Earley Gunners vs Cavendish 2 - 1

Match Report

Earley Gunners managed a narrow win over an improving Cavendish Rovers side.
The first half was quite tight with neither team creating too many scoring opportunities.
The breakthrough for Gunners came when Peter Ali was fouled in the box and Dave Owen converted the penalty.

However Cavendish immediately struck back when they equalised about 30 seconds after kick off. A long ball was played forward and there was a breakdown in communication between Julian and Sean which resulted in Sean heading the ball over the keeper for an own goal.

Kevin Rapley then gave Gunners the lead to make the score 2-1 at half time.

In the second half Cavendish had much the better of the game and put Gunners under pressure for long periods.

Peter Ali had a good opportunity to seal the game but he scuffed the shot wide from close range.
However, a resolute Gunners defence managed to hold out to earn the team a narrow win.

Match Facts

Goals : K Rapley (1), D Owen (1)

Team

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Earley Gunners vs Ruscombe Res 7 - 0

Match Report

Earley Gunners regained the lead at the top of the table with a convincing win over Ruscombe Res.

There was an early scare when a break down in communication saw Peter Ali’s header go past the oncoming keeper (Fraser) who then took out his own player leaving him on the ground. Thankfully the ball rolled wide of the goal.

The first half was still tight but Gunners took the lead after a long goal kick was flicked on by Kevin Rapley to Darren Fry who scored from close range. Gunners then made it two when another goal kick was allowed to go through to thekeeper and Kevin Rapley managed to get there ahead of him and nod it in.

At half time the score was 2 - 0 to Gunners and a good defensive performance in the first half had been required to keep Ruscombe at bay. The second half saw Gunners under some more pressure and Ruscombe even hit the post with a long range effort.

Then with about 20-25 minutes left things started to go right for Gunners and they went on a goal blitz. Darren Fry was influential on a couple of the goals crossing for Dave Owen to head home, Kevin Rapley added another goal and then Nick Burrows scored a goal from close range.
Phil Abbot who had an outstanding game at left back was substituted due to injury with 10 minutes to go and this resulted in a quick positional change and makeshift left winger Paul Ali setup a couple of goals allowing Neil Rumbold to score and then laying the ball of to Dave Owen to tap the ball in from close range.

The final score was a convincing 7 - 0 win and finally we saw some of the old Gunners style which seems to have been lacking a lot this season.

Match Facts

MOM : P Clark

Goals : K Rapley (2), D Owen (2), D Fry (1), N Burrows (1), N Rumbold (1)

Team

Earley Gunners vs Elm Park 4 - 1

Match Report

Earley Gunners made their way to the final of the Eddie Titchener Cup with a 4 - 1 win over Elm Park. Elm Park had the better of the first 20 minutes and opened the scoring when a ball was chipped over the defence to their forward who volleyed home from close range. Elm Park had a good chance to double the lead but a lunging challenge by Paul Ali in the six yard box blocked the shot. Gunners then got into the game and equalised when Neil Rumbold chased a long ball and struck the ball home from some distance.

Gunners then took the lead when Dave Owen made another powerful run towards the goal and hit the ball home from the edge of the box. Elm Park had a couple of late chances to equalise, Julian Willis tipped a free-kick over bar and then the opposition headed underneath the bar and the ball came out and was cleared.

The half time score was 2-1 to Gunners although Gunners did have a chance to add a third when they decided to play pinball in the opponents goal, fortunately for Elm Park they just managed to get the ball clear.

In the second half Gunners had the advantage of the slope and the slight wind and they dominated the majority of the game. Gunners had control of the midfield with Darren Fry making some good breaks on the left and Dave Owen and Paul Clark controlling the middle whilst Nick Burrows made some good tackles in midfield.

Phil Byrne added his name to the score sheet after a break down the right and a cross into the box allowed Phil to finish from close range and he soon added another from inside the six yard box after some good work from Paul Clark. Elm Park made the odd break but Julian Willis was only really called into action once in the second half when he raced towards the edge of the box and cleared the ball away. On other occasions some calm defensive play by Sean Kearns and some good clearances by Paul kept the opposition away.

The second half was fairly comfortable and Gunners ended up with a 4 - 1 win and a place in the final.

Match Facts

Goals : P Byrne (2), N Rumbold (1), D Owen (1)

Team

Cavendish vs Earley Gunners 3 - 4

Match Report

Earley Gunners scraped a win over lowly Cavendish Rovers with an abysmal display. Gunners went one up through Paul Clark but Cavendish almost immediately pulleda goal back.

Gunners then managed added two more to make the half time score 3 - 1. The goals came from Nick Burrows and Phil Byrne.

In the second half Gunners scored early on through a Dave Owen freekick. Gunners despite not playing well looked in a comfortable position with a 3 goal lead.

Cavendish fought back and Gunners began to buckle under the pressure.

Cavendish scored twice to make things very tight and Gunners held on through ten minutes of pressure at the end of the game to get the win.

Frankly, it was one of the teams worst performances this season and Gunners were fortunate to get all 3 points.

Match Facts

Goals : P Clark (1), D Owen (1), N Burrows (1), P Byrne (1)

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Earley Gunners vs Warwick Arms 5 - 7

Match Report

Earley Gunners slumped to a 5 - 7 defeat to closest rivals Warwick Arms who narrowed the gap at the top of the table.

A few absences meant a changed around side and this did not help Gunners settle into the game.
Warwick scored the first goal within the first five minutes but Kevin Rapley latched onto a long goal kick to level the scores. Warwick added another but Sean Kearns added another just before half time to make it 2-2.

In the second half Gunners fell asleep as Warwick scored three goals in ten minutes to give them a 5-2 lead.

Gunners managed to pull two goals back through Nick Burrows and sub Neil Rumbold. The final score was a 5 - 7 defeat and a poor team performance including a shocking defensive display.

Paul Clark was Gunners Man of the Match for his good work in midfield.

Match Facts

MOM : P Clark

Goals : K Rapley (2), N Burrows (1), S Kearns (1), N Rumbold (1)

Team

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Earley Gunners vs Fourth Shift 5 - 0

Match Report

Earley Gunners cruised to a comfortable victory over Fourth Shift Res.

Gunners started the game strongly and had most of the possession in the first half.

Kevin Rapley opened the scoring and then Dave Owen added a second.

Nick Burrows scored the third with a well taken shot from outside the box and Paul Clark added a fourth with a deflected shot. The Gunners defence limited the opposition to one shot which was well saved by stand in keeper Fraser McNaughton.

Unfortunately, Jon Weller who had looked good early on was injured after being tackled and suffered a recurrence of a knee injury.

Despite having the better of the windy conditions in the second half, Gunners failed to continue the form of the first half and were limited to a goal from Neil Rumbold after some good work on right from Dave Owen.

Gunners had several opportunities to add to the lead but failed to find the target, most notably from top marksman Dave Owen! Fourth Shift had a couple of breaks in the second half and Paul Ali was fortunate to escape a yellow card when he fouled the opposing forward when he made a break for the goal.

Fraser McNaughton was called into action once or twice in the second half but there were few serious attempts at goal.

The final score was a 5-0 Gunners win.

Match Facts

Goals : D Owen (1), K Rapley (1), P Clark (1), N Burrows (1), N Rumbold (1)

Team

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Earley Gunners vs Hays Theale 9 - 0

Match Report

Earley Gunners cruised to an easy win in the return fixture against Hays Theale.

Nick Burrows gave Gunners a good start when he finished after the second attempt from a right wing cross. He then made it two goals with a great finish from just inside the box.

Then Fraser McNaughton scored his first ever goal for the club when he received the ball 40 yards out and sent a long cross/shot (delete as appropriate) which flew into the top left hand corner of the goal.

The half time score was 3 - 0 to Gunners who had the better of the windy conditions. In the second half having to play partly against the wind Gunners finally started to play some quick one touch football and this paid dividends with a hatful of goals.

Rob Warwick added the fourth goal for Gunners and then Darren Fry rifled home a shot to make it five. Phil Byrne then made an appearance and scored with his first touch of the game with a lovely chip over the Hays keeper.

Paul Ali then added his name to the score sheet when he flicked a cross over the keeper and Sean Kearns made it eight when he turned in a corner from Dave Owen.

Paul Ali scored the ninth when he hit the ball home from close range after some good work from Rob Warwick. Kevin Rapley came close to scoring but put one shot over the bar from six yards out and then had another shot blocked by Nick Burrows and his final decent chance was cleared of the line by a defender.

The final result was an easy 9 - 0 win.

Match Facts

Goals : Pa Ali (2), N Burrows (2), D Fry (1), F McNaughton (1), P Byrne (1), S Kearns (1)

Team

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