West End vs Earley Gunners 1 - 6

Match Report

Gunners earned a convincing win against high flyers West End.

Gunners got off to a good start to the game and were well in control of the game for the first twenty minutes and took a 2-0 lead through Bill and Steve.

However the last twenty minutes of the first half saw Gunners go off the boil and West End pulled a goal back through a penalty after Peter Ali had fouled an opponent in the box.

West End were unlucky not to be awarded another penalty a few minutes later when Paul Ali brought an opponent down in the box, fortunately the referee waved play on.

Gunners had lost some of their momentum and were guilty of not attacking the long ball which put pressure on the Gunners defence. There were no further goals and the half time score was 2-1 to Gunners.

In the second half, Gunners had the advantage of the slope and the wind and they began to use this to their advantage by putting the opposition defence under severe pressure. The goals soon flowed and Bill added two more goals to make his hat-trick, Dave Owen added one and Carl "The Jackal" Littlechild scored with a scorching shot from just outside the box.

The defence were on top of their game and Andy Birch had relatively few saves to make in the second half. The final score was a convincing 6-1 win which dented West Ends chances of the league title and keeps Gunners in the chasing pack for third place.

Match Facts

MOM : C Littlechild

Goals : B Maslin (3), S Tranter (1), D Owen (1), C Littlechild (1)

Team

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Earley Gunners vs RBC Unison 1 - 0

Match Report

Gunners unveiled the new navy blue kit today against bottom of the league RBC. Unfortunately, the new kit did not help Gunners who struggled to a win.

To be fair, Gunners were not troubled the entire game by the RBC team and Andy did not have a single save to make the entire game.

However the team found it difficult to play on a bouncy Chalfont pitch and were unable to play any good passing football.

In the first half Gunners had a few chances from Dave Owen, Steve Tranter and Paul Stout but were unable to take the lead.

At the other end of the field, the Gunners defence were fairly comfortable and relatively untroubled.

The half time score was 0-0.

In the second half, Gunners took the lead through a close range header from Paul Stout from a Dave Owen corner.

Phil Byrne was introduced in the second half and had a shot blocked off the line and Paul Ali went close when he was 1 on 1 with the keeper but over ran the ball.

However Gunners could not add to the lead and the final result was a 1-0 win.

There were some good performances from the defence, Carlton and Paul Stout but Matt Rees was Gunners "Man of the Match".

MOM : M Rees

Goal : M Rees (1)

Team

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Shinfield RBL vs Earley Gunners 8 - 1

Match Report

Due to various holidays and accumulated injuries, Gunners barely managed to get a side together and only the bare 11 made it against Shinfield.

Shinfield were well up for the game and immediately took the game to Gunners with some good passing football and fast attacking play. Gunners looked sluggish and conceded an early goal.
However, Gunners did get back into the game when Matt Rees played a free kick into the box which was controlled and stabbed home from close range by Peter Ali who was making only his second start of the season.

Then Gunners had a nightmare ten minutes when they were completely over run by Shinfield who scored three quick goals to give them a convincing lead.

In the second half, an early injury to Lee Bonnici saw Gunners reduced to 10 men for the rest of the game and Gunners struggled against a confident Shinfield side who added a few more goals in the second half.

The final score was an 8 - 1 defeat, the biggest defeat of the season.

Man of the Match for Gunners was Carlton Dickson who continued to battle for the entire game.
Shinfield were well motivated for the game and Gunners were defensively poor and struggled to cope. The Gunners midfield were outplayed whilst Steve and Bill had little support up front. Unfortunately, when Gunners were reduced to ten men there was little chance of anything being salvaged from the game.

Match Facts

MOM : C Dickson

Goal : Pe Ali (1)

Team

Earley Gunners vs Shinfield RBL 1 - 1

Match Report

Gunners earned a point after a scrappy display against Shinfield British Legion.

The first half saw Gunners start slowly despite having the benefit of the slope and the wind and the team only created a handful of chances. Steve Tranter had an opportunity to give Gunners the lead but the opposing keeper saved well at his feet to deny him.

The team were finding it difficult to get into any sort of rhythm and play was a little scrappy. However, midway through the first half Gunners took the lead through Dave Owen after some good work by Jide. At half time Gunners held a slender 1 - 0 lead.

In the second half Gunners played against the wind and the slope and it was all one way traffic against Gunners. The team were put under constant pressure for the whole half with Shinfield employing a direct style of play which Gunners should have done in the first half.

Shinfield eventually made the breakthrough when an inswingng corner was parried by the keeper but ended up in the back of the net. However, Andy Birch then made amends with a string of good saves and some good handling to deny the opposition any further goals.
The game was marred by a double sending off owards the end of the game when Stephen Tranter had an altercation with an opponent which resulted in them both being sent off.

Gunners also had a late scare when Shinfield had a goal disallowed for offside. The final score was a 1-1 draw. Gunners "Man of the Match" was Andy Birch for keeping the team in the game with a number of good saves. Carlton Dickson also had a good game for Gunners with some good tracking back and winning a number of aerial balls.

Match Facts

MOM : A Birch

Goal : D Owen (1)

Team

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