COWES SPORTS v CHRISTCHURCH

SYDENHAMS WESSEX PREMIER LEAGUE

MATCH RESULT: 3 - 4

GOAL SCORERS: STEVE LINPOW, TOM PRICE, MARK SMITH, BEN OSBORNE

1. JO PRODOMO
2. ADAM COSTELLO
3. DAN TAYLOR
4. DAN CRUTCHLEY
5. STEVE LINPOW
6. MARTIN HARRIS
7. MARK SMITH
8. JACQUE BERNARD
9. BEN OSBORNE
10. TOM PRICE
11. JAMES BURDEN

SUBS USED:

TOM JEFFES
BEN LUCAS
MARC FAIRBROTHER


A late goal by leading scorer Ben Osborne was enough to give Christchurch all 3 points in an entertaining game on the Isle of Wight.

The visitors started brightly and took the lead on 2 minutes when Steve Linpow scored his first goal of the season with a neat header from a superb Mark Smith free kick. They nearly scored again on 5 minutes when Ben Osborne was denied by a good save from the home keeper when he was put through after a neat passing movement. The second goal was soon forthcoming though when the pacey Tom Price took advantage of an error in the home defence and raced clear rounded the keeper to score on 16 minutes. This looked then as if it was just a matter of how many goals Church would score BUT this is Christchurch we are talking about!!

The home side reduced the arrears on 31 minutes with virtually their first effort on goal when after young keeper Jo Prodomo had turned a shot against the post the defence failed to clear and from close range a Cowes attacker netted. Matters got worse just before the interval when the home side equalised when from their first corner Jo Prodomo punched clear and was unfortunate to see his clearance hit the head of a Cowes player and fly into the net.

The home side obviously buoyed by the score started the second half in the ascendancy but were fortunate to be awarded a penalty on 50 minutes (when the linesman not the referee awarded the penalty) when Jo Prodomo made a save and then when diving on the loose ball a Cowes player fell down ( I think the home crowd played their part !!). Justice was done for a brief moment when Jo saved the penalty but again the ball was not cleared and a goal resulted from the ensuing scramble.

This seemed to bring Church to life and Steve Linpow should have equalised on 55 minutes when he headed narrowly over the bar but the equaliser was not long coming and when it came 5 minutes later it was worth the wait!! Mark Smith took a free kick Beckham like (some of the youngsters reading this, may not believe it but some years ago when he could run Beckham actually took some good free kicks) from the edge of the penalty area that flew into the top corner of the net. Substitute Tom Jeffes then set up Ben Osborne on 70 minutes with a clear run on goal but his left footed effort went wide and then on 86 minutes Jeffes turned in the penalty area and his shot was well saved resulting in a corner. From this corner Ben Lucas won the ball in the air and goal poacher Osborne was on hand to score from close range. Church safely saw out the remaining few minutes to earn all 3 points.

A move up the table to 7th with this win against hard working opponents but against stronger opposition Church will need to play for a full 90 minutes rather than in 20 minute spells. Another point is that all our goals are good goals whereas ones we concede tend to be scrappy so it was good that the winner was just for a change one of the latter. Legs 11.

Donners

CHRISTCHURCH V BRADING TOWN

SYDENHAMS WESSEX PREMIER LEAGUE

MATCH RESULT: 2 - 2

GOAL SCORERS: TOM PRICE, MARK SMITH

1. STEWART KEARN
2. ADAM COSTELLO
3. DAN TAYLOR
4. DAN CRUTCHLEY
5. STEVE LINPOW
6. MARTIN HARRIS
7. MARK SMITH
8. MARC FAIRBROTHER
9. BEN OSBORNE
10. TOM PRICE
11. JAMES BURDEN

SUBS USED:

PAUL RIDEOUT
STEVE GREEN

It was a day when the many faces of Christchurch FC were on show as after a poor show in the first 45 minutes when they were lucky to be level to a 20 minute spell in the second half when they dominated and scored 2 excellent goals to a final 15 minutes when the visitors took over and very nearly took 3 points back to the Island.

The visitors started confidentially passing the ball well in midfield and came close to opening the scoring on both 8 and 15 minutes when shots from just outside the penalty area cleared the home crossbar. The home side were grateful that custodian Stewart Kearn was in good form as his handling throughout the game was superb and the only time Church threatened in the first half was on 35 minutes when a Mark Smith corner was met by Tom Price, who looked lively for the whole game, whose shot hit the post.

The second half nearly had a disastrous start for the home side when a short back pass from Martin Harris was intercepted and only a last ditch tackle from Adam Costello saved a certain goal. This seemed to wake Church up and on 51 minutes a long pass out of defence by Steve Linpow to Tom Price on the left wing set the young striker off on a dazzling run beating 3 or 4 defenders and finishing superbly from an acute angle. This set the tone for the next 20 minutes with Mark Smith dominating the midfield and it was Smith who increased the lead on 58 minutes when after neat inter play with Ben Osborne his left foot shot from 8 yards took a slight deflection and ended up in the net. At this point it really did look as if it was how many goals Church would end up scoring but this all changed on 75 minutes when the home side failed to clear a corner and a shot from 15 yards reduced the lead. Brading then took control of the game attacking in numbers and levelled on 84 minutes with an unfortunate own goal and it was then a case of Church hanging on for a point as the visitors forced a number of corners going for all 3 points.

Whilst Church will have been disappointed not to have won the game the visitors will also feel the same as over the 90 minutes they did have the majority of the play and overall a draw was perhaps a fair result.

Donners

CHRISTCHURCH V WINCHESTER CITY

SYDENHAMS WESSEX PREMIER LEAGUE

SATURDAY 6TH FEBRUARY 2010

MATCH RESULT: 4 - 1

1. Stewart Kearn
2. Adam Costello
3. David Legg
4. Dan Crutchley (capt)
5. Steve Linpow
6. Martin Harris
7. Mark Smith
8. Marc Fairbrother
9. Ben Osborne
10. Tom Price
11. James Burden

SUBS:

12. Dan Taylor
14. Tom Jeffes
15. Steve Green
16. Martin Lawrence
17. Ben Lucas

This match whilst keenly contested from the first minute did not come to life until the 24th minute when ex Church player Zach Glasspool did a poor impression of a dive in the Church box and got booked for this cynical attempt to gain an advantage. Up to this point only a 12th minute corner to Winchester and a free kick near the Winchester penalty area for Church were worthy of note although there was plenty of action, much of it aerial, neither side could create that decisive opening. This was borne out by the fact that Church did not get their first corner until the 28th minute, which, in keeping with the game up to that point, came to nothing. The expectant crowd had to wait until the 37th minute for either side to test a goalkeeper and when it came it was a weak shot by Winchester’s Glasspool from his unfavoured right foot.

On the 38th minute just as everybody was thinking about half-time refreshments and bemoaning any real quality in the game, the players decided that the match needed livening up and a scything challenge on the Church captain brought about the first booking for the Winchester number 11, Bye, if he had been any later that is exactly what he would have been saying to the match.

Then in the 40th minute after a bursting run by Tom Price which resulted him in being brought down just outside of the box by a combination of the goalkeeper and defender, the referee decided that it merited a sending off and dismissed Winchester ‘keeper Gosney, for denying a clear goal scoring opportunity. Winchester then re-shuffled the team and brought on Harper in to goal and sacrificed their right full back. The resultant free kick was taken by Smith, which rattled the bar and went over for a goal kick.

Half- time 0 – 0

As the teams came out for the second half the crowd were expecting Church to take full advantage of the extra man and in the 50th minute a neat turn and fierce shot by Fairbrother opened the scoring for Church. Two minutes later a second player from Winchester found himself in the referee’s book as their number 5 hacked down Price on the Church right, the game was starting to impersonate the action at the end of the first half, from the free kick Church gained a corner which came to nothing.
Church were now starting to play some attractive and neat football, which did not seem to go down well with our opponents, as they looked to add to their tally in the referee’s notebook, and on the 57th minute the Winchester number 8 was also booked for yet another poor challenge, this time on Smith. The free kick from Burden tested the goalkeeper and brought a good save from Harper.
Positive play continued from Church without really threatening to add to their tally when in the 64th minute the Winchester number 10 was also booked for a foul on Price as he was heading towards goal, soon after Winchester made their third substitution and replaced their number 10 for S. Hussey (14).
At this point Church were finding themselves dropping off too much and allowing 10 man Winchester to gain some confidence and it came as no surprise that this period of play resulted in an equalizing goal from Bye (11) after a needless free kick was given away on the edge of the Church box. The home side now seemed a little rattled and another free kick in the 71st minute, also on the edge of the Church box, went just wide from Winchester.
Ben Osborne became the only Church player to be booked (73rd minute) after a tired looking lunge from behind saw him bring down a player, however, he showed he still had gas left in the tank to get into the six yard box and turn in a James Burden driven cross, courtesy of his thigh, in the 75th minute.
This goal seemed to drain all the effort from our visitors, after their best 10 minute spell and five minutes later a second goal from Osborne after a mistake in the Winchester penalty area. The final goal came only a minute later from Burden after a driven shot took a slight deflection past the stricken goalkeeper.

A disciplined performance from Church against a physical and imposing side saw the kind of display and result missing from their last home match, excellent.

Man of the Match : Marc Fairbrother

Duffers

CHRISTCHURCH V NEW MILTON TOWN

SYDENHAMS WESSEX PREMIER LEAGUE

MATCH RESULT: 2 - 3

GOAL SCORERS: PAUL RIDEOUT, JACQUES BERNARD

1. STEWART KEARN
2. ADAM COSTELLO
3. DAVID LEGG
4. DAN CRUTCHLEY
5. STEVE LINPOW
6. JACQUE BERNARD
7. MARK SMITH
8. MARC FAIRBROTHER
9. BEN OSBORNE
10. TOM JEFFES
11. PAUL RIDEOUT

SUBS USED:

BEN HATCH
MARTIN HARRIS
BEN HATCH


In probably their worst performance of the season Christchurch were beaten by the odd goal in five by a hard working keen New Milton side who are battling for points to avoid relegation.

The home side started positively in the first couple of minutes putting three balls into the visitors penalty area but as was the case all night these were cleared relatively easily with no pressure being put on the defenders. In the third minute in their first attack New Milton took the lead when they broke through the middle of the home defence and Avery finished neatly giving Kearn in the home goal no chance.

This spurred Church on and skipper Dan Crutchley had a header cleared off the line and a Tom Jeffes effort was well saved. However the visitors were breaking quickly with their forwards looking lively and it took a Jacque Bernard challenge to avoid a clear run on goal on 22 minutes and on 29 minutes New Milton should have increased their lead but a close range effort went over the bar. Tom Jeffes then spurned two efforts to equalise firstly heading wide from a Costello cross and secondly falling over when in a good position. It came as no surprise when the visitors increased their lead on 36 minutes when Dominic Allen who was lively throughout turned a Church defender on the edge of the penalty area and finished superbly again giving Kearn no chance.

If we thought matters would improve in the second half we were in for an unpleasant shock when on 46 minutes the normally reliable Ben Lucas on as substitute slipped over leaving Allen with a clean run on goal to make it 0-3. From then on the home side applied constant pressure and were rewarded on 73 minutes when a Paul Rideout shot went through a packed penalty area and ended up in the net. Church continued to have the majority of the play but balls into the box were well defended and it was not until injury time that Jacque Bernard netted from close range.

Overall we know Church can play much better than this and I am sure that in forthcoming weeks they will but at the moment they lack a cutting edge in front of goal and if they do not score early in games they have problems. We have every confidence that the manager will sort this out starting at home to Winchester on Saturday.

Donners