Earley Gunners vs Forest 3 - 3

Match Report

Gunners earned a 3-3 draw again Forest which extended their unbeaten run to three games.Gunners made a decent start to the game and took an early lead when Adie Smith converted a penalty which was awarded for handball.

However, Forest struck back with two goals in quick succession. The first came from a ball over the top which the opposing forward muscled his way through and scored and the second came from a close range header after some slack marking.

Gunners managed to get an equaliser when the ball came off a post from a flick on from Adie Smith and Paul Ali finished from close range.

The half time score was 2-2.

In the second half Gunners took the lead when Paul Ali controlled the ball inside the box (despite a shout for handball) crossed the ball for Peter Ali to score from within the six yard box.
From this point onwards, Gunners failed to create many clear chances and relied on too many long balls.

Forest then dragged themselves back into the game when they scored from another long ball over the top of the defence but were then reduced to 10 men when one of their players was abusive towards the referee.

Matt Rees become involved in an altercation with a Forest player which caused some heated exchanges before the final few minutes ran out leaving the final score 3-3.

Matt Rees was Gunners "Man of the Match".

Match Facts

MOM : M Rees

Goals : Pa Ali (1), Pe Ali (1), A Smith (1)

Team

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RAS Rovers vs Earley Gunners 0 - 2

Match Report

Gunners earned their first league win in 2003 with a 2—0 away win against lowly RAS Rovers.
Gunners introduced a new 5 - 3 - 2 formation, with two wingbacks in operation and the tactic was reasonably successful with Gunners having more width in the team. However, the team will have to ensure that there is more defensive cover against stronger opposition.

The first part of the game was fairly even until Matt Rees broke the deadlock when he received the ball in the opponents penalty box turned and shot past the keeper. Matt also came close to scoring a second when his left foot shot went wide of the post.

RAS did look dangerous breaking down their right wing but were unable to create any chances which put Gunners under real pressure.

The second half saw the introduction of Neil Rumbold in his farewell performance for the club. Gunners again looked reasonably comfortable and went close when Phil Byrne played a good cross to Nick Chalk who failed to control the shot .

Neil also came close to signing off his Gunners career with a goal when a long range effort hit the crossbar.

James Field also came close with a header. RAS again failed to create any chances and it was only a matter of time before Gunners sealed the win when Phil Byrne scored from a outside the box.

The final few moments ran out leaving Gunners deserved 2-0 winners.

Match Facts

Goals: M Rees (1), P Byrne (1)

Team

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Earley Gunners vs Arborfield 1 - 1

Match Report

Gunners poor series of results continued as they could only earn 1 point against lowly Arborfield. Arborfield took the lead early on when their forward burst free . However, things seemed to go in Gunners favour when one of their players was sent off for raising his hands after an altercation with Paul Marten.

Gunners started to dominate possession and looked dangerous when the ball was carried forward by the midfield. The Arborfield keeper was constantly out of his goal in the first half and Gunners had about three chances to score when the goal was not properly defended but the team failed to get their shot away or on target.

However, a short while later Gunners did earn a penalty when Phil was brought down in the box by a clumsy challenge. Stuart stepped up to take the penalty but hit this straight at the keeper for an easy save.

Paul Ali made a brief appearance in the second half but a recurrence of an injury forced him to leave the field of play.

Gunners had much more possession in the second half against ten men but not too many chances and again found difficulty hitting the target. Arborfield created very little and only had one real chance of note in the second half.

Gunners did get an equaliser with ten minutes to go when Phil finished from close range and then, towards the end of the game, Gunners were awarded another penalty when Peter Ali was brought down in the box. Andy Birch confidently volunteered to take this one but again another poor penalty was easily saved.

With a few minutes to go, Gunners thought they had scored the winner. When Marcus finished from close range only for the linesman to claim the ball had gone out of play. The decision was a little suspect to say the least.

Time eventually ran out leaving the final score a disappointing 1-1 draw. However, the team should be commended on making every effort to win the game in the second half which was an improvement on the last few games.

Match Facts

Goal : P Byrne (1)

Team

Pictures