Game 25: Sturminster Marshall 1.0 Parley Sports (Dorset Premier) 24.03.12

After spending a glorious sunny morning in Swanage, I drove up to Sturminster Marshall for their match against Parley Sports. The ground was easy to find as it was in the middle of a housing estate, the main pitch behind railings and the players warming up on the outside pitches. In the far corner was a playpark with the clubhouse set behind it. After driving around the perimeter of the pitch I spotted a gap in the clubhouse carpark and decided to leave the car there - well out of range of any off-target shots.

The teams made their way onto the pitch and the match kicked off at 3.05. Both teams were putting together some good passing moves in the first period of play but goal attempts were rare. Parley had the clearest opportunity when a player intercepted a stray pass but his shot went well over the bar with just the keeper to beat.

I was enjoying the end to end play in the sunshine and was joined by one of the club officials for a short while for a friendly chat. Most of the play was at the other end as Parley pressed for a goal but their shooting let them down. Sturminster got into their stride toward the end of the half - a well worked move from a throw in found a man in space but his shot was just wide of the post.

In the 40th minute Parley won a free kick and the subsequent shot was spilled by the home keeper. Several players tried to force the ball over the line but it wouldn't quite go. In the final minute of the half a Sturminster cross was missed by a defender and allowed a close range shot from Sturminster. This time the effort was on target but the Parley keeper pulled off a great reaction save to tip the ball wide for a corner.

While the kick off for the first half was later than expected, the second half took even longer and play didn't resume until 4.10. The laid back attitude to time keeping seemed to extend to the pitch. While the football was entertaining to watch, I got the impression that the shooting boots had been left at home with the number of shots that ended up over the bar or wide.

In the 80th minute the deadlock was finally broken as Sturminster broke down the right wing and a good cross found an unmarked player on the left edge of the box. His shot managed to elude the keeper's dive and squeezed in by the near post. This seemed to spark the game into life as both teams suddenly came close to scoring - Parley were denied by a quick thinking keeper just beating their striker to the ball and an offside flag. In between those chances a low Sturminster shot from the edge of the area went just wide of the post with the keeper well beaten. The referee finally blew his whistle at 5pm and the teams went off, followed soon after by a tractor that dragged the two wooden wheeled dugouts off down the road.