MONEYFIELDS v CHRISTCHURCH

SYDENHAMS WESSEX PREMIER LEAGUE

MATCH RESULT: 0 - 1

GOAL SCORER: PAUL RIDEOUT

1. JASON COLLINS
2. COLIN DAND
3. DAVID LEGG
4. DAN CRUTCHLEY
5. SCOTT SANDERSON
6. JACQUES BERNARD
7. MARK SMITH
8. MARC FAIRBROTHER
9. BEN OSBORNE
10. TOM JEFFES
11. PAUL RIDEOUT


A superb all round team effort against a physical home side resulted in a win and 3 valuable points. The three points meant a finish of at least 6th in the league with the possibility of move up to 5th and in addition we have accumulated a record number of points.

The game started slowly but Tom Jeffes nearly gave Church the lead on 13 minutes when his header from a Mark Smith corner was tipped onto the bar by the home keeper. Young keeper Jason Collins then came to Church’s rescue after 17 minutes with a good save from close range. In the next minute a superb pass from skipper Dan Crutchley making his comeback after a 4 week absence released Paul Rideout with a clear run on goal. Rideout did everything right as he lobbed the keeper but the hard surface resulted in the ball bouncing and hitting the bar.
After 55 minutes the referee retired injured with the lines person taking over in the middle resulting in a five-minute delay. The only goal of the game came on 62 minutes and it was well worth the wait. Neat passing resulted in a Paul Rideout shot being well saved by the keeper but from the rebound the same player smashed the ball into the net. There was a further hold up a few minutes after the goal when Jacques Bernard who had been busy throughout received a facial injury. The home side pushed forward leaving gaps at the back and Church were unlucky not to increase their lead with Moneyfields posing no real threat in the last third of the pitch due to excellent defending and confident goal keeping.
It cannot be stated enough what a performance this was at the end of a hard long season against difficult opponents and the hard work put in by manager Graham Kemp is much appreciated by all concerned at the football club. Finally well done to Tim Collins and his team for probably finishing third in the league and also reaching the Wessex Combination Cup Final yet again.

Donners

CHRISTCHURCH V POOLE TOWN

SYDENHAMS WESSEX PREMIER LEAGUE

MATCH RESULT: 4 - 4

GOAL SCORERS: ADAM COSTELLO, PAUL RIDEOUT (2), TOM JEFFES

1. STEWART KEARN
2. ADAM COSTELLO
3. DAN TAYLOR
4. COLIN DAND
5. BEN LUCAS
6. MARTIN HARRIS
7. MARK SMITH
8. SCOTT SANDERSON
9. BEN OSBORNE
10. TOM JEFFES
11. PAUL RIDEOUT

SUBS USED:

JAMES BURDEN
BEN DICKENSON
DAVID LEGG


Under normal circumstances I would restrict my comments to purely the match report but in this case I feel I must start by passing comment on the totally bias report on the Poole own website Tatnum Talk Unofficial Report which states NOTHING MUCH HAPPENED IN THE FIRST 15 MINUTES!!. Well if you cannot mention the most significant point of the whole 90 minutes in that after 4 minutes the home keeper Stewart Kearn was the victim of a blatant foul resulting in him being a hobbling passenger for the rest of the half and eventually being replaced in goal for the second half by central defender Colin Dand then I doubt if the person providing the report was even at Hurn Bridge (a proper football ground) or perhaps they were blinded by the sun!!

The home side came close to opening the scoring on 2 minutes when Scott Sanderson hit the bar with the Poole keeper beaten and then as previously mentioned there was a long delay when Kearn was given treatment which restricted his mobility for the rest of the half. Kearn even being injured made a superb save on 13 minutes but was beaten in the next minute when a cross from the right was deflected into the net but maybe a fully fit keeper would have saved it. Matters got worse for Church on 24 minutes when a poor clearance led to the ball being returned into the penalty area where a foul was committed resulting in a penalty which was easily converted.

There were thoughts then of a similar score to that of the cup game but Church are made of stern stuff and on 28 minutes Adam Costello scored his first league goal for the club with a header from a Mark Smith corner. For the remainder of the half Poole on a number of occasions came close to increasing their lead being denied by bad luck and a crippled goal keeper.

At the start of the second half central defender Colin Dand replaced Kearn in goal and in addition goal scorer Costello was injured and two substitutes James Burden and David Legg were brought into the fray. It came as some surprise in the circumstances when Church equalised after 52 minutes when a Burden cross was not cleared and Paul Rideout finished emphatically from 15 yards. It came as an even greater surprise when the home side took the lead 10 minutes later when a fierce shot was in the referees opinion handled in the penalty area resulting in both a penalty and a sending off. Paul Rideout netted from the spot making it 35 successful kicks out of 35. The lead did not last long as within 5 minutes the scores were level when a high ball into the box was not cleared (Poole put a lot of high balls into the box and I would hope this was to test the substitute keeper as they did not pass the ball a lot!) and a shot from 12 yards ended up in the net. Matters got worse for Church in the next minute when James Burden rashly got 2 bookings inside a minute resulting in both teams being reduced to 10 men. It looked as if the game had been decided in Poole’s favour on 85 minutes when a speculative long shot was missed by Dand which was his only mistake and resulted in the visitors taking the lead. However straight from the kick off Tom Jeffes equalised from an acute angle asking the question who had an outfield player in goal. The remainder of the game was end to end with probably the best chance falling to Poole but somehow Mark Smith cleared off the line.

A valuable point for Church in their attempt to move up the table, with the Totton game on Thursday now very important. Well done to Poole for being champions and I think I speak for a lot of clubs in the league when I say that it’s a shame they are not being promoted as they would not be missed one bit!!

Man of the Match: Ben Lucas

TOTTON AND ELING v CHRISTCHURCH

SYDENHAMS WESSEX PREMIER LEAGUE

MATCH RESULT: 0 - 1

GOAL SCORER: BEN OSBORNE

1. JASON COLLINS
2. SCOTT SANDERSON
3. DAVID LEGG
4. COLIN DAND
5. BEN LUCAS
6. DAN TAYLOR
7. MARK SMITH
8. JACQUES BERNARD
9. BEN OSBORNE
10. TOM JEFFES
11. PAUL RIDEOUT

SUBS USED:

STEVE GREEN
JAMES BURDEN


A well taken goal by top scorer Ben Osborne on 13 minutes was enough to give Church all 3 points in a tough encounter which saw the home side have 2 players sent off and Church 1 sent off.

The visitors nearly opened the scoring in the first minute when from a Mark Smith corner Tom Jeffes was unable to bring the ball under control and Totton were able to clear the ball. The home side then exerted some pressure and on 5 minutes Ben Lucas cleared off the line and then in the next minute they shot wide when well placed. The winning goal followed shortly when after a neat passing movement Tom Jeffes supplied the pass for Osborne to finish superbly for his 29th goal of the season. Totton then pushed forward showing no ill affects from their excellent Russell Cotes cup win on Tuesday but without really testing young keeper Jason Collins standing in for the injured Stewart Kearn. The game exploded into life in injury time when Ben Lucas went on a marauding run forward which was stopped illegally by 2 Totton players but he retaliated with a bad challenge resulting in him being sent off with both home players receiving yellow cards.

Manager Graham Kemp changed his formation for the second half with Jacques Bernard moving to full back and Tom Jeffes to midfield leaving Ben Osborne as the lone striker. It was hard to know which side had reduced numbers as twice Bernard nearly scored firstly hitting the bar with a header and secondly having an effort cleared off the line. Totton were then also reduced to 10 men on the hour when their centre half was dismissed for his second yellow card on the hour mark. Church then came close to increasing their lead twice in 2 minutes when Bernard hit the post again and Osborne working very hard showed great skill to be on a one on one situation with keeper but finished weakly. Church keeper Collins had very little to do being protected by superb defending but when called into action he dealt very confidently with everything that came his way. Steve Green nearly scored with his first touch and twice in the last 5 minutes the lead was nearly increased but fine keeping denied the visitors. There was then just time for the home side to have a second player sent off in injury before the end of the game.

This win completed a double over Totton, which I doubt very few sides have managed this season and also extended the unbeaten run to 15 games. It is now in our hands if we can finish 5th in the league but if not is has still been an excellent season for the whole club.

Donners