Woodley Saints vs Earley Gunners 1 - 2

Match Report

Gunners maintained their position at the top of the table with a 2-1 win against Woodley Saints. Woodley had the better of the first half with Gunners kicking into a strong wind. However, Woodley reliance on the long ball saw this travel to Duncan more often than not.

However, when Woodley played the ball on the ground they had more joy and had a couple of early chances from short range crosses. Woodley also forced a number of corner but Gunners did just enough defensively to prevent them from scoring.

At the other end of the field, there was no service to the front men and chances were few and far between. Bill Maslin had an opportunity to score as did Dave Owen but Gunners could not find the back of the net and the half time score was 0-0.

In the second half Woodley took an early lead when they scored from close range. Gunners switched tactics to a 3-4-3 with Matt Rees pushing up front and Steve Tranter was introduced into the game. Gunners began to have the better of the game but did not play much passing football but chances did start to come with Gunners coming close on a couple of occasions.
Gunners should have been awarded a penalty when Lee Gallagher was brought down in the box which was not given. Lee then punched the ball away with his arm as he got up into Steves path for a shot which the referee missed. Unfortunately, Gunners did not get their fair share of the decisions from the linesman which eventually led to Steve Tranter receiving a booking for complaining and Paul Stout soon followed into the book after a rash challenge.

With about twenty minutes to go Steve Tranter equalised when he jinked past two defenders and his deflected shot left the keeping with no chance of saving the ball. Gunners continued to battle and were starting to create more opportunities and Woodley were forced to make a few last ditch tackles to prevent a scoring opportunity. Woodley also looked to counter when they could against Gunners but did not create many shots on goal but did force one or two corners.
Gunners continued to pile on the pressure and had eventually took the lead with a few minutes to go when Matt Rees scored from close range, his first of the season. Gunners then ran down the clock in the last few minutes by keeping possession of the ball from a corner and held out for the win.

It was a pretty poor performance from Gunners overall, but the team battled well in the second half to earn the three points. "Man of the Match" was Neil Oldcorn for his "never say die" attitude during the game.

Match Facts

MOM : N Oldcorn

Goals : S Tranter (1), M Rees (1)

Team

Chalfont Park vs Earley Gunners 2 - 6

Match Report

Gunners were comfortable winners against local rivals Chalfont. Gunners started the game well and Phil Norton had an immediate chance to open the scoring with an early shot which went wide. However, he made amends a short while later Carl Littlechild played him through and Phil scored from inside the box.

Gunners then doubled their lead when Peter Ali forced his way past the opposing defender and scored from close range with just the keeper to beat.

Gunners were 2-0 and looking comfortable but failed to maintain their efforts and allowed Chalfont to come back into the game.

Chalfont had a few half chances from free kicks or corners the closest of which was a lob from Gunners left which Fraser tipped over the bar.

The half time score was 2-0 and Gunners had played ok with both wingers (Phil & Steve) looking particularly lively.

In the second half Gunners added two more goals. The first came from Steve Smith who lashed the ball home from close range after a number of blocks by the keeper and defence and the second from Paul Stout who latched onto Peter Ali's lobbed through ball and volleyed the ball which arced over the keeper.

Gunners looked to be in unassailable position but Chalfont managed to strike back when they had a corner and Gunners pushed up looking for an off-side. The linesman raised his flag and then put it down leaving one of three Chalfont players (who all looked off-side) to bundle the ball home. Unfortunately, Fraser McNaughton injured his ankle attempting to make a save.

A few minutes later, Chalfont were gifted a goal when a soft shot was rolling towards Fraser who unfortunately let it roll between his legs into the goal. With 25 minutes to go, Chalfont had a slight chance of getting back into the game and they were keen to take the fight to Gunners.
Fortunately, Gunners dug deep and defended well enough not to put their goal under pressure. The pressure was eased when Neil Oldcorn played an angled ball from left to right over the top of the defence and Bill Maslin controlled a shot to make it 5 for Gunners.

With a few minutes to go, Paul Ali made a break forward and was played through by Peter Ali and with just the keeper to beat Paul slipped the ball past the keeper to make the final score 6-2. It was a good result for Gunners but not their best performance. Gunners "Man of the Match" was Phil Norton although Steve Smith also had a good game.

Match Facts

MOM: P Norton

Goals : P Norton (1), Pe Ali (1), S Smith (1), B Maslin (1), Pa Ali (1), P Stout (1)

Team

Earley Gunners vs Ruscombe 0 - 2

Match Report

Ruscombe reversed the result of a few weeks ago when they earned a 2-0 away win against Gunners.

Ruscombe had looked more lively at the start of the game but they could not break down the Gunners defence and Neil Oldcorn was relatively untroubled in goal in the first half.

At the other end of the field, Gunners were not able to get the ball on the ground and resorted to aimless balls to Bill and Steve who were unable to create any real opportunities with this limited possession.

The first half followed a pattern of Gunners conceding possession to Ruscombe who tried to attack but could create many clear opportunities. The closest they came was when they had two headed efforts on goal, the first went over the keeper but was headed away by Paul Ali and Neil Oldcorn gathered the second in goal.

The best effort for Gunners in the first half was when Dave Owen set up Steve Smith who did not catch the ball properly and screwed the ball wide.

The half time score was 0-0.

In the second half, Ruscombe had an opportunity in the first few minutes but the shot was blocked.

Gunners failed to get into the game and were disappointing in possession relying on a high ball up front which was easily defended by the tall Ruscombe centre-half.

At the other end of the field Ruscombe looked the more likely to score when they started to get a few shots on goal. They were unlucky when they hit the cross bar with an effort but took the lead shortly after with a close range lob.

Gunners failed to raise their game and Ruscombe then added a second when the ball was not cleared from inside Gunners six yard box and the ball was flicked into the goal.

Bill Maslin nearly created an opening and Gunners had a couple of shots blocked after a corner but did not put the opposing keeper under any real pressure.

There was a double sending off when Steve Tranter and a Ruscombe player had an altercation resulting in a second yellow card for each of them and Bill picked up a booking for disputing an off-side call.

There were little opportunities at the end of the game which resulted in a defeat for Gunners with Ruscombe worthy 2-0 winners

Team

Pictures

Earley Gunners vs Earley HG Res 3 - 0

Match Report

Gunners bounced back from their Cup defeat with a fairly comfortable 3-0 win against Early HG Res.

Gunners started the game well and had two great early chances to score through Peter Ali and Steve Tranter before Peter Ali eventually gave the team a 1-0 lead when he headed in a rebound off a Dave Owen shot.

Gunners looked dominant early on and added a second when Steve Tranter scored from a free kick outside the box, although the opposing keeper should have done better. Steve had another opportunity to score when he drilled the ball across the face of the goal.

The game heated up when Steve Tranter was involved in an altercation with an opponent and Steve received a yellow card.

Earley HG Res created very few chances in the first half leaving the half time score was 2-0 to Gunners.

In the first few minutes of the second half, Earley HG had a close effort when a header went a foot wide of the post and they had some early momentum. However, they were unable to keep possession of the ball and Gunners soon started to control the game again.

There was some good midfield interplay by Gunners when they looked to go forward and Gunners started to string some more passes together. The team added a third goal when Lee Gallagher was brought down in the box and Dave Owen converted the penalty (despite a slight slip when he kicked the ball).

Gunners nearly made it four when Steve Tranters powerful shot hit the bar and came out and the keeper also denied Peter Ali from close range. Ian Griffiths also came close with a cross/shot effort.

Earley HG had two chances of note, the first was a shot which was bent wide of the post and the second involved the Earley HG player in the Gunners box with the ball at his feet (for what seemed an eternity) but Gunners had enough defenders available to block the shot before Paul Marten cleared the ball.

Overall though, Fraser did not have a lot to do in goal and eventually Gunners won the game 3-0.

It was an excellent all round team effort and the entire team were declared "Men of the Match".
Finally, the standard of refereeing was very good today with the game being handled in a firm but fair manner.

Match Facts

MOM : Team Effort

Goals : S Tranter (1), Pe Ali (1), D Owen (1)

Team

Pictures