I decided to take a trip by train this afternoon for my first visit to Keynsham and the FA Vase Extra Preliminary round tie against Swanage Town & Herston.
The visitors were the only Dorset Premier League team to enter the FA Vase this season and it was a nice touch to read that they had the backing of the whole League in this week's DPL newsletter.
The weather was overcast and grey as I wandered off the station platform and past a wedding at the local church to get to the ground. The football club is situated next to Keynsham Rugby club's ground and had an old fashioned metal turnstile to negotiate after I paid for my admission and programme.
The two teams were warming up on the pitch and I noticed that Swanage only had 12 players on the pitch compared to the full strength Keynsham squad. It turned out that they had problems in raising a team due to injuries, suspensions and unavailability. Having lost 10.0 the previous week I wondered if they would struggle against higher league opposition.
As the clock moved towards 3pm the two teams went into the dressing rooms for a final team talk before appearing at the doorway. The referee and one of his assistants came through but George, the second assistant, was nowhere to be seen. After a minute or so he emerged to calls of "Where's George" from both sets of players.
The first twenty minutes of the half saw end to end play but little for the goalkeepers to contend with. Keynsham were making some good runs down the far side and the Swanage keeper had to be alert in the 15th minute to make a routine save. Swanage were moving the ball round well to spread play and came closest to scoring in the 17th minute when a shot was hit across the goalmouth and wide.
While the game was taking place there was some "interference" from the rugby pitch behind the hedge. We got to hear the rugby referee's whistle at regular intervals and in the 22nd minute a rugby ball flew over the hedge and onto the pitch!
Keynsham had wasted some good possession when their strikers were running into space too early and were caught offside. In the 28th minute they managed to perfect a run so that the flag stayed down as one of their players ran onto a ball and took it into the penalty area. He decided to take an early shot as the Swanage keeper stayed on his feet but didn't get his angles right, allowing the keeper to make the save with a slight movement to his right.
Swanage seemed to be growing in confidence and it looked like they had scored in the 42nd minute. The ball was hit high into the penalty area and one of their strikers jumped with the keeper for the ball. The striker headed the ball over the keeper's head and into the open goal only to see the assistant put his flag up for offside to cut the celebrations short.
Keynsham hadn't impressed in the first half and made an early substitution in the second half to try and change things round. This seemed to work as they won a couple of corners in succession and it took a good save from the Swanage keeper in a melee of players to keep the scoreline at 0.0.
His good work was almost undone on the hour when he came out of his goal to clear a through ball. He beat the attacker to the ball but missed his kick. The attacker carried on his run but the trajectory and pace of the pass took him wide of the goal. This allowed the keeper to get back to cover the near post so the only option was to cross the ball. The keeper would have been relieved to see the ball fly harmlessly over the bar.
Keynsham had another opportunity to take the lead in the 70th minute from a corner as it started to rain. The ball was hit towards the penalty spot where a Keynsham head powered the ball past the keeper. The ball then bounced up off the crossbar and down only for another Keynsham player to head it against the bar. This time the ball bounced down and rolled along the bar before dropping down and being cleared.
Swanage were under a lot of pressure but managed a breakaway in the 72nd minute. A well struck shot from distance tipped the top of a defenders head and span wide for a corner. The corner led to the first goal but it was Keynsham that scored it - they broke away with the ball down the right wing. The ball was played into the area and as the Swanage defence appealed for offside, the first Keynsham player in a line of four volleyed the ball past the Swanage keeper.
Keynsham made the most of their substitutes as Swanage started to tire. The play was being stretched from side to side but the second goal didn't come and you could sense some frustration from the bench. A couple of players went down with cramp and the trainers had to come on to help them recover.
Swanage looked to be heading out of the Vase but with a minute to go a ball was played from the halfway line to one of their strikers. He took the ball forward, dummied past a defender and took aim from the edge of the area. His shot beat the keeper's outstretched hand and ended up in the back of the net. The Swanage support in the stand went crazy as their team celebrated an unlikely yet deserved comeback.
From the kickoff Keynsham brought the ball forward and went straight onto the attack. One of their players took the ball into the area and the Swanage keeper had to be out quickly to deflect it wide for a corner.
There was still enough injury time to take the corner and when the ball came back into the area, it was swept into the goal past the keeper's dive. Somehow Keynsham had scored in the last minute to progress to the next round without needing extra time.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment