Game 12: Street 2.3 Bristol Manor Farm (Western Premier) 21.08.10

Back in July I had earmarked this weekend for a trip on the train to Devon, taking in a match at Dawlish but that was on the assumption that it would be a bright, sunny day - ideal for wandering around the beach. When I woke up this morning I was greeted by grey clouds and rain so it was onto plan B and a drive down to Somerset to visit Street.

The A303 was fairly busy and by the time I was heading through Wincanton there had been several bands of heavy rain which didn't fill me with confidence for a dry afternoon watching football. As I drove down towards Street there was a glorious view of Glastonbury Abbey lit up in a burst of sunbeams in a break in the clouds. I parked the car up close to the ground next to a second pitch and wandered through the full carpark to the entrance.

The welcome was very friendly and the match programme was included in the £5 admission fee which was a nice touch. The entrance to the ground led me straight into the first covered area but after a quick stop to read the programme I decided to head round to the far side to watch the game. This was on the basis that there was a seated stand on that side for shelter should the heavens open again.

Before the match one of the home officials had been asking the players out on the subs bench for a couple of shirts in the normal substitute range which I thought was unusual. As the teams came out for the obligatory handshakes I noticed that Street hadn't got the normal 1-11 shirts on. One player was wearing number 19 while another had number 22 on.

Street have had the better start to the season and came close to taking the lead after only 2 minutes, only to see the final shot head over the bar. Bristol Manor Farm were under a lot of pressure early on but won a free kick after nine minutes which allowed them to bring the big men from the back up to the Street penalty area. The ball was worked into the 6 yard box but the header didn't find the target and went wide of the post.

Bristol Manor Farm were making the most of their set plays and came close to taking the lead after 13 minutes from a corner. The ball was hit high towards the area and the defender on the edge of the six yard box jumped but couldn't make contact with it. The first Bristol player behind him also missed the ball but his team mate in the centre was able to head it down but narrowly wide of the post.

The first goal of the match came in the 20th minute from the penalty spot after a Street defender brought down a visiting player with a late tackle. The keeper guessed the wrong way and dived to his left as the ball went low to the right side.

The defender's afternoon got worse 5 minutes later. On the halfway line he tried to play a pass from the centre to the left wing but hadn't spotted a Bristol forward lurking on that side. The Bristol player intercepted the pass and ran unchallenged into the Street penalty area.

As two defenders tried to catch him, he waited until the keeper committed himself and slotted the ball low past the keeper. The keeper managed to get a slight touch on the ball but it was not enough to deflect it wide and the ball ended up in the back of the net.

Street managed to pull a goal back three minutes later from a freekick. The ball was hit high into the area and a player jumped up to head the ball backwards. It was enough to divert the ball over the keeper's head and into the goal via the far post.

The game was now really open and both teams were pressing forward as soon as they won the ball. Street's number 8 ran unchallenged to the edge of the area but mishit his shot well wide. Five minutes before half time they were unlucky not to equalise from a similar run and shot that cannoned back off the right post. Straight from the goal kick Bristol Manor Farm had a good chance with a breakaway run and a shot on the turn that flew across the area and wide.

The second half followed the same pattern of attacking play, both teams seeing long range efforts fly over the bar in the first five minutes. The Bristol keeper almost got caught out in the 55th minute when a back pass bounced higher than expected and almost took the ball over his head. He backpedalled quickly and grabbed the ball on the downward trajectory before it passed over the line.

Bristol had two clear cut chances to score in the 66th and 68th minutes. The first breakaway was halted by the referee's whistle for an earlier foul on a Bristol player which didn't go down well as the visitors would have preferred the advantage to be played. One of the players was booked for making his views known to the referee. The second came from a long throw but a defender got back in time to block the effort on goal.

With five minutes to go Bristol Manor Farm scored a third. A corner was cleared but only to a Bristol player on the right wing. He took the defence on before passing it to an onside team mate on the opposite side of the goal to tap the ball into the net.

Despite the two goal deficit Street were not prepared to give up and won a penalty themselves with three minutes of normal time to go. The Bristol keeper went running to the edge of the area to try and beat a Street player to a long ball but ended up taking out his opponent who went flying. Despite the protests from the spectators behind the goal, the referee only deemed it worthy of a yellow card. The penalty was a carbon copy of the first Bristol goal with the keeper diving to the left as the ball went to the right.

In injury time Street almost nicked an equaliser from a corner. The ball was flicked on to the far post but the shot was blasted over the keeper's hands and just cleared the crossbar. An entertaining game from my neutral perspective and an enjoyable afternoon out.

Game 11: Laverstock & Ford 0.3 Bournemouth (WESS PREM) 17.08.10

Alan drove up the A36 and picked me up en route to his first visit to Laverstock's ground. After parking up and sampling the delights of the refreshment stand we wandered pitchside and browsed the excellent programme.

Bournemouth had a good season in the league last year, finishing 4th - 3 points behind promoted Wimborne. Laverstock's season wasn't so good and they had to rely on a reprieve from relegation after finishing second bottom. While a few of the team from last year are still at the club, new manager Nev Beal has brought in 8 new players to try and improve things on the pitch. This includes Kent Kauppinen who played a few games in goal last season for Bemerton and is now playing an unusual utility player role - goalkeeper / forward.

The first period of the first half was fairly even in terms of chances and possession. Bournemouth were more confident on the ball and played a more controlled game than Laverstock. Laverstock would often play the ball out from defence and bypass the midfield which asked a lot from their strikers who were left chasing after the long clearances. They had a couple of set pieces that were wasted with shots flying well over the bar.

The first clear opportunity on goal fell to Laverstock in the 30th minute. They broke down the left side and one of their players reached the ball ahead of the defence and took it into the area. He hit a shot on target but from such a narrow angle that the keeper didn't have a problem in stopping it.

Bournemouth hit back and a minute later a shot on the spin flew wide of the post. They came closer to scoring in the 35th minute when a break down the right lead to a quick cross into the centre of the penalty area. Their number 11 received the ball and hit a first time volley just wide.

Laverstock made an early defensive substitution to try and stop the flow of chances coming down their left side. This was successful but only because Bournemouth switched their attack to focus on the other side. The substitution didn't prevent Bournemouth taking the lead in the 39th minute. Some simple passing play got the ball into the area and as one player dummied a shot, a team mate was in position to hit a low shot past the keeper and inside the left hand post.

I was impressed with the Bournemouth number 9 who was continually picking the ball up in midfield and running though the Laverstock midfield. In the 40th minute one of these runs made it through the defence as well as he reached the edge of the penalty area. With two team mates in good positions for a pass, he took the selfish option and ended up over-running the ball which went for a corner.

He learnt from this mistake as minutes later he took the ball on another run down the left side and this time played the ball to a better placed team mate. This lead to a shot on goal but the keeper was aware and made a good save. As the game went into injury time Bournemouth scored a second. A corner on the far side was hit deep and the ball ended up on the nearside. A Bournemouth player ran onto it and hit a pacy low cross into the centre for a team mate to stoop down and slide in to hit a curving shot past the keeper.

Laverstock came out for the second half with more determination. Perrett was almost through in the first minute of the half before a defender blocked his run and took the ball. A shot was fired over the bar and in the 51st minute a long throw from the substitute caused chaos in the area when it was flicked to the back post. Only a last ditch defensive clearance stopped it from sneaking in. Another long throw a few minutes later saw the ball scrambled around the penalty area before it was cleared.

The turning point in the match came in the 56th minute. Laverstock broke down the left side and hit a powerful rising shot past the keeper. It looked to be going in but crashed off the underside of the bar, down to the ground and bounced away from the goal. It didn't look like the ball had crossed the line and none of the players protested as play carried on. Bournemouth broke away quickly and took the ball down the other end. A low shot in the area beat the keeper and gave the visitors a 3.0 lead.

Laverstock were forced to use their last substitute in the 70th minute as their keeper was unable to continue. Four minutes later one of their outfield players went down after a tackle and ended up having to be stretchered off so Laverstock were down to 10 men.

With the numerical advantage it was no surprise to see Bournemouth pushing forward. They should have made it a four goal lead on several occasions with shots and headers flying wide and a good cross was dummied for a team mate to hit when the player was in a better position to score.

There had been a few niggles in the game and tempers boiled over following a late tackle. The referee booked two players and had to deal with an off the ball scuffle as the game went late into injury time. It looked like he was going to show another yellow card to a Laverstock player but the offender managed to talk himself into receiving a red card.

Game 10: Downton 0.2 Bitton (FA Cup) 14.08.10

Waking up on another wet Saturday morning, I decided to forgo the 3 hours of driving for the FA Cup tie at Bridport and head to a local tie instead. Bemerton had been knocked out at Totton & Eling on Friday night which left me a choice of games at Amesbury, Downton and Laverstock. With more rain expected in the afternoon, I decided to head to Downton as I'll be at Laverstock's match on Tuesday night.

Downton started their league campaign with a draw and a win but the programme confirmed the manager's thoughts that a result against Bitton, a Western Premier league team, would test the capabilities of his squad.

The first twenty minutes passed without too much incident. As the half progressed, both teams seemed unhappy with some of the decisions made by the referee who seemed keen to blow up for any backing in and contact between the teams.

Downton had the first clear effort on goal after 24 minutes when Danny Western hit a great low shot from the left of the penalty area. The Bitton keeper got down well to push the ball away.

Bitton could have had a chance when they took the ball forward in the 29th minute. Their break down the right was brought to a halt by the referee's whistle as he finally noticed an offside flag from a Downton move at least a minute earlier. Instead of allowing the visitors to play on, the referee brought play back to the Bitton half which gave them no advantage.

Bitton won a number of corners which looked to be ideal for creating goal scoring opportunities as they had a number of players over 6 feet. They were unable to make the most of this height advantage as Downton cleared any crosses that came in.

Their best chance of the first half came in the 42nd minute when the ball was played low into the area and evaded the defence to find a Bitton player. He took aim but sliced his shot from a few yards out to put the ball wide.

The sun had been out during the first half but it started to cloud over during half time. Downton had the first opportunity of the second half in the 47th minute. A Bitton player slipped on the edge of the area allowing Western in but the keeper read the situation well and came out quickly to clear the ball, taking a knock in the process.

The referee hadn't issued any cards in the first half but was left with no option in the 53rd minute when Matt Holmes slid in late on a Bitton player. Three minutes later and it was a Bitton player who found himself in the book with a similar late tackle.

The ball was played towards the Bitton penalty area from the freekick and McGregor won the ball, turned and beat a Bitton defender for pace. He hit a shot on target but it was too close to the keeper and he managed to dive to his left and tip the ball out.

Western had followed up and it looked like he was in position to hit the ball in only for a defender to nip in and head the ball out of his way. Downton followed up this effort a minute later with a Western shot that fizzed past the right hand post. It looked like he had more time then he realised to take aim.

The expected rain started to fall in the 60th minute and quickly turned into torrential rain. I joined the majority of the crowd by heading to the stand to take cover although a few brave souls sheltered under umbrellas. The wet weather seemed to wake the players up a bit and perhaps could claim an assist for the opening goal.

Bitton took the ball down the right wing and were able to play a low cross in the box as the covering defender slipped on the wet surface as he was chasing back. While the keeper covered the near post, the ball found the Bitton left winger who swept a low shot low into the unguarded area of the goal to give his team the lead.

Bitton had two chances to extend their lead shortly afterwards. The first attempt was a low shot that skidded diagonally towards the right post only to go out for a goalkick. The second came in the 82nd minute when a corner on the right side flew in to the area and back off the post.

Downton were still in with a chance and McGregor was frustrated in the 83rd minute when he had an opportunity to score but hit his shot wide. In the 85th minute Bitton had their keeper to thank when he was able to smother a shot from a corner and recover the ball that had slipped from his hands before McGregor's sliding leg reached it.

McGregor tried a move from the George Best archives when the keeper came out with the ball to take the goalkick. As the keeper had the ball in one hand McGregor knocked it out of his hand but his goal was disallowed by the referee who booked McGregor for this effort.

As the game went into the 4th minute of injury time Downton won a corner. Their keeper jogged up from the back to try and cause some problems for the Bitton defence. Unusually in these circumstances, the corner found the keeper's but his on target header was cleared from the line.

Bitton broke quickly with the ball and hit it to a striker near the halfway line. He turned and ran forwards and towards the left touchline before cutting back in and hitting a chip shot towards goal. The keeper was still sprinting back to his penalty area as the ball cruised into the net with the last kick of the game. The rain had eased off so I got back to the car without getting wet.

Game 9: Salisbury City 2.1 Basingstoke Town (Friendly) 07.08.10

After a late night and a couple of rain showers this morning, I decided to have a lazy day and take in Salisbury's last pre-season friendly against Conference South side Basingstoke Town.

Over the past year I've got to hear alot about the Basingstoke team from a colleague at work who follows their fortunes. After a good start last season they faded away after Christmas and ended up in mid-table. They made a number of signings early in pre-season and some of those new faces featured today, including ex Pompey keeper Chris Tardiff.

I arrived around half an hour before kickoff and the carpark was fairly empty. I wondered if this was an indication that the local support that increased as Southampton dropped down the leagues had decided to take a trip down to St Marys with the Saints pre-season favourites for promotion.

Following the announcement of new sponsors for the club, the old Hopback sign around the scoreboard has been replaced with a huge snail from the "Ask Eric" equity release advertising campaign. The well documented financial situation at the club means that no supporters will be permitted in the "away" end for most games this season. This is due to the safety certificate that still applies to the stadium and the cost of the necessary stewarding to open that part of the ground.

The game started with a controversial moment in the second minute. Basingstoke's Pratt ran into the box with the ball but was brought down by the legs of the Salisbury keeper. The referee awarded a penalty but declined to show any cards when perhaps in a league game the foul would have led to a straight red card.

Pratt picked himself up to take the penalty and hit a low shot to the keeper's left side. Keeper Pryce guessed the right way and made an excellent save to keep the ball out of the net. Some Basingstoke supporters on the side were understandably aggrieved by this as they felt the keeper should not have been on the pitch to face the spotkick.

Salisbury took the lead after 12 minutes. The ball was crossed towards the far post and Joyce headed the ball over Tardiff. It looked like it came down off the bar and the referee decided that the combined efforts of keeper and defender were not enough to keep it out of the net and awarded the goal.

Both teams had some decent passing moves but they often broke down in midfield as the accuracy wasn't good enough to beat the defence. Turley at the back for Salisbury impressed as both teams tried to find space behind the defences.Basingstoke had a good effort that went over the bar and McLaggon was close to a goal when a close range effort was scuffed into the keeper's hands.

McLaggon looked bright and was winning the ball back well in midfield to try and set up attacks. He was the subject of a couple of late tackles and in the 39th minute tempers boiled over as another late tackle took his legs. There was a brief melee between the two teams and the referee had to act quickly to calm things down.

Basingstoke won a freekick midway in the Salisbury half a a couple of minutes later. The ball was whipped into the box and headed out by a Salisbury defender, only to land nicely for Gasson to hit a shot. The ball took a deflection to leave Pryce on the floor, looking up at the ball going over his head and into the net.

As you would expect at a pre-season match, both teams made some changes at half-time and players were replaced on a regular basis thoughout the second half. Basingstoke came close to taking the lead in the 54th minute when Pryce missed a cross. Pratt gathered the ball but his shot was hooked wide of the goal by a defender for a corner.

The corner didn't amount to anything and shortly afterwards Salisbury took the lead. A long pass through the middle allowed Joyce in behind the defence. His intended run had been spotted by Tardiff who ran out to try and intercept the ball but Joyce was able to push the ball past him and into the penalty area. With the keeper stranded, Joyce kept his nerve and hit the ball into the net before a covering defender could catch up with him.

The atmosphere was fairly quiet and it was no surprise when the official attendance was announced as 385. Basingstoke came close to an equaliser in the last minute with a shot on target that Pryce pushed wide. On the evidence of today's performance the Salisbury regulars will have a lot to look forward to this season.