Woodley Saints vs Earley Gunners 2 - 2

Match Report

Gunners earned a draw against top of the league Woodley Saints and were unlucky not to take all three points after a good performance.

There were a couple of heated moments very early on in the game and Paul Stout was booked for pushing an opponent after he reacted to a tackle.

Gunners were unlucky not to take the lead when Iain Peer had a headed goal disallowed for off-side. Gunners did open the scoring after Paul Stout latched onto a free kick into the box and scored from close range.

Gunners also had a couple of other chances and looked dangerous from free kicks into the box when Woodley Saints were slow to react to these balls.

However, Woodley Saints struck back later to make it 1-1 at half time.

In the second half the game was fairly even at first and Woodley Saints had a couple of chances before Gunners then took the lead through Iain Peer.

Gunners then had a few opportunities to take the lead, Dave Owen saw a shot run wide of the post and the Woodley Saints keeper also made a couple of good saves.

However, Woodley Saints also had a couple of chances themselves and hit the cross bar with a shot before earning an equaliser when a cross from their left was not cleared and went all the way through into the goal.

Gunners continued to look dangerous going forward and Richard Taylor thought he had earned a penalty when he was brought down in the box, but this was not given.

Woodley Saints also had an off-side decision go against them when they were clear on goal.
As the game wore on, conditions became much slicker making it more difficult to play some football, eventually the time ran out leaving the final score 2-2.

Gunners "Man of the Match" was Paul Stout for a solid game in midfield

Match Facts:

MOM : P Stout

Goals : I Peer (1), P Stout (1)

Team
Pictures

Loxwood Res vs Earley Gunners 1 - 3

Match Report

Gunners earned a hard fought victory against an improving Loxwood Res side.

Gunners made their usual sluggish start and Loxwood created some early pressure with a couple of breaks down their right wing.

Gunners took the lead after a winning a tackle in midfield in which Paul Stout went down injured, some of the Gunners players stopped but to their credit Loxwood played on as the whistle wasn't blown, slipped the ball to their forward who finished from close range with a driven shot.
Loxwood also had a close couple of chances and hit the bar on one occasion.

Gunners managed to get back into the game when Iain Peer received a ball on the edge of the box and dribbled across goal when he was fouled and a penalty was awarded which Iain subsequently converted.

Gunners did have another good chance when Richard Alderton made a good break down the left wing and shot across the face of the goal.

The half time score was 1 - 1 and Gunners display in the first half was below average.
In the second half, Gunners made a tactical change by introducing Stuart Bye into a three man defence and pushed Matt Rees into midfield.

Gunners play was a little better and the team created a few more opportunities. They took the lead when Paul Clarks shot was deflected into the path of Iain Peer who stroke the ball home and the gave themselves a cushion when Dave Owen was kicked up in the air in the box and Iain converted his second penalty of the game.

With this extra goal, Matt Rees dropped back into defence as Gunners looked to hold this position. Loxwood responded by reverting to what looked like a 3-4-3 formation and they pushed more men forward in search of a goal to get them back into the game.

Fortunately, the Gunners defence were on form today and the team defended well as a whole to deny Loxwood any real clear chances to score.

The final few minutes ran out leaving the final score 3-1 win to Gunners. Overall Gunners performed well defensively, but offensively, the team never passed the ball around well and could have played better in this area.

Gunners "Man of the Match" was Paul Marten for a solid game in defence.

Match Facts:

MOM : P Marten

Goals : I Peer (3)

Team
Pictures

Earley Gunners vs Kennet Valley 5 - 2

Match Report

Gunners beat Kennet Valley in a rearranged game that took place at Kennet Valleys home ground thanks to the presence of a burnt out car wreck at Chalfont.

The pitch at Burghfield was extremely boggy in the middle which didn't help either side in their attempts to play football.

Kennet Valley took the lead when the ball was crossed in from the right and finished from close range and they also had a couple of chances later on which were pushed over by bar by Julian. However Gunners did look lively up front and Richard Taylor levelled the game for Gunners before adding his second to give Gunners a 2-1 lead at half time.

In the second half, Gunners had more of the possession and plenty of opportunities but found it more difficult to actually score as several chances were not taken. Gunners were unlucky when Richard had a goal disallowed for handball when he clearly chested it and finished well but Kennet Valley were cursing their luck when a shot came back under the cross bar and out and should have been a goal as this appeared to be over the line.

Kennet Valley did pull a goal back after they converted a penalty after a foul by Paul Stout. However, Gunners soon bounced back thanks to a great volley from Matt Walker who hit the ball from the edge of the penalty box after a cross came in from the left.

Kennet Valley did have a few dangerous moments however the Gunners defence did enough to prevent them from scoring.

Iain Peer was introduced to the game in the second half and soon made his mark with two goals, the first came from a close range header after a cross from Richard and the second came after a long ball from defence found Richard who slipped a pass to Iain who scored from close range.
The final score was a 5-2 win for Gunners. Gunners "Man of the Match" was Paul Ali for a solid game in defence.

Match Facts

MOM : Pa Ali

Goals : I Peer (2), R Taylor (2), M Walker (1)

Team