Gunners early season slump continued with a 4-3 defeat against Woodley Hammers. The game was very nearly cancelled with no goal posts in sight on arrival but these were located in the surrounding trees near the pitch.
Gunners were slightly under strength missing a few regulars but did welcome back last seasons top scorer Bill Maslin.
Despite less of the play in the first half, Gunners took the lead were they were fortunate to be awarded a penalty when Carl Littlechild was fouled by the opposing keeper. Bill Maslin netted the resulting penalty.
However, Woodley equalised when a defensive slip allowed the opposing forward a shot on goal.
Woodley also had a couple of chances from corners one of which was headed off the line by Paul Ali.
However at the other end of the field Gunners took a 2-1 lead when Bill Maslin reacted to a loose ball and slotted him from inside the box. The half time score was 2-1 to Gunners.
In the second half Gunners failed to get into the game and Woodley struck early on to level the scores when the ball was crossed from the by line and ran into the path of their player who tapped home from close range.
Gunners should have been awarded a penalty when a Gunners player was blatantly fouled in the box, however the referee did not award the kick.
Woodley then took the lead for the first time in the game when a long range effort was deflected into the goal and Woodley then nearly put the game beyond doubt when they scored from a free kick.
Steve was then introduced into the game and was booked for retaliating to a challenge in less than five minutes.
In the dying minutes, Bill gave the team some hope when the flicked the ball over the keeper to score.
Gunners tried to force the last couple of minutes but Woodley kept the ball well away from their goal and earned the win. Gunners "Man of the Match" was Bill Maslin.
Overall, Gunners did not play well enough to earn a win. It was good to welcome Bill back and he definitely made a difference with his well taken opportunities but Gunners were guilty of giving away a couple of soft goals.
Match Facts
MOM : B Maslin
Goals : B Maslin (3)
Team
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