After watching the Pompey win, jumped into the car and arrived at Bonneymead Park with a few minutes to spare before kick off. The Amesbury manager recognised in his programme notes that his team would have to be professional and not take a win for granted, noting that it was only a couple of seasons earlier that Aldermaston has beaten them 7.2 here.
After the obligatory handshakes, Amesbury got down to business and were unlucky not to take the lead in the first minute when 3 goal attempts were saved from close range before an offside flag was raised. In the second minute an unmarked player headed the ball over the bar from a corner and I started to wonder if there would be 90 goal attempts in the game. Aldermaston managed to get into the game and although their attacking options were limited by a lack of pace and poor passing they were able to limit the Amesbury attacks.
In the 23rd minute Aldermaston had their best chance of the game as a player took the ball through the Amesbury backline and went through on goal. Before he managed to get a shot away a defender appeared from the right side and won the ball with a good tackle. On the half hour Aldermaston's keeper came to their rescue again as the ball fell into the middle of a crowded penalty area and he scrambled to keep two close range shots out of his goal.
His luck didn't last much longer as Amesbury opened the scoring from the resulting corner. The ball was played deep to the back post and headed in. Aldermaston heads didn't drop and they created another good chance in the 37th minute from a break down the right that saw the ball reach the back of the penalty area in front of an open goal but no Aldermaston player had gambled on the ball reaching the area so Amesbury were able to clear.
Amesbury scored their second goal in the 37th minute when Danny Western broke the offside trap and took the ball into the penalty area. Despite having his heel clipped by the chasing defender, he was able to steady himself to take the ball round the keeper and then hit a shot past the covering defender on the line.
In the 40th minute the dangerous Danny Western was very unfortunate not to score from a free kick just outside the area. He curved a great shot over the wall that beat the keeper but it smacked into the left post and rolled down the pitch along the goal line without going over it. Amesbury then won a corner which was taken short. The recipient ran into the area and his cross fell kindly for the Amesbury 11 to tap it in.
Just before the kick off for the second half one of the Aldermaston players quipped with a smile on his face that the snow was coming and the game would have to be replayed. There were some dark clouds which led to some very light hail for a few moments but nothing to stop the game from being completed.
The referee requested that the lights were turned on but for a couple of minutes only the lights at the far end which Amesbury were attacking came on. I wondered if that was because the officials weren't expecting the ball at the other end but it turned out just to be a temporary delay. I'm not sure if the gloom affected the referee's eyesight but he appeared to miss a blatant handball by an Aldermaston player in the penalty area and turned down the penalty appeals.
Aldermaston had a chance to pull a goal back in the 55th minute from a freekick in a similar position to the kick Western had taken in the first half. This time the ball was hit directly at the Amesbury keeper and he made an easy save.
Amesbury scored their 4th goal of the afternoon in the 60th minute. The ball was played to Western in the area and he was able to take the ball round the keeper. Although he was tripped in the process he was able to pass the ball into the net as he fell and the referee sensibly waited to see the ball cross the line rather than blow for the foul. The excitement was all too much for one young spectator who wandered underneath the barrier to stand on the edge of the pitch to the assistant's surprise. Luckily a parent appeared to carry her back before play came back over to this side of the pitch.
Amesbury added a fifth goal in the 65th minute when the ball was crossed to the backpost and bundled across the line from short range. With 15 minutes to go it was 6.0 to the fury of the Aldermaston keeper. He made a great save from a Western shot but couldn't hold the ball which fell to an Amesbury player to tap in rather than to one of his team mates to clear.
This was the last goal of the game but there were several more chances for Amesbury who hit the post again and saw an Aldermaston defender almost gift them an own goal when chesting the ball down and only just wide of the right post. Aldermaston had one opportunity very late on when the Amesbury keeper dwelt on the ball for too long and almost allowed an Aldermaston player in to win the ball from him.
Right at the death the Aldermaston keeper made another fantastic save to tip a header over the bar when his defence failed to pick up a runner into the box at a corner. It's not that often that I'd give a man of the match award to a keeper who conceded six goals but without his saves Amesbury's score would have been in double figures.
No comments:
Post a Comment