Starting Line up: Clough, Dart, Bone, Westall, Pleass, Livings, Griffin, K Willmoth, A Hendren, Mathews, Joyce. Subs: P Davis, Connor's, M Hendren, Temple & Langfrey.
Title Clash Peters Out After Feisty Start
With two players sent off after five minutes this North Berks League Division One title clash between Lambourn Sports and Saxton Rovers was in danger of resembling a wrestling match than a football match.
The scene was set for a perfect game of football between two of the best sides in the League with the pitch in excellent condition, although the one o’clock kick off meant that the match was played in extremely hot conditions. And it seemed as if the heat had got to the players from the off. Almost from the first move of the match two opposing players faced up to each other and the referee decided a good talking to was a better option than showing cards so early in the match. However, the lesson wasn’t learned and following a Lambourn free kick into the box, Ben Matthews and Tom Aldworth were more intent on wrestling each other to the ground than trying to get to the ball. The referee had no option but to send them both off.
Following another booking for a reckless tackle on 10 minutes temperatures seemed to die down and both teams began to focus on their football, although it was more like ‘sky’ ball as both sides, Lambourn in particular, seemed intent on punting the ball upfield in the forlorn hope of the forwards latching onto something, as opposed to building up from the back. This was the main tactic throughout the match despite the best chances and the goals coming from when both sides decided to play football.
Saxton created the first meaningful attack on 11 minutes, but excellent work by Kyle Clough in the Lambourn goal pushed Danny Parry wide when clean through and his eventual cross was fired wide by Garry Hartley. Lambourn then had a five minute spell in the middle of the half that ended up with them taking the lead. On 20 minutes John Dart delivered a searching deep cross that just eluded the outstretched Alex Hendren. Soon after Hendren had another opportunity when Dave Livings’ shot was deflected into his path, but he fired across the face of goal and wide of the mark. A minute later, though, Hendren collected the ball deep on the left hand side of the pitch. He cut inside and slipped the ball into the box where Kirk Willmoth ran in front of the defence to flick the ball past the keeper.
Both sides reverted to the long ball after the goal and at best created half chances or weak efforts that were easily gathered by their respective keepers. However, Lambourn came close to extending their lead in the last minute as Andy Westall looped a header goalwards only to see Darren Spayes touch it over for a corner. The game went into stoppage time allowed for dealing with the brawls in the first five minutes and Saxton made the most of the opportunity to equalise with the last kick of the half. Dane Pask chased a ball deep into the left hand corner and passed it back to Ben Sutton who crossed it first time to Kyle Aldworth on the edge of the box. Aldworth cut back inside and at the second attempt fired the ball low and hard into the bottom right hand corner of the net.
With both sides a man down and with no escape from the blazing sun it was no surprise that the second half failed to come to life as both sets of players slowed the pace down. Neither side created much in the way of opportunities in the whole half until the final seconds of injury time when both could theoretically have nicked it. Saxton’s Frank Haines battled for the ball down the right wing and cut inside firing a low angled shot that Clough could only parry right into the path of Danny Parry, but the Saxton striker failed to maintain any composure and blasted the ball wildly wide of goal. Moments later Willmoth delivered a deep cross for Lambourn to the far post where Westall climbed superbly to head the ball back across the face of goal to Paul Davis who volleyed from 15 yards just over the bar.
The game ended soon after with the points shared, a point Saxton will be happier about than Lambourn as it keeps the race for the title alive.
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