Match Reports
24th November 2007 - Highridge go on scoring spree
Mickey Adams with four and Dean Maggs with a hat-trick as Highridge United record a 9-2 home victory over Wotton Rovers.
It might have been very different if Wotton had taken the early chances they created in the first 8 minutes. Both Josh Stokes and George Williams had shots blocked as Highridge defended desperately. But after the initial onslaught Highridge’s first real attack brought the opening goal, a break down the left by Dean Maggs, a superb ball across to Mickey Adams to smash the ball into the net. In the next 3 minutes Highridge had taken a 3-0 lead. The second goal was from the penalty spot with Dean Maggs netting after Mike Berry had been pushed in the box. Then a second from Adams whose mishit shot deceived Fox who saw the ball bounce over his head. Wotton should have pulled a goal back with both Williams and Kier Cox just wide of the target. On 30 minutes United scored again when Adams completed his hat-trick after Fox had saved French’s shot it fell nicely for Adams to fire the ball home. Gary Cripps pulled one back for Wotton from the penalty spot after Tom Windows floored Williams. Cox almost made it two for Wotton when his shot beat George Brimble but was somehow cleared off the line by Mike Berry.
At the start of the second half Fox saved well with his legs as French was through on goal. United went further ahead in the 55th minute when a cross from French found Dean Maggs who hammered the ball past Fox. At the other end Jon Gull saw his shot beat Brimble but just clear the bar. On 58 minutes United had a 6-1 lead when central defender Tom Windows flicked the ball past Fox from a low cross into the box. Within a minute Wotton had pulled a goal back as Kier Cox’s run down the left and a great cross into the middle for Jon Lang to gather and turn and hit a great shot past Brimble. Dean Maggs completed his hat-trick in the 64th minute and at this stage Highridge were well in command of the situation with their slick passing around the park. In the last couple of minutes they added two more through Jon Berry and a fourth from Mickey Adams to complete the rout.
D.R.G. Stapleton moved off the bottom of the table with their first win of the season. Pucklechurch Sports were on the receiving end of a 4-1 defeat. Sports took the lead with a Jon Wiltshire goal, but Sam Glanville levelled before the break. In the 48th minute Matt Price gave the home side the lead with a 35 yard shot and Mark Richards made it 3-1 a few minutes later. Grant Bidwell wrapped it up for D.R.G. in the 56th minute.
Hanham Athletic moved into second place with a 5-0 win at Kings Stanley. Simon Bryant opened the scoring from the penalty spot with Simon Dew getting a second before the break. Simon Dew netted twice more in the second half to complete his hat-trick and Shane Hobbs made it five.
Axa came from behind to take the three points against Thornbury Town. Chris Johnson had put Town ahead from the penalty spot after he had been felled in the box on the half hour. Andy Sledge pulled the game square when he side footed a header from Danny Thorpe past the Thornbury keeper. The winner came in the 75th minute when substitute Steve Rice set up Steve Watts.
Berkeley Town pulled off a great result with a 3-2 win at home to Patchway Town. Berkeley had taken a 3-0 lead with a brace from Richard Langford on 14 and 74 minutes with a Karl Nash strike on the hour. Patchway came with two late goals from Bradley Harris on 80 minutes and Mark Palmer on 86 minutes but the home side held firm.
Taverners slipped from second place with a very disappointing 1-0 defeat at home to Tuffley Rovers. The only goal of the game came in the 30th minute when a defensive blunder allowed the unmarked Mark Wallington to fire home the winner.
Henbury slipped to the bottom of the table after a 1-1 draw at home to Yate Town Reserves. Henbury who are without a win yet so far this season found them selves trailing in the first half to a Eddie Howells goal against his former club, but hit back in the second half to salvage a point when Ashley Bruno found the back of the net.
Ellwood scored both goals in their encounter with league leaders Hardwicke. Hardwicke took the lead when Byron Ranford turned the ball into his own net, but Matt Foxwell salvaged a point for the home side with an equaliser in the 44th minute.
17th November 2007 - Gloucestershire out of NLS Cup
Despite a valiant effort the Surridge Gloucestershire County Football League’s adventure in the National League Systems Cup is over after losing 2-0 away to a very strong side from the Guernsey Priaulx League at the Cycling Ground.
Guernsey got off to a flying start and applied the early pressure forcing a good save from Kevin Sibley in the Gloucestershire goal in the first five minutes. Gloucestershire settled and a good cross field ball from Craig Harris found Craig Liddell who sent in a dangerous ball from the right which was scrambled out for a corner. The resulting corner kick was headed just wide by Neil Blunden.
Just after the quarter hour Guernsey broke down the left and a flashing shot was turned round the corner by Sibley. On Twenty five minutes some neat play from Mark Palmer freed Liddell down the right his cross found Mike Berry who saw the shot deflected over for a corner. Gloucestershire forced a series of corners and applied some real pressure but were unable to get a clear shot on goal.
On the half hour Palmer fed Berry and his cross found Richard James who forced the Guernsey keeper to make a save. Gloucestershire’s Craig Harris then sprung the offside trap but was closed down smartly. Guernsey now started to come back into the game and a shot from the Guernsey right back was smartly turned out for a corner by Sibley. On 35 minutes it needed a superb block from Palmer to deny Guernsey a certain goal when the ball fell nicely to the number seven 10 yards out looking at an open goal. A minute later Sibley was forced into a brilliant save to turn over a shot from Dave Rihoy the Guernsey centre forward from 12 yards out.
There was still time before the interval for Eddie Howells to put a shot just wide of the Guernsey upright and for Sibley to make another good save from a Guernsey header.
Within a minute of the restart Guernsey were in front after a break down the left met little resistance and Sibley was only able to parry the resulting shot into the path of Rihoy who fired the ball into the net. The game now settled into a midfield battle with Guernsey having the edge without creating any clear chances, until the hour mark when a goal bound shot was headed clear from the edge of the six yard box by Tom Windows.
The Gloucestershire manager Tony Cornelius now made a double substitution throwing on Jon Berry and Justin Cattle for Alex Lang and Craig Harris. Within three minutes he was forced to send on Mark Lee to replace Mike Berry who took a knock. The changes nearly paid off when Jon Berry combined with Palmer to feed Cattle on the edge of the box who set up the ball for Howells to fire over the Guernsey bar. Palmer then played a neat one-two with Cattle on the left to go clear on goal but the Guernsey keeper came out quickly to smother the shot.
On seventy minutes Sibley had to come off his line quickly to close down Rihoy who was clear on goal after the ball was given away. Three minutes later it two-nil when the ball broke to Scott Bradford 20 yards out and his shot rifled to the left of a diving Sibley into the bottom corner of the net.
With the clock running down Guernsey were happy to play out time and a tiring Gloucestershire side kept going but were only able to create a few half chances, the best falling to Richard James whose tired shot was easily saved by the Guernsey keeper.
Surridge Gloucestershire County Football League
Kevin Sibley (Pucklechurch Sports), Neil Blunden (Patchway Town),Ricky Lippiatt (Thornbury Town),Tom Windows (Highridge United),Alex Lang (AXA), Mark Palmer (Patchway Town), Craig Liddell (Highridge United), Eddie Howells (Henbury), Craig Harris (Taverners), Richard James (Hardwicke),Mike Berry (Highridge United)
Substitutes
Jon Berry (Highridge United, for Lang 60),Martyn Alford (Patchway Town), Daryl Saunders (Highridge United), Justin Cattle (Yate Town Reserves, for Harris 60), Mark Lee (Ellwood, for M Berry 63)
Manager : Tony Cornelius, Physio: Tony Clark
The Gloucestershire team before the game.
Image courtesy Dave Herbert
17th November 2007 - Hardwicke leave it late at Yate
Leaders Hardwicke increased their lead at the top to four points with a late flurry of goals at Yate Town Reserves. The game remained goalless until the 75th minute when Matt Sysum opened the scoring for Hardwicke. Eddie Rimmer made it 2-0 seven minutes later and Paul Carter tied the game up with a goal in the last minute.
Thornbury Town and Kings Stanley failed to find the net in the first 45 minutes, but an opening goal from Luke Gardener followed by a superb hat-trick from Chris Johnson put Town well in the driving seat. Stanley scored a consolation through Sam Prior.
Five goals at Henbury with Berkeley Town’s Karl Nash grabbing his second and the winner two minutes from the end to take the points. Berkeley had rushed into a 2-0 lead after 6 minutes with Richard Langford netting after 4 minutes and Karl Nash grabbing his first on 6 minutes. Henbury had pulled the scores level through Lee Barnes on 15 minutes and Ashley Bruno on 40 minutes but the second Nash strike was the killer.
Wotton Rovers slipped to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Axa who have moved well up the table. Two golas from Andy Sledge on 12 and 35 minutes gave then a 2-0 lead at the break and a late goal from Steve Watts saw the visitors home and dry.
Hanham Athletic have netted four goals in their last three outings and this week the team on the receiving end was D.R.G. Stapleton. They did not have it all their own way in the first half when first Simon Dew put them ahead only for Matt Price to level. Chris Ashwood restored the lead for Hanham but Dave Healy levelled again before the break. In the second half goals from Mark Pocock and Simon Bryant saw the home side run out 4-2 winners.
Taverners took the points at Pucklechurch Sports with a goal in the 75th minute from Mark Harsant. Earlier in the game Taverners were gifted the lead when Sam Gardiner unfortunately put the ball into his own net, but a Jon Wiltshire screamer into the roof of the Taverners net in the 40th minute brought the scores level. Taveners win keeps them in second place in the table 4 points behind the leaders.
10th November 2007 - Ellwood into Cup Semi-Final
In the Les James Cup second round Ellwood progress to the Semi-final with a 2-1 win at Taverners. The early exchanges went the way of Taverners with Goode in the Ellwood goal pulling off two good saves to deny the home side the lead in the first ten minutes. The game never produced many chance for either side until the 44th minute when Matt Foxwell drove his shot over Ryan Gannaway to give Ellwood the lead. The game had to contend with a strong wind blowing down the pitch and Taverners kicking with it in the second half had plenty of possession but a resilient Ellwood defence held firm until the 75th minute when Harsant?s turn and shot was well saved by Goode but Craig Harris knocked home the rebound. 1-1 with 15 minutes to go it looked a certain draw and penalties, but a rare venture into Taverners half in the second period brought a corner on the right with just 5 minutes left and a long ball to the far post was headed back across goal for Foxwell to hook the ball into the net.
Tom Burridge heads the ball clear for Taverners
Image courtesy Nigel Meaney
Axa's 2-1 defeat of Patchway Town means that Towns unbeaten record has been broken. Axa took the lead after 25 minutes when a Nathan Lumber 25 yard free kick beat Alford in the Patchway goal. 5 minutes before the break Town were level when Matt Thomas headed the ball into his own net from a Ben Purdy shot on goal. With the game heading for a draw Axa were awarded a penalty in the 90th minute and Tom Blyth?s spot kick found the back of the net even though Alford got his hands to the shot.
Wotton Rovers pulled off a shock result at Kings Stanley with a 2-0 win. Jon Gull put the visitors ahead after 40 minutes and Kris Williams made two on 75 minutes. Stanley were well below par on the day but should have scored a couple of goals in the last 10 minute.
Ellwood defend a corner.
Image courtesy Nigel Meaney
Henbury slipped to 4-0 defeat at home to Highridge United. A brace for both Dean Maggs and Micky Adams in each half sealed the home side?s fate. A spokesman for Highridge said the game was played in an excellent spirit with both teams contributing with some entertaining football.
Hanham Athletic put four past Pucklechurch Sports with only one in reply. Two goals from Simon Bryant one spectacular shot from the halfway line and one each from Simon Dew and Chris Ashwood with the lone goal for the visitors from Phil Tsoflias.
Bottom club D.R.G. Stapleton held Thornbury Town until the 85th minute when Chris Johnson netted and then almost straight after Moss Banderin netted a second to give the visitors a 2-0 win
Berkeley Town took the lead at home to league leaders Hardwicke when Matt Dyson put the ball into his own net. Hardwicke?s Richard James leveled on 25 minutes but 3 minutes later Martin Powell gave Berkeley the lead. Ben Wood leveled in the 49th minute and Eddie Rimmer netted the winner for the leaders with just 3 minutes to go.
A goal by Mark Wallington after 8 minutes was enough for Tuffley Rovers to take the three points at home to Yate Town Res. Justin Cattle hit the upright for Yate and also had a penalty appeal brushed a side by the referee, but Tuffley should have scored a second but Oliver Everitt missed a penalty Hamilton pulling off a great save.
3rd November 2007 - Axa edge out Henbury
The game at Station Road between Axa and Henbury finished 3-2 but it could well have been a larger victory for Axa but for some bad luck and some outstanding goalkeeping from Mark Winkler in the Henbury goal. The opening twenty minutes belonged to Henbury pushing forward and just missing out as early as the third minute when Ashley West struck the crossbar with a tremendous shot. A few minutes later the same player was only just wide with a shot from the edge of the box. Henbury took a deserved lead on 18 minutes when a corner from the right was poorly dealt with by the Axa defence and Ralph Timms hammered the ball home from just inside the box. This setback seemed to wake Axa up and they started to take control of the game and were unlucky when Steve Watts?s shot beat Winkler but hit the upright and was cleared. Danny Thorpe had a great chance to level for the home side but his header went straight to the keeper. Axa kept up the pressure and were rewarded right on half time when Winkler could only parry a shot from Steve Watts and it fell nicely for Andy sledge to drive the ball into the net.
Axa keeper Dave Rice can only look on as a shot from Ashley West comes back off the Crossbar
Image courtesy Nigel Meaney
The second period should have seen Axa move into a comfortable lead, firstly Tom Blyth?s cross was heading straight for the net from a Steve Watts header when Winkler pulled of a reflex save to push the ball onto the bar and out for a corner. In the 54th minute the home side took the lead when Tom Blyth broke down the right and Watts nipped the ball past Winkler. Blyth found himself clear on goal only to see his shot well saved by the Henbury keeper. With Axa calling the shots at this stage it came as a big surprise when Henbury were gifted an equalising goal when Rice failed to collect a harmless looking ball and Lee Barnes was on hand to knock the ball into an empty net. Axa grabbed all the points 8 minutes from the end when Tom Blyth got round the back of the Henbury defence and struck a shot on target that Winkler managed to parry but Watts was on hand to slide the ball home.
Steve Watts turns in the winner for Axa
Image courtesy Nigel Meaney
Scintillating stuff at Berkeley Town where the visitors Tuffley Rovers shared the points in an eight goal bonanza. Tuffley raced into a 3-0 lead after 30 minutes with strikes from Mark Wallington, Adam Hacker and Warren Mann, but Town hit back on 24 minutes with a penalty from Karl Nash. Berkeley made it 3-2 on 65 minutes through Dave Phillips and Karl Nash grabbed a second on 71 minutes to level the score. Then two goals in the last minute of the game the first gave Tuffley the lead courtesy of Martin Middlecote and Town drew level with a strike from Tom Waldron.
Hardwicke take over the top spot with a slender 1-0 win at home to Highridge United the only goal of the game coming in the 55th minute from a Richard James strike. Highridge finished the game with 10 men.
Pucklechurch Sports recorded their second win of the season with a 2-1 win at home to Ellwood. No goals during the first 45 minutes but a mistake by Sports keeper Kevin Sibley completely misjudging an Adam Stradling shot which went through his arms into the net on 50 minutes. Ben Gardiner pulled the score back to 1-1 in the 83rd minute with a header on the far post and substitute Scott Young netted the winner 2 minute from the end.
Patchway Town kept their unbeaten record intact with a 3-1 win at Kings Stanley. Town took the lead after 18 minutes with a Stuart Jenkins strike but Stanley leveled with a brilliant goal from Steve Potter on 23 minutes. Two further goals in the second half form Town?s Chris Chinnock the first on 65 minutes and the second ten minutes later saw the visitors home and dry.
The two bottom clubs Wotton Rovers and D.R.G. Stapleton shared the point in a 1-1 score-line, although D.R.G. score both goals. The first was an own goal from Andy Lear to give Wotton the lead on 61 minutes and then substitute Leon Wilson grabbed a deserved point for the visitors on 83 minutes.
The two teams pushing for the championship Taverners and Yate Town Res drew 0-0, with very few chances created throughout the game. Yate did strike the upright and Taverners should have scored from a header in the second half, but at the end of 90 minutes there were no goals to show.
1st November 2007 - Handbook
Copies of the 2007-08 Surridge Gloucestershire County League Handbook for 2007-08 are available to purchase at £3.50 plus £1.00 postage and packing. Contact the League Secretary Ron Holpin for more details.
Postal and Telephone contact details can be found on the contacts page if required.
