Purley Park vs Earley Gunners 0 - 8

Match Report

Earley Gunners met Purley Park in the first round of the Eddie Titchener Cup and were convincing winners.

Earley Gunners had a great start when they scored within 30 seconds of the start, some good work from Rob Warwick allowed Ian Thornhill to score from close range.

Gunners went through a poor ten minute spell when the opposition had several chances to score and the team had difficulty in clearing the ball from defence.

The poor pitch conditions and small size of the pitch made it hard for much decent football to be played although Gunners seemed to benefit more when the ball was played wide to Dave Owen and Darren Fry. Further goals were added in the first half from Dave Owen, Darren Fry and Rob Warwick to give the team a convincing (but perhaps a little flattering) lead.

The second half saw Gunners finish the job with further goals. Dave Owen ended up with a hat-trick, Rob Warwick scored a brace on his debut and the other goals had come from Darren Fry, Ian Thornhill, Phil Byrne and an own goal.

The most notable moment of the match was when Paul Ali was brought down in the box and Fraser McNaughton stepped up to take the penalty. Unfortunately he hit this straight at the keeper and seemed to be in a state of shock for the rest of the game.

The final result was a 8-0 win and Gunners march through to the second round of the Eddie Titchener Cup where we will meet Fourth Shift Res.

Match Facts

Goals : D Owen (3), R Warwick (2), D Fry (1), I Thornhill (1), P Byrne (1)

Team

Good Companions vs Earley Gunners 2 - 2

Match Report

Earley Gunners earned a 2 - 2 draw with current league leaders Good Companions. Julian Willis made a welcome return in goal after an injury lay off.

It was Gunners who had the better of the chances in the first half but they could not find the back of the net. Good Companions were fast on the break and played some neat one-two's which caused Gunners some problems.

Good Companions took the lead when they managed to ride a tackle on the edge of the box and take a shot which came off the post and they scored from the rebound.
They doubled their lead a few minutes later when they again caught Gunners on the break and scored with a shot from just inside the box.

The half time score was a 2-0 to Good Companions.

Paul Ali had an early chance to add a goal when his mazy run took him into the box but his shot which went wide. However continued to fight back and added a goal through Ian Thornhill after a ball had been played through the midfield.

The rest of the game saw a few chances created at both ends but Gunners failed to play much neat flowing football and were reduced to looking for a long ball to chase on most occasions.
Dave Owen was unlucky not to level the score after he volleyed a Paul Clark cross just wide but he made amends with five minutes to go when he rifled home a ferocious shot from the edge of the box to make the final score 2-2.

Match Facts

Goals : I Thornhill (1), D Owen (1)

Team

Earley Gunners vs CS Taxes 3 - 5

Match Report

Earley Gunners suffered their first league defeat at the hands of CS Taxes who got their revenge for their earlier defeat in the season to throw theleague title race wide open.

The windy conditions made it difficult for both teams to play football although Gunners had the benefit of the wind in the first half and got off to a goodstart with a goal from Nick Burrows who headed in from close range.

Nick was again involved in the action a short while later when his long range effort hit the cross bar and fell into the path of Ian Thornhill who scored from close range.

Dave Owen was unlucky not to make it 3—0 when he was judged to have fouled an opposing player after he had put the ball into the back of the net.At half time Gunners were 2—0 up.

In the second half, Gunners were dreadful and conceded five goals through defensive errors and not being able to cope with high balls into the box. The team were also unable to create any meaningful chances up front.

Dave Owen did give the team some hope when he scored to make it 3-2 to the Gunners but CS Taxes threw men forward and got their reward when theyadded the goals they needed to win the game including a late penalty.

The final result was a 3—5 defeat and a poor performance all round.

Match Facts

Goals : I Thornhill (1), D Owen (1), N Burrows (1)

Team

Pictures

Earley Gunners vs Boyne Hill 3 - 4

Match Report

Earley Gunners were knocked out of the Berks and Bucks Cup by Maidenhead outfit Boyne Hill.
Gunners made a good start to the game and looked well organised for the first half an hour in defence. The first goal came Gunners way when Tony Poacher picked up the ball and sent a defence splitting ball through to Darren Fry whose shot went in off the post.

Unfortunately, a short while later Kevin Rapley injured himself when making an attempt for the ball and was taken off. Gunners were reduced to 10 men and still played well whilst Kevin was seeking treatment until the decision was made to replace him.

Gunners then had a disastrous spell five minutes before half time when they conceded two goals. The first came when Jon Allen gave away a penalty after an opponent had carved his way through the middle and was fouled by Jon.

The second goal came when the ball was played to the forward who looked in an offside position, the attacker then scored with a looping shot from the edge of the box. At half time, Gunners were a disappointing 2 - 1 down.

The second half saw another bad five minutes with another 2 goals being scored by the opposition. The first came when the same player again dribbled his way through the middle and shot past the keeper.

The fourth goal came when they scored from another long range looping shot. Gunners were now 4 - 1 down. The team battled back and had the majority of possession for the rest of the game. Dave Owen added a second goal and then Nick Burrows knocked the ball in from a corner to give Gunners hope at 4-3 down.

Gunners were fighting for every ball to get back into the game and Jon Allen was then booked in the for querying a referee's decision and Paul Ali was also booked for hacking down an opponent.
In the final couple of minutes Gunners controversially had an equaliser disallowed, when Paul Clark made a run down the right and played the ball back to Nick Burrows who scored only to find the opponents linesman flagging for offside.

Unfortunately, there were no further chances and the final score was a 4-3 win to the opponents.

Match Facts

Goals : D Fry (1), D Owen (1), N Burrows (1)

Team

Pictures

CS Taxes vs Earley Gunners 3 - 5

Match Report

Earley Gunners overcame CS Taxes 5 - 3 in an unconvincing manner.

To be fair, the pitch conditions made it very difficult to play good football and did account for a lot of the scrappy play.

Gunners again lost the lead to the opposition when they scored from a long range shot. However Ian Thornhill got the team back into the game after latching onto Paul Clarks ball and finishing well from close range.

The half time score was 1 - 1.

In the second half a second goal from Ian Thornhill and a goal from Paul Clark gave Gunners some breathing space but then a defensive slip allowed CS Taxes to add another to make it 3-2.
However a goal from Nick Burrows and a further goal from Paul Clark put the game beyond the opposition and even a late goal from a corner was not sufficient to worry Gunners.

The final score was a 5 - 3 win to Earley Gunners.

Match Facts

Goals : I Thornhill (2), P Clark (2), N Burrows (1)

Team

Ruscombe Res vs Earley Gunners 6 - 2

Match Report

Earley Gunners were soundly beaten by a strong Ruscombe Res side in the 1st round of the Cup.
This was Gunners first "official" defeat and the team decided to do this in style by conceding six goals.

Gunners got off to a poor start with Ruscombe scoring three goals before Kevin Rapley added one. Then Ruscombe added a fourth to give them a 4 - 1 half time lead.

There was even time for several comedy moments the best of which was when keeper Jon Allen collected the ball and went to take a quick kick up field. He side stepped the opposing forward ahead of him and gave the ball a mighty whack… what he didn’t realise was that Paul Ali when standing right in front of him and the ball bounced of his back side and just wide of the Gunners own goal!

In the second half, Ian Thornhill gave the team some hope when he rounded the keeper and slotted the ball home to make the score 4 - 2.

Gunners did have a lot more possession in the second half but failed to create many really good scoring opportunities. Ruscombe seemed to have the edge in midfield and cut through the team in numbers and overwhelmed the Gunners defence. Two late goals finished Gunners off, this defeat means that Gunners are now resigned to playing in the Eddie Titchener trophy this season.

Match Facts

Goals : K Rapley (1), I Thornhill (1)

Team

Earley Gunners vs Good Companions 5 - 2

Match Report

Earley Gunners overcame current league leaders Good Companions in a scrappy game in very wet conditions which meant the sliding tackles were coming in thick and fast during the whole 90 minutes.

A couple of absences and injuries saw a changed Gunners team take the field. Good Companions started the better of the teams and took the lead when a cross was miscued by their attacker but spun in over the keeper.

Good Companions then scored another goal when their player picked his way past a couple of defenders and scored with his shot. Gunners dug in and soon struck back when Paul Ali flicked the ball over to Kevin Rapley who shot home from just inside the box. Dave Owen then added another with a drive from outside the box which the keeper fumbled and allowed the ball to roll into the net. Dave then added a second goal with another rocket shot which cannoned in from under the cross bar. This gave Gunners a 3-2 lead at half time.

In the second half Good Companions committed more men forwards although they failed to create too many really good scoring opportunities with the Gunners defence looking a lot more organised in the second half. It is also worth mentioning that Goalkeeper Jon Allen’s handling during the game was excellent in view of the wet conditions.

Kevin Rapley added his second of the game and Gunners fourth when he turned and shot from the edge of the box to give Gunners some breathing space. Good Companions came forward looking to get back into the game but Gunners did just enough to keep them away although Jon Allen was called on to make one excellent save.

In the dying minutes Nick Burrows played a ball through the Good Companions defence and Paul Ali sprinted onto the ball, rounded the keeper and slotted the ball home to add another goal. The final score was a 5-2 win to the Gunners.

Match Facts

Goals : K Rapley (2), D Owen (2), Pa Ali (1)

Team

Pictures