Game 32: Tadley Calleva 0.3 Warminster Town (WESS1) 04.04.09

It was a beautiful sunny day as I drove up to one of the northern outposts of the Wessex League, Tadley Calleva. I managed to find the ground without too many problems and parked up about 2.40pm. I had a text from Paul to say he would also be joining me but by 3pm (as I was wondering where he had got to) the phone rang. It was Paul – lost in the village having missed the turning for the ground. I gave him some directions just as the game kicked off and hoped he would make it in time to see any goals.




However Warminster had other ideas! On 5 minutes they earnt a freekick on the far side of the penalty area. I was expecting the ball to be crossed high into the box but the opposite happened – a low shot hit towards the near post surprised the keeper as well and Warminster were 1 up. The keeper then launched a tirade at his defenders for not positioning the wall correctly, somehow taking himself out of the equation.


A couple of minutes later Paul arrived – he had been parking the car when he heard the goal go in. His plan to avoid Newbury town centre had worked a little too well as the planned turnoff the A34 didn’t materialise and he had to detour via Whitchurch and back up to Tadley – nightmare!


I hadn’t been too impressed with Warminster when I had seen them at US Portsmouth other than one of their central defenders. They looked a lot sharper today while Tadley looked a pale imitation of the team that had earnt a draw at Amesbury. On 25 minutes they had a good chance from a corner but the header was well saved by the Tadley keeper.


Five minutes later and it was almost 2.0 from another free kick. This time the kick was about 35 yards out in a central position but it was strongly hit with the prevailing wind and smacked off the top of the post with the keeper just watching and praying it wouldn’t go in. He got his wish and the ball was cleared away.




The second half was a similar story of Warminster domination as they started to pass the ball with more confidence. These passing moves opened up a lot of space in the Tadley defence and it was no surprise when Warminster got a second goal after 52 minutes. The ball was played into the centre and the onrushing keeper had little chance when the ball was chipped over him and into the net.


We had noticed a lot of beeps during the first half and the penny finally dropped during the second half as to where this noise was coming from. Each assistant had a bulky wristband on their flag arm and each time they raised their flag, the noise sounded to let the referee know. This system is optional but we found it useful to follow the flow of play and pick up the decisions with our ears.


On 75 minutes the Tadley keeper made another good save to push a Warminster shot out for a corner. The ball was floated to the back of the six yard box and a Warminster player headed it towards goal. It looked like the keeper should save it but the ball deflected off the top of his hands and into the back of the net as he fell backwards.

Paul had been wondering if we would see a Tadley goal attempt during the game. In the last ten minutes they finally managed three decent attempts. The first was a one on one chance to beat the keeper but the shot went wide. The keeper comfortably saved the other two. Warminster continued to press but their final balls were either not good enough to beat the Tadley defence or so good that they evaded both the Tadley defence and the Warminster strike force.

Game 31: Downton 2.0 Amesbury Town (WESS 1) 31.03.09

The original plan was to go to Laverstock v Alton with Alan, as he hasn’t visited Laverstock’s ground before. Unfortunately he couldn’t make it up to Salisbury for the game so Andy and I drove out to Downton for our second visit of the season to Wick Lane. The appeal of this game was the visitors – a local derby against Amesbury.




Amesbury started the game well but Downton were gifted an opportunity to score on 11 minutes when the Amesbury keeper spilt an easy catch and let the ball go out for a corner. Downton played the ball into the centre and the ball was headed into the back of the net. After that the game settled down a bit although the referee was a bit of an enigma with his inconsistent and inaccurate decisions which wound up players from both teams. Amesbury put together some nice passes and moves but lacked the quality to take on the Downton defence and break them down. Too many balls from both teams were just hoofed forward hopefully with little end result. Neither Andy nor I could remember seeing a shot on target other than the goal by the time the referee whistled for halftime.


The second half started in a similar fashion. On 55 minutes Downton put together a good move and one of their players was about to shoot from outside the area when a sliding tackle from the side caught him. Although there were two other Amesbury players in line and running back, the referee decided that this was a goal scoring opportunity and sent the Amesbury player off. There were a few angry shouts from the away bench as a Downton player put the ball on the penalty spot – luckily the referee calmed the situation down by ordering a free kick to be taken from just outside the area. The kick was wasted – a high shot above the penalty box.


Amesbury didn’t seem too fazed by the sending off and put together some more good moves that the Downton defence had to be alert to. On 85 minutes Downton had a corner and forced two superb saves from the Amesbury keeper – one dive to the right to save a shot, one reflex save to the left to stop the rebound from hitting the back of the net. However he was unable to stop a shot a minute later that went through the net from close range. At first it looked like the ball had gone wide as it hit the hoarding at the side but the reaction of the players and the referee confirmed it had gone in.


The last couple of minutes saw a lot of dissent from the Amesbury players towards the crowd, their opponents, the referee and their own teammates. After the referee blew the final whistle, this verbal abuse was continued by one of the Amesbury players. To the surprise of the crowd, the player was shown a red card as he was still on the pitch. It could have been worse but the Amesbury manager was quickly over to order the player into the dressing room.

Game 30: Hythe & Dibden 3.1 Verwood Town (WESS 1) 28.03.09

During the morning I was a little concerned about the weather forecast for the afternoon – heavy rain – so had a look at the Hythe website and was pleased to see that they had a stand that could provide some shelter if needed. It looked like I was going to need this as I left Salisbury with the windscreen wipers on full blast. As I got closer to the Hampshire border the rain eased off and the sun came out again.

I first noticed the ground as I drove by a closed gate with an advertisement for the game. It didn’t look like you could park at the ground so I scouted around the local area for somewhere to park and ended up in a free shortstay carpark in the marina and walked 5minutes back to the ground from there.


The ground has a small clubhouse in one corner with a busy bar. There was one small stand behind the near goal and a ‘standard’ build stand on the far touchline. There were several signs dotted around with details of the opposition and prices but no one appeared to be collecting admission. At back of ground the pathway lead to a play park with only some trees to stop prying eyes watching the game from the swings. Just before kickoff it started to rain but this wasn’t heavy and soon stopped.


Hythe took the lead on 9 minutes. One of their players took the ball at pace down the right, pulling it back to beat his man before cutting in with a cross across the box. The first player in the middle missed ball but his team mate on the far post put a low shot in to the back of the net. Someone came round to collect the admission and sell the program – I got a “special discount” and only had to pay £3 (inc programme).


Five minutes later Verwood equalised. The ball was played into the middle and the Verwood player managed to beat the offside trap, drag the ball around the keeper and get it into the middle before smashing it into the net from 2cm out.


Verwood were more comfortable on the ball but couldn’t get much past the Hythe skipper who headed and cleared anything that came near his central defensive position. Hythe had a skilful player on the left side and he hit a cracking shot that hit the post from 25 yards out. The rest of their play wasn’t coming too much as they didn’t look for team mates in space and took the wrong options instead of keeping it simple. The coaching staff on the sidelines were furious at the way the game was going and the ‘hairdryer’ was expected at halftime. Even before the referee could blow the whistle, they were arguing with one of their strikers who ended up in the book for foul and abusive language at his own boss!


The Hythe players came out several minutes before Verwood but were slow to get started in the second half. On 60 minutes they had a real let off when Verwood hit the bar with a shot in the box following a corner that left the Hythe keeper stranded. Five minutes later and a little against the run of play, Hythe were awarded a penalty after an inexplicable handball in the box. Hythe took the penalty and sent the keeper the wrong way to take a 2.1 lead.





Another five minutes later and it was 3.1 to the home team. Verwood took a free kick and launched it into the box. It was cleared away quickly and Hythe launched a counter attack down the left wing. Their left winger took it around 2 players but inside and smashed it into the far side netting inside the post – a superb goal. The game was all Hythe now – 2 minutes later and they had a similar chance as a player went one on one with the keeper from the left side but this time the shot hit the post and ball span away to be cleared.

Game 29: Salisbury City 1.0 Ebbsfleet United (Blue Square Premier) 24.03.2009

Drove up to the Ray Mac with Pete and Andy in a more confident mood than my last visit, due to Salisbury being on a eight match unbeaten streak including a win at league leaders Burton Albion.


Salisbury started well and Sean Clohessy had a good chance to score in the first minute but pulled his shot wide. 3 minutes later and he made amends. The ball broke to him unmarked in the centre of the pitch towards the edge of the penalty area. He took it towards the keeper and calmly volleyed it past him into the top left corner.


The rest of the game didn’t offer much in the way of entertainment. Salisbury had a goal disallowed just before half time for offside. Ebbsfleet were very compact and didn’t play with much confidence, perhaps a hangover from their defeat in the FA Trophy semifinal at the weekend. Their best chance was a shot from a corner that came back off the post in the second half.


The introduction of Jonathan Davies late on in the game brought Salisbury back to life again as he took on the Ebbsfleet defence on a number of occasions. His best opportunity to increase the lead was on 90 minutes but the curved shot was just wide of the near post.

Game 28: Stockbridge 1.1 Whitchurch United (WESS 1) 21.03.09

Took a drive over to Stockbridge to spend a peaceful sunny Saturday afternoon at one of my favourite Wessex League grounds.


Whitchurch took the lead after seven minutes. This was their third breakaway attack in as many minutes and the goal came from a close range tap in over the keeper from a cross.





Stockbridge equalised after 12 minutes from a freekick in what is commonly described as ‘Beckham Territory’. The finish was of international quality too - an excellent pacey shot to the keeper’s left and past his outstretched hand into the back of the net. Stockbridge had the best chance to take the lead just before halftime. A cross came in and a flying header put the ball just wide but it would have been best left as the boot of the player waiting to tap it in by the far post was a better option!




On 65 minutes Whitchurch had a good chance to go in front. A Stockbridge player tried to head the ball back to his keeper to pick up but the back header was too short and allowed a Whitchurch player to get to the ball first. His shot was saved well and the ball went wide for corner. There was a similar chance for Whitchurch ten minutes later when the ball was struck towards the goal from close in but was deflected over the bar with plenty of topspin for a corner.




The last real opportunity did see the ball in the back of the net but the goal was disallowed. With five minutes left to go, the Stockbridge keeper took a freekick close to the edge of his area. However the ball didn’t sail towards the halfway line as planned – the kick was sliced to the right, straight to a Whitchurch player who then ran the ball forward and passed it into the net.

The referee didn’t take any action until the 'goal' had been scored and then whistled furiously as if it was full time. He then disallowed the goal to the dismay of the away team and it wasn’t clear why he had decided on this course of action. The only explanation I could think of was that the keeper had been asked to wait for the whistle before taking the kick. My thought was that it was the keeper’s problem for taking it early and the goal should have stood but maybe that’s why I’m not a referee!




Since my last visit with Andy, a small stand has been built where we parked the car. This didn’t stop a few drivers from parking up behind the dugouts although I decided that the main road was a safer bet – less flying footballs!

Game 27: Amesbury Town 1.1 Tadley Calleva (WESS 1) 14.03.09

I hadn’t expected to be at a game today as we were travelling back from a short break in York but with an early departure and a good connection from Waterloo, I was able to get to a local game in Amesbury. This game had originally been due to take place in January so the programme from that day was reused but it was good that they had taken the time to prepare an insert with updated league tables etc. The big match of the day was Manchester United v Liverpool and as I arrived at the ground there were a few shouts of 4.1 from a celebrating Liverpool supporter. The weather was nice and sunny – much warmer than my last visit despite the strong wind blowing across the pitch!

Both teams struggled to cope with the windy conditions in the first half and some good chances were missed. Amesbury had the first opportunity to open the scoring with a scramble after a corner but no-one was able to force the ball in. A Tadley player tried an ambitious chip over the keeper from distance after 15 minutes but the ball held up in the wind which allowed the Amesbury keeper to get back to his goalline and pick the ball up. Amesbury then played a good cross into the box but no-one was in there to take advantage and the defence cleared easily.


Tadley started to pick up the second balls in midfield as Amesbury’s control let them down. After 30 minutes they had a one on one chance but the Amesbury keeper managed to save it with his legs. 30 seconds later an Amesbury defender headed the ball back to his keeper but it was too short. A Tadley player took the ball but hit it wide past the keeper from a narrow angle. The Amesbury goalkeeper appeared to be leading a charmed life as he ran out to try and win a ball on the edge of the area. He didn’t make it in time but fortunately for him his defenders got back to cover him which allowed him to get back into position when the shot finally came in.


Amesbury were creating some chances but their shooting left a lot to be desired in the absence of top scorer Nic Turpin. Two good opportunities went begging when shots were sliced wide rather than hit on target. Just before half time the Tadley no 9 ran in to the box but the Amesbury keeper made a good one-on-one save.


At the start of the second half Amesbury had a couple of good chances – one header that went straight at the keeper close to the line and another header that was well saved by the keeper. Some of their decision making in the final third was poor – several times a long corner was taken when the attackers had moved in for a short corner or vice versa. Tadley continued the Amesbury trend of hitting a rugby conversion attempt over the goal when shooting rather than keeping shots low and on target.


On 55 minutes an Amesbury corner routine almost worked and the ball was headed across the line but there was no-one there to pass the ball into the back of the net to the frustration of the home crowd. Three minutes later a shot made it past the keeper but it wasn’t strong enough to reach the goal line and a defender was able to clear it in time.


The opening goal finally came on 62 minutes. A weak freekick was taken from the D outside the penalty area and should have been saved by the Tadley keeper. He managed to spill the ball and an Amesbury player who had followed the ball in managed to poke the spilt ball in at the near post. Amesbury should have extended their lead a couple of minutes later. They had a counter-attack with three players on one but the player on the ball was greedy and tried a shot on goal that went wide when his teammates were in a better position to score.


Tadley had made some good breakaway chances during the game and their equaliser came from one of these chances. There was a good break down the left, an accurate cross into the middle for the Tadley no 9 to shoot pas the keeper. Both teams had a chance or two after that to get the winner but it didn’t come and the game ended in a draw.

Game 26: Bemerton Heath Harlequins 1.0 Laverstock & Ford (WESS PREM) 10.03.09

Andy and I wandered over to Western Way for this twice re-arranged local derby and our first sighting of an orange ball this season.

As with most local derbies there was an extra bit of spice to the game and this was apparent after two minutes when a Bemerton player was booked for sliding into the Laverstock keeper on the edge of the box. Laverstock started well and almost scored after 8 minutes. A freekick from the right hand side level with us was taken as a shot rather than a cross but ended up just over the bar. They were unfortunate not to score 15 minutes later when a Bemerton back header was too short for their keeper to reach and the ball was crossed into the centre, only for a free kick to be given for a challenge in the box on a defender. It took Bemerton 30 minutes to have a shot on target but it went straight to the keeper.


The rest of the first half was end to end play and on 42 minutes Bemerton were unlucky not to take the lead. The ball came out to the right hand side of the area and a well struck shot came in but ended up in the side netting. Just before the whistle they had a corner that went across the area and was cleared. A Bemerton player controlled the ball before running right through the Laverstock defence. His shot was deflected wide and went for another corner.


We were a little concerned that the two teams might cancel each other out for a 0.0 draw on the first half display but things improved in the second half. On 55 minutes Bemerton were unlucky again. A great through ball saw Mankin in on goal. His shot from close range beat the keeper but hit the left post and bounced out for a throw.


Three minutes later Bemerton took the lead. A freekick was floated into the centre of the area and a Bemerton player headed the ball down and into the net. Laverstock hadn’t offered much in the second half and made a couple of changes after 70 minutes, moving to a 3-4-3 and putting on a very tall, blonde striker. It was no surprise to hear his team mates shouting at ‘Crouchie’ to get forward!


On 88 minutes, the extra spice kicked in again after a dubious corner that was awarded to Bemerton. There was a bit of handbags and the referee spoke to players on both sides once things had calmed down. There was a bit of sting and venom in the tail too – in the final minute the ball broke to the edge of the Bemerton box. A Laverstock player carefully lined up a shot and kept the ball down and travelling towards the goal with some pace. The keeper was beaten but at the last second the ball curved to the right and ended up just wide. It really looked like it was going in and would have been a fantastic goal at any level.