Game 21: Downton 2.2 Hallen (aet) (FA Vase) 18.09.10

I decided to take in one of the local FA Vase ties today and thought I'd pop down to Downton to watch them play Western Premier side Hallen. My last visit to Downton saw them lose 2.0 in the FA Cup but since then their form has been W6 D1 L0 in the league, leaving them top of the Wessex 1 table.

I was surprised not to see top scorer Dec McGregor warming up and later discovered that he had booked a trip home, thinking that there wouldn't be a game this weekend. Downton started well without him and a shot from Turpin went just wide in the first minute. They had a scare a couple of minutes later when the defence allowed a long ball to bounce up without a challenge. It fell at a good height for a visiting player to shoot and his effort smacked off the crossbar with the keeper beaten.

Downton won a freekick in the 6th minute and whipped in a good cross, only to see the resulting header fly just wide of the post. Three minutes later and the Hallen keeper pulled off a tremendous acrobatic save to push the ball into the nettles behind the goal. In my efforts to recover the ball I managed to get a couple of stings on my hand - lesson learnt, use feet to recover balls in nettles!

Hallen were concerned at the way Western was able to get into dangerous positions and one of their subs jogged round the pitch to get a message to the defence. A minute later and those concerns were reduced by a bizarre mix up in the Downton defence when they let the ball run to the keeper instead of clearing it. He seemed to spill the ball as he dived forward to the floor and this allowed a Hallen player to lift a shot over him and into the unguarded net.

Hallen now took charge of the game, almost scoring in the 14th minute when a great first time shot came back off the post with the keeper beaten. This pressure continued with all the play at the far end to me. Downton decided to change their formation in the 32nd minute as Matt Holmes came on for Hughes to bolster the midfield.

The change seemed to settle the team down and Downton almost snatched an equaliser in the 35th minute. This time it was Hallen's turn to mess up a backpass, allowing Turpin in. He took the ball round the keeper but took the ball out too wide in doing so and was unable to get the resulting shot on target as two defenders rushed back to the goalline to cover.

Downton started to put more pressure on Hallen with a couple of freekicks and a corner. In the 40th minute a Downton player ran onto a through ball and was clean through until the referee blew for offside. A minute later and one of the most bizarre collapses I've ever seen on a pitch - when a Hallen player backed into Crouchie he collapsed as if he had been hit by a sniper rifle. The dying giraffe impression made most of the spectators laugh but the referee was not so amused and gave him a yellow card.

The good work at the end of the half was undone in the 50th minute. After a period of Downton pressure Hallen won a freekick near the touchline. The ball was whipped over and before a defender could get a touch, a Hallen head got to the ball and headed it down past the keeper.

At this point I started to wonder if my attendance would not be welcome at Downton games in the future as I feared that they would not come back from the 2 goal deficit. It certainly seemed that luck was out as Holmes watched his shot sail wide and Western saw a shot cleared off the line.


A minute after that chance, Hallen gifted Downton a penalty as Western was brought down in the area. Western took the kick and although the keeper guessed the right way, the pace of the ball meant he couldn't get down in time to stop the shot.

It only took 2 minutes for Downton to bring the scoreline level. The ball was in the Hallen box and wasn't cleared, allowing Redman to blast the ball in from close range. Neither team created much after that although Downton looked the most likely to score. Just before the end of the half, Crouchie had a good dribble through the defence only to see the ball saved.

Hallen had the first chance in extra time, a shot from one of their subs was tipped wide by Aldridge in the Downton goal. There were a few breaks in play for injuries as the players started to tire. Hallen's sub had another shot but took it quickly when he had more time and saw the ball fly wide. Western had a good swivel and turn effort in the area but the ball bounced back of a defender's back.

Hallen came close to breaking the deadlock at the start of the second period of extra time. A cross came over but the high bounce of the ball took it over the oncoming striker's leg in front of an open goal at the back post. Western continued to be Downton's main threat and it took a good save from Hallen's keeper to deny him a goal.

With 5 minutes to go Hallen managed to get the ball into the back of the net but the flag was up well before the shot was taken. The match finished as a draw and there will be a replay on Monday night to see who progresses.