in the area and calmly passed the ball into the back of the net to give Bemerton a 4.2 victory.
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