Game 25: Bemerton Heath Harlequins 4.1 Downton (aet) (Wiltshire Senior Cup) 07.11.09

Decided to head over to Bemerton for the local derby against Downton. Bemerton were going for a club record 8 wins in a row against a Downton team that had lost the two previous cup games I’d seen them play in this season.

Bemerton had former Salisbury keeper Grant Porter making his debut and it wasn’t the best start for him in the 10th minute when he missed his clearance, allowing McGregor in. He scuffed his shot and it wasn’t powerful enough to cross the line before a defender got back to clear the ball.

In the 21st minute it looked like Downton had taken the lead from a breakaway attack. McGregor crossed the ball for a team mate but he was in an offside position when he took his shot and the goal was ruled out by the assistant’s flag. The talk on the terrace was that Bemerton had gone with local players for this cup game as they would be “more up for it” but the reverse seemed to be true. Downton took the lead just before the half hour when dangerman McGregor took on a through ball and managed to get the wrong side of the defender marking him. He ran though and put a low shot past the keeper.

Downton continued to put pressure on Porter in the Bemerton goal. Thick had a good chance in a one on one but the keeper saved. A couple of minutes later a very strong back header saw the keeper having to dive at full stretch to tip the ball round the post for a corner. From the corner McGregor put a shot in from a tight angle and it hit the side netting. The home support in the crowd were getting agitated and started to show their displeasure just before half time when McGregor put a header just over the bar. It wasn’t until the referee had the whistle in his mouth for halftime that Bemerton managed to create an effort on target. The ball was crossed from the left and a strong header was on target for the top left corner until the keeper made a spectacular save to push it round the post.

It looked like it was only a matter of time before Downton added to their lead but Bemerton had a lucky break on the hour. They were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box and hit it low though the wall into the penalty area. The ball bounced around like pinball and fell to Jack Slade who popped it under the keeper’s dive and in for the equaliser. Downton continued to press for a winner and McGregor saw one shot pushed onto the post by the keeper and another shot beat the keeper but fly wide of the goalmouth. Downton also managed to chip the onrushing Porter but the ball dropped over the bar and onto the top of the netting.

In the absence of any more goals, the match went into extra time and Downton began to run out of steam. In the 95th minute Bemerton took the lead from a free header at a corner and never looked back. In the second period of extra time Sanger belted in a third from close range after a great pass by Pratt and Eastham scored with a header a moment after the Downton keeper had pulled off a point blank save from another header.

Game 24: Bemerton Heath Harlequins 4.0 Brockenhurst (WESS PREM) 02.11.09

Another Monday night game at Western Way saw a queue 8 deep at the turnstiles as Andy and I arrived ten minutes before kick off. While there was a brief concern that we might not be able to get to our usual spot on the terrace, a brisk walk meant we were able to view the game as normal.

Bemerton have been on an excellent run of form recently and were second in the Wessex Premier table at the start of play. The programme noted that if the team won tonight's game it would equal a club record of seven consecutive wins with an opportunity then to beat it in a local cup derby with Downton on Saturday.

The first half was entertaining as both teams created chances and the game flowed from end to end. While the approach play was good, the final efforts on goal were either ending up well wide or over the bar. In the 21st minute Bemerton took the lead from a corner. The ball was crossed into the area and the Brockenhurst keeper was able to push it away from goal but only to a Bemerton player. He took aim and put a low shot on target which was deflected past the keeper and in.

Bemerton extended their lead in the 42nd minute. Brockenhurst had a free kick on the edge of the Bemerton area but the effort was hit directly into the wall. The ball was cleared out to the left of midfield which allowed Bemerton to launch a quick counter-attack. As the defenders moved back, a well timed pass into space allowed a Bemerton player to run onto the ball and take it into the area. As the keeper tried to narrow the angle, the ball was hit across the 6 yard box past him and into the net.

Just before halftime Brockenhurst almost pulled a goal back. The ball was cleared out of the Bemerton area and bounced up nicely for one of the Brockenhurst players to control. Although it appeared to hit his hand, the referee didn't spot the infringement and he hit a volley that the Bemerton keeper did well to push over the bar. From the resulting corner, the ball was played too close in the air to the keeper and he reached up to grab it. There was some drizzle falling and this contributed to the ball slipping out of the keeper's hand. One of the Brockenhurst players pounced on the ball and tried to force it over the line but the keeper managed to recover the ball. Despite a few protests, the assistant on our side felt the ball didn't cross the line although from our angle it looked like a close call.

The second half was a similar end to end affair as Brockenhurst looked to get back into the game and Bemerton worked to extend their lead. They almost grabbed a third goal in the 62nd minute with a high looping header from the penalty spot that went over the keeper but bounced off the top of the crossbar and over. Bemerton went further ahead in the 68th minute after one of their players won the ball back in midfield. He pushed forward and wasn't closed down. Just as Andy said "shoot" he did and the ball flew from outside the box low past the keeper's left and into the net. An excellent finish.

Bemerton wrapped the game up in the 75th minute from a corner. The ball was played into the near post and flicked onto the far post. The Brockenhurst keeper and defender on the line managed to stop the shot but the ball bounced out to another Bemerton player who knocked the ball past them to give his team a 4.0 win.

Game 23: Salisbury City 4.2 Farnborough (FA Cup) 27.10.09

I arrived at the Ray Mac to be confronted by an unusual sight – an official England coach in the car park by the turnstiles. On closer inspection it turned out to be the coach that Farnborough’s team had travelled down in!

While Salisbury are a couple of divisions above Farnborough, the Southern League Premier leaders were unlucky not to have been promoted last season and had strengthened their team since then. Having drawn against the Whites on Saturday and with the confidence of being unbeaten in the league they were not a team that could be underestimated.

It was a relief to the home supporters when Matt Tubbs scored a great goal at the far end in the ninth minute to settle some Wiltshire nerves. The goal came from a free kick on the edge of the area that Tubbs hit over the wall and looped down and over the keeper into the top left corner.

The Farnborough support had moved around to the In-Excess stand that their team was kicking towards and the unsegregated atmosphere was reminiscent of some of the local Conference South clashes. They certainly had something to celebrate after quarter of an hour when the ball was crossed in from the right side and found two players in the box. The ball went over the first player but fell kindly to the second player who chested the ball down and tapped the ball past Bittner.

Five minutes later and the underdogs were in FA Cup dreamland following another good cross from the right. On this occasion the ball went to the far post and came off Turley who was trying to get back to cover a Farnborough player. The ball flew past a stranded Bittner who had no chance to stop the ball hitting the back of the net. The game settled down after that and while both teams had a couple of chances there was nothing clear cut. Salisbury were playing tidy football but were happy just to hoof the ball into the box looking for the head of Webb. “Oh for a Paul Sales or a Robbie Matthews” said one of the locals near me as this tactic proved to be ineffective. Farnborough looked vulnerable at times but had a couple of useful forwards.

Salisbury started the second half in determined mood and only an amazing save from Richie Barnard to tip a Tubbs shot over the bar prevented Salisbury from parity in the first minute of the half. Two minutes later and they were level. Webb was brought down in the box and Tubbs made no mistake from the spot, placing his shot above Barnard who had guessed the right way. Salisbury then took the lead thanks to a misunderstanding in the 53rd minute. The ball was outside the area and neither Barnard nor his nearest defender took responsibility to clear the ball. Tubbs ran in and took it round the keeper and ran the ball towards the net before passing it in for his hat trick.

Farnborough came close to an equaliser with a header over the bar but the game was put out of sight after Flood won the ball from Opinel on the wing and cut inside the defence. He took aim and put a low shot right into the bottom left corner, the ball bouncing off the post and in. Salisbury now controlled the game and Tubbs almost added a fourth with a cross that came close to curling into the top corner.

In the 85th minute Salisbury took a well rehearsed short corner to Tubbs out of the right side. He played it back to Flood who had run back into an onside position. This gave him a good angle to cross from and he hit the ball to the backpost. Sinclair battled his way past a couple of defenders and put a header past Barnard. He was unlucky – the ball hit the post and bounced out. In the last minute Farnborough had a chance to pull a goal back when Ibe ran clean through the Salisbury defence but he put his shot wide of the post as Bittner narrowed the angle. So it was the Whites who would be travelling up the motorway to Accrington Stanley for the First Round Proper tie.

Game 22: Laverstock & Ford 2.4 Moneyfields (WESS PREM) 24.10.09

My original plan for today was to head to a Western League game but with heavy rain overnight and through the morning, I decided to stay local and head to Laverstock's game with Moneyfields. On my last couple of visits I've had to park up in a field away from the pitch but for today's game there was enough space to park by the pitch.

Both of these teams are mid table with four wins each but Laverstock have had to rely on their away form as they haven't won at home in the league this season. Moneyfields were quick to take the game to Laverstock and in the 6th minute had the first opportunity to score with a one on one breakaway. The shot was pushed wide by the Laverstock keeper and went for a corner.

In the 9th minute Moneyfields took the lead from a freekick from the near touchline. The ball was lofted long into the box and a Moneyfields player dived full length to head the ball back like a cross across the box. The ball flew past the keeper and a defender to the far post where a visiting player slide in and popped it into the net from close range.

In the 12th minute Moneyfields extended their lead from a long ball. The home keeper decided to rush out of his penalty area to act as a sweeper but as he tried to chest the ball down he misjudged the bounce and saw the ball fly over his head instead. There were two Moneyfields players following the ball and one of them beat the keeper to it and passed it into the back of the net.

The game turned on one moment in the 22nd minute. One of the Moneyfields strikers had run onto a through ball ahead of the last Laverstock defender and as the defender turned he clipped the striker's ankle. While it didn't appear to be deliberate, it did prevent a goal scoring opportunity so the referee was left with no choice but to send him off. While the referee was making this decision, one of the Laverstock players was discussing the decision with either the assistant or some spectators and appeared to have taken his protests too far as the assistant called the referee over. After a brief discussion, the referee pulled out his red card again and sent off the player who protested that he hadn't called anyone a *****.

Moneyfields made the most of their two man advantage and went 3.0 up in the 28th minute. The ball was crossed in from the right touchline and tapped into the net from close range.

However the sendings off seem to finally spark Laverstock into life and they pulled a goal back in the 32nd minute thanks to a great individual effort from pacy winger Youssef Bamba. He took the ball down the left wing, cut the ball back past a tackle and looked like he would cross the ball into the area for a team mate. However he decided to take a shot from the edge of the box and it flew across the keeper and into the top right of the goal. An spectacular finish that was applauded by both home and away supporters.

To my surprise Laverstock scored again in the 38th minute from some wing play down the right hand side. Moneyfields gave the ball away on the halfway line and Laverstock quickly counter attacked. The player took the ball into the penalty area and twisted, turned and dummied a shot before finally lifting what appeared to be a cross into the area. The ball went over the keeper's hands and then dropped down to hit the base of the left post before ending up in the back of the net.

After the excitement of 2 sendings off and 5 goals in the first half, it was no surprise that the second half didn't continue in the same way. Laverstock were able to survive an early scare after 55 minutes when a Moneyfields striker chipped the ball over the oncoming keeper only to see the ball strike the post and bounce out for a corner. Only the referee appeared to see a touch on the ball as all around me felt that it should have been a goal kick.

Moneyfields lost their way and were unable to break down the Laverstock team who defended well and successfully played the offside trap on many occasions - the Moneyfields coach announced in a frustrated tone that it was at least 16 times! In the 73rd minute Laverstock had their best chance to equalise from a freekick which found an unmarked player in the box. He had the opportunity to place a header on target but tried to put too much direction on it and put the ball wide.

In the 76th minute the Laverstock defence made another mistake. Moneyfields had played a cross into the box but it was a poor ball and none of their players was close to it. One of the Laverstock players went to clear the ball but mistimed his kick and ended up knocking the ball with his hand. The referee awarded a penalty and it was hit down the middle while the keeper dived to the left to give Moneyfields a 4.2 lead.

Laverstock continued to try and get back into the game and didn't tire as I was expecting with only 9 men on the pitch. They created a couple of half chances through their three subs before the end but were unable to get another goal.

Game 21: Salisbury City 1.0 York City (Blue Square Premier) 10.10.09

One of the teams I was looking forward to seeing in the Blue Square Premier when Salisbury were promoted was York City. Today's game was third time lucky as the previous games clashed with Amy's birthday and a frustrating weekend at work sorting out a VAT rate change.




York have had a run of 10 games unbeaten in the league before today's game but were missing recent signing Michael Gash up front through injury. Salisbury started brightly and in the second minute Matt Tubbs took the ball into the penalty area where he was brought down by ex Salisbury player Djoumin Sangare. The referee awarded a penalty and Tubbs stepped up to put the ball to the left while the keeper dived to the right.


After the early goal the game settled down. York were playing the ball high and long with their strong strikeforce of Rankine and Brodie tussling for the ball with the Salisbury defence. In the 22nd minute Brodie had a good chance to equalise, running onto a long ball and chipping just over the bar from the edge of the box as Bittner ran towards him.


York continued to put the pressure on and three minutes later Bittner was called into action with a spectacular save to push a shot over the bar. Five minutes later and Bittner made a superb double save to maintain Salisbury's lead before the Whites were saved by an offside flag as Meredith slid in and missed an open goal. In the last minute of the half Chris Flood found himself with an opportunity as he raced past the last York defender but he hesitated and took the ball too close to the York keeper who saved at his feet.




For the second half, Salisbury reverted to a 4-4-2 formation with Danny Webb replacing Darrell Clarke as they had not been able to keep possession upfield during the first half. Chris Flood had another good chance when through on goal in the 53rd minute but when he tried to place the ball it ended up going well wide of the post. York continued to press and Bittner had to use his feet as an emergency sweeper on a couple of occasions.


In the 65th minute Turley went off the pitch clutching his shoulder after challenging for the ball which left Salisbury down to 10 men. While Cox waited on the sideline to come on, Sinclair was brought down by a heavy tackle but the referee waved play on. York then crossed the ball deep to the far right but didn't make the most of the numerical advantage as the shot went wide. It seemed like only a matter of time before York would score as Rankin had a shot from the 6 yard line saved by Bittner followed by another breakaway attack where Brodie hit the crossbar after lifting the ball over Bittner from a tight angle.


The pressure from York was relentless and it looked like it had paid off in the 78th minute when a shot squirmed under Bittner's body and Brodie tapped the ball into the unguarded net from a yard out. The York fans started to celebrate as Brodie ran along the far touchline until they spotted that the assistant had his flag up for offside. Brodie was involved in a number of tussles with Salisbury's loan signing Ryan Tafazolli and in the 85th minute the two players both seemed to be tugging on each other's shirt as Brodie attempted to get onto a through ball. The referee didn't see it like that and produced a straight red card for Tafazolli.


Salisbury had to reshape the team and Matt Tubbs was sacrificed for Luke Ruddick to come on, Webb reverting to defence and Flood moving up to a lone front man role. As the board went up for 6 minutes of injury time, York missed a sitter. The ball was played out to the right of the penalty area to an unmarked player but he managed to drag his shot so far to the left that it missed the goal completely and went out for a goalkick. That was the last chance of the match and summed up the poor finishing from the visitors. At the final whistle it sounded as if Salisbury had won a playoff game as the cheers of relief filled the air.

Game 20: Bemerton Heath Harlequins 1.1 Alresford Town (FA Vase) 03.10.09

With the forecasts of high winds and heavy rain in mind, decided to join Andy at Bemerton for their FA Vase game against Wessex Prem rivals Alresford Town. After last week's delayed arrival I made sure that I got there in good time which was just as well.


Bemerton took the lead in the 2nd minute when an unmarked player received the ball on the left of the Alresford penalty area. He took it forward and then shot across the keeper and into the net.


The play was all one way traffic and in the 13th minute only the assistant's flag could prevent a second goal as the player who 'scored' had run in from an offside position. Offsides were an issue at the other end of the pitch as well. The two Alresford strikers weren't good at keeping onside according the assistant in front of us and everytime the ball was played forward one of them was given as offside. While they moaned and argued each time, they didn't seem to have the intelligence to change their runs to stay onside. This meant the half had a very stop-start feel to it.


In the 23rd minute Bemerton wasted another opportunity from a freekick. The ball was sent high into the area where it was headed down to a Bemerton player 8 yards out from goal. He leaned back as he hit a shot and instead of putting the ball in the net it flew up into the trees behind the goal. The rest of the half saw Bemerton dominate possession but neither team really took control of the game.


Before the second half, both teams brought on a substitute. The Alresford sub appeared to be tactical while the Bemerton change was enforced - one of their strikers had been tackled hard just before half time and couldn't run off his knock during the half time interval. The changes didn't seem to make much difference to the game - Bemerton continued to dominate and hit a couple of shots wide. Stuart Finlay (ex Bemerton top scorer) finally managed to stay onside in the 50th minute but as he was about to shoot a great sliding tackle came in from the side and cleared the ball.


As the game progressed Alresford started to create more chances around the area. One cross almost found the top corner and a couple of shots went wide. Bemerton had to make another change due to injury but weren't sitting back on their lead. In the 77th minute they almost added a second goal. The ball was crossed from the right at the second attempt and found a Bemerton player who leapt into the air and headed the ball past the keeper from inside the 6 yard line. The ball bounced down off the crossbar but didn't cross the line and was scrambled clear.


This miss was to prove costly. In the 90th minute and for the first time in the game Finlay was left unmarked in the box. A long ball was played to the left wing and then crossed for Finlay to head past the Bemerton keeper. This seemed to rattle Bemerton and they were lucky that the visitors didn't win the game in the last minute of injury time. Finlay was played in and just had the keeper to beat but there wasn't time to adjust his position for a shot before the keeper came out and the opportunist pass came off the keeper for a corner.


The equaliser took the game into extra time and I commented to Andy that the last time I had seen an extra time goal was at Willand Rovers last season when Bemerton had lost in the final minutes. Alresford were unlucky not to score right at the start of extra time with a shot from an acute angle that came back off the post.


That was the only excitement until the 110th minute when there was a flare up by the Bemerton dugout. An Alresford player wasn't happy at the time it took to get the ball back and started a shoving contest that soon escalated. After it calmed down, he was booked and a Bemerton coach was asked to leave the dugout. Both teams created half chances but the game fizzled out and finished a draw, with a replay during the next week at Alresford.

Game 19: Downton 1.1 Christchurch (aet) 5.6 (pens) (Wessex League Cup) 29.09.09

Decided to head over to Downton with Andy this evening for a Wessex League game against their higher league opponents Christchurch. Arrived at the ground in good time and had a browse through the programme. Andy was concerned for my well being – no jumper to keep out the cold – but I thought I’d be fine with a shirt and jacket. Downton were without their regular keeper Colin Hopkins and their manager was concerned that they might struggle without him and a couple of other regular players.


I had been disappointed with Christchurch when I saw them against Bemerton earlier in the season but their start to the game was good, putting Downton under pressure right from the kick off. After 9 minutes they took the lead. The ball was played long through a gap in the defence and a Christchurch player beat the offside flag, took the ball on. The Downton keeper had started to come for the ball and now found himself stranded and struggling to get back into position. He wasn’t able to get down to stop a low shot from flying past him and into the net.


The referee seemed rather particular and gave out three yellow cards for tackles and verbal questioning of his abilities before the next clear cut chance in the 23rd minute. Christchurch worked the ball to the edge of the box and a cross was fired into a crowded penalty area. It looked like one of the waiting forwards would connect with it but it went past all of them and ended up just wide of the far post.


Downton hadn’t offered too much going forwards but came close to an equaliser on the half hour. Kevin Thick dribbled to the edge of the box and then cut the ball back, beating two defenders in the process. He then fired in a shot on target but it was straight at the goalkeeper. A minute later and Downton were back in the game when a long range shot from the left of the area flew towards goal and bounced up and over the keeper. This gave the home team some confidence and they created another chance a couple of minutes later but the shot didn’t test the keeper.


The second half saw some controversy as two goals were disallowed in quick succession. The first “goal” was a close range header from a corner for the home team in the 60th minute. It was disallowed for a foul and the referee had blown just after the header so there weren’t too many complaints. Three minutes later and Christchurch put the ball into the net from a free kick that was taken long towards the penalty area. The ball was flicked on and then hit past the keeper. Both teams had got ready to start the game again and the Downton players were in the centre circle with the ball at their feet. The referee suddenly walked over to his assistant on the near side and after a brief conversation awarded Downton a freekick for what we assumed was an offside. No flag had been put up at the time and understandably the visiting team were furious with the delayed decision.


It looked like the game would be heading to extra time as wave after wave of Christchurch attacks were cleared by a tiring Downton team. In the last minute of the game, the ball was played into the Christchurch area and the Downton recipient went to ground. The referee decided that this was due to a tackle from his marker and pointed to the spot. After a bit of a delay, the penalty was taken and was hit low to the bottom right corner. The keeper guessed the right way and made an excellent save to push the ball towards the far touchline. There was still time for another penalty appeal, this time for handball, but the referee didn’t give it and continued to mystify both sets of supporters with his decision making.


The first half of extra time continued with the same pattern of Christchurch dominating possession but not being able to convert that into chances. In the 95th minute they had a corner and took a shot that hit a Downton defender and winded him. He collapsed on the goalline but instead of putting the ball out, Christchurch played it back into the penalty area and took another shot. The player who had gone down had managed to lift himself up using the post and was trying to get off the pitch when this second shot hit him. The shot would have beaten the keeper so it was a good job he was able to get up again to clear the ball!


There were no clear chances in the second half and while Downton came under a lot of pressure they worked hard and kept the visitors out. So the match then moved to a penalty shoot out. All the players moved to the centre circle and Christchurch prepared to take the first kick. To our surprise the Downton keeper chose to go to the right and managed to save the low shot to give the home team a boost! The scoring went as follows 0.0, 1.0, 1.1, 2.1,2.2,3.2,3.3 as each player put his penalty on target. Downton then missed their next penalty – the ball was hit high to the left and bounced down off the crossbar without crossing the line. Both of the final regular penalties were scored so we went into a sudden death shoot out at 4.4. The scoring then went 4.5, 5.5, 5.6 before a Downton player put the ball wide of the right post to send Christchurch through to the next round.