Loxwood Res vs Earley Gunners 1 - 4

Match Report

Gunners finally ended their losing streak with a well deserved 4-1 win over Loxwood Res at Laurel Park. The pitch at Laurel Park was a definite improvement over last season.

Gunners started the game brightly and had some early possession before Loxwood got more into the game.

The opening goal came from a penalty which was scored by Stuart Bye after the opposing player had handled the ball.

Gunners also had a couple of other chances to score the closest of which came from a Peter Ali cross from the right which Matt Rees was unable to turn into the net.

However Gunners added a second when Dave Owen slipped the ball to Richard Alderton whose left foot shot crept inside the post for his first goal for Gunners. Gunners had a 2-0 lead at half time.

Loxwood had a great chance to get back into the game early in the second half when a goal bound shot was very well saved by Julian Willis.

The defence were under a bit more pressure in the second half and although it wasn’t pretty they did just enough to clear the ball away from goal.

Gunners did manage to extend their lead when substitute Marcus Randle hooked the ball towards the opposing goal, the Loxwood keeper tried to punch the ball out and ended up punching the ball into his own net for an own goal.

Gunners looked comfortable at this point but Loxwood pushed more men forward and game themselves a life line when a ball was played over the top of the defence which Gunners were not able to clear and the Loxwood forward struck a sweet shot from outside the box into the goal.

However, a few minutes later Gunners killed the game off when Paul Ali played Matt Rees through on goal and he neatly slipped the ball past the keeper for his first goal for the team after 45 appearances for the club.

Gunners ended up 4-1 winners and were good value for the win. Peter Ali was Gunners "Man of the Match" for a good defensive display.

Match Facts

MOM : Pe Ali

Goals : S Bye (1), M Rees (1), R Alderton (1), Own Goal (1)

Team

Pictures

Earley Gunners vs RBC 0 - 1

Match Report

Gunners lost their second match in a row against a fortunate RBC Unison.

Gunners welcomed back Stuart Bye for his first appearance of the season and his presence up front was the immediate focal point for the attack.

It was a fairly scrappy opening ten minutes with neither side playing a great deal of passing football.

However, Gunners did have a couple of opportunities to score when the team looked dangerous from long throws into the box, unfortunately the ball never seemed to fall in Gunners favour.
There was an incident in the first half when the opposing keeper failed to claim the ball and Paul Stout tried to kick the ball into the goal but followed through onto the keepers hands, the keeper had to be substituted from injury and their defender took over the goal keeping duties.
RBC Unison also had a couple of chances to score and Julian made a great near post save to keep Gunners in contention. After an even first half the score was 0-0.

In the second half, Gunners were helped by playing down the slope on the pitch and the team seemed to dominate the play. However, against the run of play RBC took the lead when Andy Birch throw went to the opposing player who layed the ball inside for his team mate to score.
Gunners had numerous free kicks around the box thanks to the referee who seemed to give Gunners the benefit on several occasions, unfortunately the team weren’t able to hit the target. Although Paul Clark came close when his lobbed the keeper from range but the referee wanted the free kick taken again.

Gunners were attempting to force the play and had several chances but their shooting was a little wayward. The team were then awarded a penalty but Dave Owens shot was saved by the keeper. Gunners thought they should have had a second when Paul Ali was chopped down from behind in the box but the referee waved play on. (see pictures)

Late in the game Daniel Stargatt suffered a knee injury and had to be removed from play. Gunners eventually ran out of time leaving them 1-0 losers again. Man of the Match was Matt

Team

Pictures

Forest vs Earley Gunners 0 - 1

Match Report

Gunners lost their second league game of the season to a distinctly average Forest side. Forest started the better of the two teams and put Gunners under some early pressure although they seemed limited to attempting to play long balls over the top of the defence.

Gunners were initially sluggish and failed to really get a grip of the game in the first twenty minutes, the team failed to communicate and the passing was poor. However after some initial pressure from the opposition which saw them come close on a couple of occasions Gunners began to create some chances when the team began to move the ball swiftly up field.

Paul Stout came close when he turned a defender in the box and his shot hit the side netting and Matt Rees came close to scoring from a header. Dave Owen also had a chance to score and Paul Stout came close again with a close range header.

Unfortunately, Gunners conceded a goal just before half time when Forest intercepted a loose pass in midfield and played the ball through to the forward who finished from close range. At half time Forest held a 1-0 lead after an even first half.

The second half was virtually all Gunners with Forest being limited to a couple of long balls to chase which Julian Willis just managed to clear.

Gunners had numerous chances to score with Dave Owen coming close twice and Richard Alderton firing across the face of the goal. Gunners created plenty of chances but could not find the final pass or have a decent strike on goal and the teams lack of a natural finisher was very evident today.

Dave Owen was unlucky not be awarded a free kick when he was hauled back on his way to goal and Paul Ali came close to scoring when his header flashed wide of the post. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Gunners day and despite their efforts in the second half the team didn’t have that piece of luck which they needed to find the target. Forest ended up eventual 1 - 0 winners and Gunners were very disappointed losers.

Team

AC Winnersh vs Earley Gunners 0 - 1

Match Report

Gunners beat AFC Winnersh in their opening fixture of the Berks and Bucks Cup. A much changed around side took the field of play.

It was Gunners who started the better of the teams with Julian Willis looking particularly lively up front whose good crosses created some early pressure.

Paul Marten was also getting involved in the play and his aerial presence won the ball for Gunners on several occasions. Paul Marten came close to scoring when a ball was hooked into the box and he rose to header the ball which flew just wide of the post.

The opening goal came after Paul Marten squared the ball for Carl Littlechild who finished from close range. Gunners had a couple of other chances to score including a chip from Paul Ali which was saved by the keeper and Matt Rees flashed the ball wide of the post when he was clear on goal.

The defence were relatively untroubled by the oppositions limited attack and they were comfortable enough to play the ball out of defence on a number of occasions although the odd long range clearance was required once or twice ("Have it!") At half time Gunners held a 1-0 lead.

In the second half Gunners were not as good and the team were unable to get much passing football going and we tended to rely on a long ball up front.

Carl Littlechild was unlucky not to have scored a second when his shot from just outside the box went in but the referee disallowed it for a player being in an offside position. The closest AFC Winnersh came to scoring was when a cross shot was tipped over by Andy Birch.

AFC Winnersh tried to battle back but and tried to utilise a long throw into the box, this did create a couple of half chances when the ball was cleared off the line once by Dave Owen and then a second time by Matt Rees.

There were few other really clear chances beyond this point and Gunners ended up eventual winners. Gunners "Man of the Match" was Paul Marten.

Match Facts

MOM : P Marten

Goal : C Littlechild (1)

Team