MATCH REPORTS - September

Elephant & Castle 0,Sheldons Ultras 2

The opening game of the season at Tivoli Park, saw a hard fought contest between two evenly matched sides end with a win for Sheldons Ultras. In the early stages, Sheldons Ultras had the best of it, with a shot from Dave Page saved by the keeper & the same player saw his free kick go wide of the Elephant & Castle goal.

Paul Kinlan then had his corner hit the back post with the goalkeeper stranded.Then the Elephant & Castle had a concerted spell of pressure which the Sheldons Ultras defence keeping them to long range efforts & headers from corner which ended wide of the target. The first real chance of the game came on 36 minutes when Lee Stone laid a Paul Kinlan through ball to Jon Symaka which was kept out by a combination of the goalkeeper & one of the Elephant & Castle defenders.

The Elephant & Castle’s best chance came in last minutes of the first half when they forced Sheldon’s Ultras goalkeeper Harrison Hood into a fine double save.Both sides had early chances in the 2nd half, with Hood in the Ultras goal force into some early work, with Page & Symaka going close at the other end. The deadlock was broken on 63 minutes when Dave Page beat the offside trap to cross for Lee Stone to tap in, despite claims for offside the goal was allowed to stand.

After that Symaka had a couple of chances to increase the lead but had a shot hit the post & then one cleared off of the line. In the 88 minute, Sheldons had an appeal for a penalty turned down for a foul on Symaka, then in the last minute the same player got away from the defence & did well to keep the ball in play, then crossed for Lee Stone to shoot passed the keeper to make it 2-0.

Preston Hellngs 3 Don Ronaldo 3

Preston should have left the pitch to the theme from "The Great Escape", having been 3 - 0 down to come back to 3 - 3.

The 1st 20 minutes the game was an even affair but on 24 mins the home defence fell asleep & allowed a Don Ronaldo to smash the ball past veteran keeper Chris Davis. 2 mins later with the home defence appealing for offside Preston were 2 down. Just one min later it all fell apart & the score was 3 - 0. Preston rallied & Harri Savage crossed for Kriss Lasslett to score.

In the 2nd half Preston played better but had to wait until the 77th min when Jamie Relph was pushed in the box & Lasslett scored from the spot. It looked as if Preston were heading for defeat until in the 92nd min a surging run down the wing & a driven cross from Darren Oxborrow resulted in Relph netting from 3 yards to spark Preston celebrations. The Game was a credit to the League with both teams playing a very sporting game which was well reffed by Barry Solly.

Clifton Arms 0 Sovereign Upholstery 2

Sovereign Upholstery went in to this match with an almost full strength squad with only a couple of squad members absent. Obviously this was the first time that Soverign Upholstery FC had met Clifton Arms and it proved to be quite a turbulent affair. The game started brightly for SUFC with a lot of attacking play resulting in corner after corner. The Clifton Arms keeper was kept busy in the first half and if it wasn't for him the score line could have been a lot worse.

However, the CAFC keeper had absolutely no chance of stopping Tom Horne's wonder goal from 35 yards out. It was a lovely strike from the midfielder and with other members of the team urging him to pass the ball, he made the right decision. With half time fast approaching SUFC pushed on in search for the second goal and were finally rewarded when yet another corner, this time swung in from Micky Reegan, found Dan Coombe all alone at the back post where he headed in for 2-0.

The second half began without man of the first half Sam Smithson, after a thigh injury had forced him to sit the second half out. The change seemed to affect SUFC's shape and formation. The SUFC defence had a lot more to do in the second half but man of the match Scott Hakesley, Roy Gillham and Gareth Davies all seemed to handle the pressure pretty well. Martin Richardson came close with a 30 yard free kick hitting the bar and going out for a goal kick. The game took a real turn for the worst when a mistimed challenge from Dan Coombe resulted in a straight red card for the first half scorer. SUFC were forced to change formation again but managed to hold on until the full time whistle. All in all a good performance from SUFC and a deserved victory.

Lord Nelson 1 Eclipse Recovery Services FC 1

A draw was perhaps a fair result but Eclipse were seconds away from claiming all three points. Eclipse started with all the Summer's new signings in the starting eleven and a new 4-5-1 formation. From kick off the game was a battle of two midfields, Nelsons youthful players battling against the age and experience of some seasoned Eclipse players. Neither side could claim to having control of the match but Lord Nelson had the better chances in the first half, only some great goal keeping form Justin LLoyd keeping the score 0-0 at halftime.

Eclipse then took the lead just after halftime, a header finding the back of the net by the returning 'messiah' Kinsella. Eclipse then invited pressure on themselves by sitting back and letting Nelson come on to them. With 10 minutes to go Lord Nelson were awarded a contreversial penalty. Moseley was pushed in the back and his arm hit the ball whilst he was off balance. Up stepped Leon Frazer (a player who almost signed for eclipse in the summer). His penalty was well saved by Man of the Match Justin LLoyd. Unfortunatly this was not the last controversial penalty of the game, in the 92 minute manager flaig was harshly judged to have handled when the ball clearly hit his chest. Keeper lloyd could not save this one. This turned out to be the final kick of the game. A sickening ending for the Eclipse players but a just ending for the Lord Nelson team.

Manager Flaig said he was proud of his team after the match, we battled well against a youthful opposition and every player gave 100%.

Canterbury United 4-5 Powell Arms FC

 The Powell took all three points on the opening day of the season, even if they did make it difficult on themselves.
After a bright start the Powell fell behind against the run of play but were soon level, good work from Aaron Balcombe lead to the impressive Ben Anderson being fouled in the box, Adam Hobbs stepped up to score from the spot, his first goal since returning to the club.

The Powell then scored a quickfire double to take the lead both times the tireless Aaron Balcombe showed skill and intelligence to play in Adam Hobbs who finished both strikes superbly to complete a first half hat trick  and get his season off to a dream start. The powell stepped off the pace and allowed Canterbury to pull one back to leave it 3-2 at half time.

The second half lacked the same enthusiasm , the Powell  too happy to sit back and allow Canterbury to come on to them, however a moment of magic from Dan Francis saw the lead extended when he turned on the edge of the box and fired in an unstoppable shot into the top corner. Canterbury again pulled one back only for the Powell to extend their lead, Aaron Balcombe again providing, this time for Martin O'Brien whose cross come shot flew into the back of the net for his first ever goal for the club after 3 years of trying leading to the defender being mobbed by his team mates. The celebrations were short lived as Canterbury again pulled one back but the Powell stood firm and held on to win.

The Powell will feel unlucky after having a goal disallowed and hitting the bar 3 times, disappointed to have conceded as many goals in a game they dominated but ultimately relieved to start the season with 3 points.

Premier Division      Cramptons 0Active 2

Active got 3 points on the board against a battling Cramptons on a beautiful Sunday morning at Birchington.Despite having most of the play, Active failed to create many chances in the first half an hour with poor service to Actives front men, Fairhall and LiamMorris depriving them of opportunity.

Out of nothing they were gifted a penalty by a seemingly unnecessary handball midway through the first half but Elliot Paynes normally sure left foot sent the ball 2 feet wide of the post. 10 minutes later Chopper Fairhall was bought down in the Cramptons area and Jake Eastwood stepped forward to put Active 1-0 up. Cramptons had a couple of good breaks but failed to test Active keeper Chris Howard.

The second half started much the same way, but Cramptons started to get more of the ball. Active then sent on all 3 subs in the space of 10 minutes with still a quarter of the game to play. Immediately the game started to swing back in the visitors favour and with 15 minutes left John Pettit supplied Graham Birkett whose exquisite lob over the keeper made the points safe. For all Cramptons hard work, it was Active who had the best chances with Fairhall and McArthur missing opportunities to extend the lead and the visitors affording the luxury of missing a second penalty when, Man of the Match, Eastwood sent his second spot kick of the morning sailing over the bar, the ball last seem threatening shipping in the Channel.

Britannia 2 Hotel De Ville 5 

The first game of the season saw Hotel De Ville play Britannia in what many thought could be an early clash of the top two. All the pre match hype of how good Britannia were, due to the fact that their team was made up from Margate reserve players, seemed to have little effect on the De Ville players. Many had suggested that with Hotel De Ville missing three key players, Rob Harnett (family occasion), James Selsby (injured) and Peter Green (suspended) that Britannia might come out on top.

However, Hotel De Ville decided to set out with caution instead of flair to see what the opposition had. 4-5-1 was the house special of the day! This seemed to work perfectly as the HTDV controlled all of the early play in midfield. As the game played out the HTDV's game plan started to take shape, the ebbs and flows had leant towards the HTDV and this paid off when a corner to the near post was battled for by Alan Mann, Mann controlled the ball using his strength to hold off the defender and laid the ball back for Lee Ball who thumped a low hard shot into the bottom of the near post. Great finish from an impressive Lee Ball, despite a lack of sleep!!!

The pattern of the game from here on out favoured HTDV, as the trio in the middle of the park used their experience and skill to outwit and out play a dejected Britannia team. Barber in particular was having his best game so far for HTDV; he at times seemed to take the Mickey out of players with his dribbling ability. Taylor and Overbury in there also had great games, Overbury energy will be a great asset throughout the season and Taylors experience calmed play down and linked moves very nicely. HTDV were unlucky not to add to their tally as the trickery of the wide players started to cut open Britannia time and time again, Chris Dali was superb in the first half, his dribbling and strength and determination to win the ball was pure class in the first half. However, Britannia did find an equaliser from no were as a lofted high ball saw two De Ville players go for a header, this resulted in their striker having a clean run on goal, Pyatt had no chance. The maturity of the team then came through as HTDV did not panic and again started to play good football.  Hotel De Ville was soon to restore order as talisman Ben Winsor was to establish a lead after a fantastic layoff in the box by Graham Taylor. The ball was nicely controlled by Taylor who then cushioned the ball off to Winsor who rifled the ball into the top of the net. Further misery was to come for Britannia as their captain was given his marking orders late in the second half. After already being cautioned for an outrageous dive, he received his second yellow card for persistent fouling. The end of the half saw Winsor nearly add a third with a delightful chip that beat the goalkeeper but somehow the defender done brilliantly under his own crossbar to stop the ball going in. That would be the final key incident before half time.

At half time the team talk was very positive and based around solidarity and control. As the second half played out HTDV did just that as they started to dominate play and made the opposition chase the ball. The superior control and passing in midfield was too much for Britannia as Sean Overbury soon made it 3-1. After some nice play the ball became loose in the box, dropping to Overbury who produced a nice flick to guide the ball past the stranded goalkeeper. The day was to get worse for the Britannia goalkeeper as HTDV started to get a number of good crosses and corners into the box, which resulted in the keeper flapping at the ball.

However, against the run of play Britannia stunned everyone by snatching a second. A slight lack of concentration by the defence, allowed another long ball played into the big striker was not cut out and he was allowed to get a shot off that beat Pyatt. The goal was particularly hard luck for Pyatt who had a good game with good handling and distribution. The defence well marshalled by Pitcher and Williams at centre back, copied well throughout the match and handled most of what Britannia threw at them. The full backs, Mann and Pearce were very solid and well disciplined keeping to their positions and not drifting past the half way line made the defensive unit very tight.

This goal, perhaps last season would have seen HTDV buckle under the pressure of thought of failure but to the players credit they showed their football maturity by upping the tempo and going for the jugular. As the players realised this, their passing and moving increased by about another 20%. A succession of corners, crosses, near misses and blocked shots HTDV restored their two goal lead thanks to Winsor’s predatory instincts. He sniffed out that the goalkeeper was going to make a mistake after claiming a through ball, this resulted in Winsor poaching the ball from the keepers grasp and firing an unstoppable shot beyond the sprawling defenders. The restored lead indicated the time for some substitutions. HTDV old boy and possibly longest serving player Carl Thistle came on at left back for Pearce and Chris Knell replaced Chris Dali on the right side of midfield. Both players shored up the team and played well. Thistle being strong in the tackle and headers, while Knell done well on several occasions cutting inside onto his left foot. The rest of the game played out with HTDV on top. A fifth goal was of no surprise when Winsor went through one on one with the goalkeeper, rounding him only to be taken out. A penalty was awarded but no red card! After the crowd had called for sympathy! Winsor made no mistake with the penalty as he sealed an impressive hat-trick.

All in all a great start to the season for Hotel De Ville, after what was billed as their toughest game of the season the team stood up and showed their true colours. Everyone at the club hopes that this will be a successful season leading to some silverware; to make that a reality were going to need a good squad for the whole of the season. Man of the match had to go to Ben Winsor after another impressive hat-trick. There were many in contention for the honour as every player had a good game from back to the front. Well done all HTDV players.

Thanet Leisureforce 6  The Odds 4 

What a game to kick off the season to, with end to end attacks which made the game resemble a basketball match in patches.

The early exchanges were pretty even, with Dougie May probing away in the Odds midfield, and the lively pairing of Bough and Collett up front keeping the away defence on their guard.

On 12 minutes the deadlock was broken, when Pete Scott's cross from the right wing deflected of the defenders foot and looped over the advancing keeper into the net. That lead was double soon after when Wes Collet finally broke his barren spell in front of goal, turning the last defender and firing low and hard past Rixon in the Odds goal.

The two goals gave us a massive confidence boost, and as The Odds looked all at sea, more attacks came from us, with Wes and Pete both wondering how they didn't add to their own tally. When a Russell Hunt crossfield ball was back headed towards his own keeper by the Odds centreback, Pete Scott nipped in behind him to poach a goal, and to put us into what looked like a commanding lead with only 30 minutes gone.

You wouldn't of guessed what was coming at this stage, but two goals inside the final four minutes of the half by the Odds forward, curiously named Monkey, first of getting his head to a cross from the left wing, and then firing home unmarked at the far post from a May free kick.

So the half time talk all of a sudden took on a different tone in both camps.

Only a minute into the second half and Wes Collett grabbed his second of the game, firing home the loose ball after Darren Bough had his shot saved.

The two goal cushion lasted only five minutes when a cross from the right was finished as the second attempt after Dan Hunt brilliantly saved the initial effort.

With fifteen minutes left Collett scored his hat-trick goal, slotting home neatly from 8 yards, after good work by Pete Scott. Once again  The Odds would not lie down, and got another goal back with ten minutes to go, to set up a frantic finish.

Either side of that goal The Odds had the woodwork to thank on three occasions, once from their own defenders wayward header, then Scott and Bough both struck the upright when they should have scored.

The final goal finally came with just five minutes to play, when Darren Bough latched onto a through ball, advanced on the keeper and slipped the ball into the bottom corner to bring the score to 6-4.

Still chances came and went in the closing stages, but none taken and the final whistle brought to a close a highly entertaining and competitive match in which both sides can take positives and also a few negatives from.