SUN 4 FEB 07
BROMLEY HEATH 1
FRY CLUB COLTS 2
On a beautiful warm winters day we travelled to Downend to play what
we anticipated would be a tough game with a full squad to choose from. We
weren’t disappointed!
Unfortunately the referee Bromley Heath had arranged
was unable to attend due to work commitments so we were asked if we could
supply somebody, which we could, as Richard volunteered. The first half was
pretty uneventful as Bromley had the better of the few chances that were
created. Fortunately, our defence played very well
with Craig Francis in goal handling well and James Hurrell
Smith sweeping efficiently in front of him. With certain decisions going
against Bromley during the half, they did begin to get excited but our
concentration proved useful as gradually we came back into the game In the last
15 mins of the first half. Brad Monelle
had 2 good chances, one which just missed the goal and the other the
keeper pulled off a great save. Likewise with Craig Andrews as the keeper
frustrated their forwards to keep his goal intact. The best chance of the half
fell just on half time as a deep corner from Mo Bouaziz
fell right on the head of Kyle Curtis, creeping in at the far post, but the ball
struck the top of his head and just went over from close range. We went into
half time therefore at 0 – 0.
The second half began with a further 2 changes to
our wide players as we searched for a run of good play to try and dominate our
opponents. As we continued to frustrate Bromley, so their own discipline both
on and off the pitch was beginning to play a big part of their game. Despite
this, Danny McCarthy, Oli Randall and Oli Murray were trying to hold our midfield intact whilst
pushing our play forward. Unfortunately, Bromley opened the scoring after 10 mins with a great strike from a narrow angle on their right
which curled past Craig into the far bottom corner. We were now chasing the
game which led to a tactical change in formation , moving James Hurrell Smith up front ,with Charlie Frampton and Kyle at
the back sweeping. This gave us at this time a better balance to the team as
attack after attack was launched. James Boulton in
particular and both Kyle and Michael Payne ensured Bromley rarely troubled our
goal as we searched for an equalizer. Our chance came as a panic clearance by
Bromley fell to the feet of Charlie Frampton but his swift shot from the edge
of the box crashed against the bar and out of play. As the half moved towards a
nervous end, so Bromleys discipline deteriorated even
further. The Referee and our players being subjected to some foul language
and abuse by players, officials and even mature spectators who should have
known better! Unfortunately this was now playing a big part of the game. Even
so, our players attempted to keep their focus and this had a huge impact in the
final part of the game. A long ball from defence
over the top of the Bromley sweeper found James Hurrell
Smith clean through. As the keeper closed in, Smithy headed the ball
over the keeper who then crashed into him preventing a goal scoring chance. The
referee rightly deemed this a sending off although Bromley didn’t! From the
resulting free kick on the edge of the box, Brad Monelle
curled the ball around the wall to level the scores. We were now on top as we
continued to push for the winner. Two further corners came and went and finally,
from a further Mo Bouaziz corner, the ball again went
deep and James Boulton crept in behind to poke the
ball over the line to put us 2 – 1 ahead from which Bromley could not find a
way back.
Out of this, we stayed focused as we ultimately got
what we thoroughly deserved, another vital win. Every single one of our 15
players played their part yet again to earn the most difficult victory for a
very long time. The Man of the Match was another tough choice but it was
awarded to James Boulton who played superbly
throughout the game keeping our defence intact and
also notching the vital winner.
SQUAD: CRAIG
FRANCIS, JAMES HURRELL SMITH, JAMES BOULTON, MICHAEL PAYNE, KYLE CURTIS,
CHARLIE FRAMPTON, DANNY McCARTHY, OLI RANDALL (capt.), MO BOUAZIZ, BRAD MONELLE, CRAIG ANDREWS, JORDAN
KNIGHT, DEAN LAPHAM, OLI MURRAY, NATHAN DAWSON