Earley Gunners vs Boyne Hill 3 - 4

Match Report

Earley Gunners were knocked out of the Berks and Bucks Cup by Maidenhead outfit Boyne Hill.
Gunners made a good start to the game and looked well organised for the first half an hour in defence. The first goal came Gunners way when Tony Poacher picked up the ball and sent a defence splitting ball through to Darren Fry whose shot went in off the post.

Unfortunately, a short while later Kevin Rapley injured himself when making an attempt for the ball and was taken off. Gunners were reduced to 10 men and still played well whilst Kevin was seeking treatment until the decision was made to replace him.

Gunners then had a disastrous spell five minutes before half time when they conceded two goals. The first came when Jon Allen gave away a penalty after an opponent had carved his way through the middle and was fouled by Jon.

The second goal came when the ball was played to the forward who looked in an offside position, the attacker then scored with a looping shot from the edge of the box. At half time, Gunners were a disappointing 2 - 1 down.

The second half saw another bad five minutes with another 2 goals being scored by the opposition. The first came when the same player again dribbled his way through the middle and shot past the keeper.

The fourth goal came when they scored from another long range looping shot. Gunners were now 4 - 1 down. The team battled back and had the majority of possession for the rest of the game. Dave Owen added a second goal and then Nick Burrows knocked the ball in from a corner to give Gunners hope at 4-3 down.

Gunners were fighting for every ball to get back into the game and Jon Allen was then booked in the for querying a referee's decision and Paul Ali was also booked for hacking down an opponent.
In the final couple of minutes Gunners controversially had an equaliser disallowed, when Paul Clark made a run down the right and played the ball back to Nick Burrows who scored only to find the opponents linesman flagging for offside.

Unfortunately, there were no further chances and the final score was a 4-3 win to the opponents.

Match Facts

Goals : D Fry (1), D Owen (1), N Burrows (1)

Team

Pictures

CS Taxes vs Earley Gunners 3 - 5

Match Report

Earley Gunners overcame CS Taxes 5 - 3 in an unconvincing manner.

To be fair, the pitch conditions made it very difficult to play good football and did account for a lot of the scrappy play.

Gunners again lost the lead to the opposition when they scored from a long range shot. However Ian Thornhill got the team back into the game after latching onto Paul Clarks ball and finishing well from close range.

The half time score was 1 - 1.

In the second half a second goal from Ian Thornhill and a goal from Paul Clark gave Gunners some breathing space but then a defensive slip allowed CS Taxes to add another to make it 3-2.
However a goal from Nick Burrows and a further goal from Paul Clark put the game beyond the opposition and even a late goal from a corner was not sufficient to worry Gunners.

The final score was a 5 - 3 win to Earley Gunners.

Match Facts

Goals : I Thornhill (2), P Clark (2), N Burrows (1)

Team

Ruscombe Res vs Earley Gunners 6 - 2

Match Report

Earley Gunners were soundly beaten by a strong Ruscombe Res side in the 1st round of the Cup.
This was Gunners first "official" defeat and the team decided to do this in style by conceding six goals.

Gunners got off to a poor start with Ruscombe scoring three goals before Kevin Rapley added one. Then Ruscombe added a fourth to give them a 4 - 1 half time lead.

There was even time for several comedy moments the best of which was when keeper Jon Allen collected the ball and went to take a quick kick up field. He side stepped the opposing forward ahead of him and gave the ball a mighty whack… what he didn’t realise was that Paul Ali when standing right in front of him and the ball bounced of his back side and just wide of the Gunners own goal!

In the second half, Ian Thornhill gave the team some hope when he rounded the keeper and slotted the ball home to make the score 4 - 2.

Gunners did have a lot more possession in the second half but failed to create many really good scoring opportunities. Ruscombe seemed to have the edge in midfield and cut through the team in numbers and overwhelmed the Gunners defence. Two late goals finished Gunners off, this defeat means that Gunners are now resigned to playing in the Eddie Titchener trophy this season.

Match Facts

Goals : K Rapley (1), I Thornhill (1)

Team

Earley Gunners vs Good Companions 5 - 2

Match Report

Earley Gunners overcame current league leaders Good Companions in a scrappy game in very wet conditions which meant the sliding tackles were coming in thick and fast during the whole 90 minutes.

A couple of absences and injuries saw a changed Gunners team take the field. Good Companions started the better of the teams and took the lead when a cross was miscued by their attacker but spun in over the keeper.

Good Companions then scored another goal when their player picked his way past a couple of defenders and scored with his shot. Gunners dug in and soon struck back when Paul Ali flicked the ball over to Kevin Rapley who shot home from just inside the box. Dave Owen then added another with a drive from outside the box which the keeper fumbled and allowed the ball to roll into the net. Dave then added a second goal with another rocket shot which cannoned in from under the cross bar. This gave Gunners a 3-2 lead at half time.

In the second half Good Companions committed more men forwards although they failed to create too many really good scoring opportunities with the Gunners defence looking a lot more organised in the second half. It is also worth mentioning that Goalkeeper Jon Allen’s handling during the game was excellent in view of the wet conditions.

Kevin Rapley added his second of the game and Gunners fourth when he turned and shot from the edge of the box to give Gunners some breathing space. Good Companions came forward looking to get back into the game but Gunners did just enough to keep them away although Jon Allen was called on to make one excellent save.

In the dying minutes Nick Burrows played a ball through the Good Companions defence and Paul Ali sprinted onto the ball, rounded the keeper and slotted the ball home to add another goal. The final score was a 5-2 win to the Gunners.

Match Facts

Goals : K Rapley (2), D Owen (2), Pa Ali (1)

Team

Pictures