Earley Gunners vs DC Steamers 1 - 1

Match Report

Gunners and DC Steamers shared the spoils with a 1-1 draw.

DC Steamers had the better of the first half and took the lead when a cross was knocked back to a player at the edge of the area who drilled the ball home.

Gunners, were poor in the first half and were second best to the ball. DC Steamers worked hard and put Gunners under pressure when in possession which worked well as Gunners failed to pass and move the ball around.

The half time score was 1-0 to DC Steamers.

There was an early incident in the second half when the game kicked off with Andy Birch still walking towards his goal from the half-way line, thankfully the opposition did not have a shot on target (although Andy could have made a bit more of an effort!)

In the second half Gunners made some early changes and were much better. Gunners created several chances to score, the closest of which came from Marcus Randles whose spin and volley cannoned of the bar.

Matt Rees then had a goal disallowed for offside and Paul Stout had a header disallowed for offside which looked marginal.

DC Steamers literally ran out of steam in the second half and could only create a couple of chances.

With ten minutes to go Iain Peer levelled for Gunners when he drilled the ball home from close range. However, Gunners could not find a second and the final score was 1-1.

Gunners "Man of the Match" was Iain Peer.

Match Facts

MOM : I Peer

Goal : I Peer (1)

Team
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Earley Gunners vs Earley Retreat 7 - 0

Match Report

Gunners were comfortable victors over local rivals Earley Retreat.

Despite an average performance in the first half Gunners took a 2-0 lead through Matt Rees and Marcus Randles.

Earley Retreat were limited to long aerial balls which were well defended by Paul Ali although they did manage to open the defence on one occasion where Paul Ali was booked for fouling an opponent.

Gunners had a couple of other chances to score but could not find the net. Earley Retreat did force a couple of corners and head a header which went wide of the post.

The half time score was 2-0 to Gunners and a half where Gunners had not played particularly well.

The second half saw Gunners score a third through Matt Rees after a pass from Carl Littlechild.
Lee Gallagher was then booked for hacking down the Earley Retreat forward who was breaking at pace. However, Lee made amends when he added Gunners fourth with a close range header from Jon Halls cross.

The game was now very comfortable and Gunners had the majority of possession. Earley Retreat were restricted to a couple of chances none of which were on target. In fact, the Gunners keeper did not have a save to make all game.

Jon Hall added a fifth goal before Paul Stout scored a free kick to make it six.
Gunners then picked up two needless bookings. The Earley Reteat right back kicked out at Jon Hall and Paul Marten ran to confront the player who then took offence at Paul. This situation did not settle down and after a few minutes a minor foul caused players to become involved again, this resulted in the Earley Retreat player, Paul Marten and Paul Stout (we're still not sure why?) all being booked.

Paul Marten then moved into a more forward position for the last part of the game and was rewarded with goal after he finished from a knock down by Peter Ali.

The final score was a comfortable 7-0 win and despite the game generally being played in a fair manner, Gunners managed to pick up four bookings!

Match Facts

Goals : M Rees (2), P Marten (1), M Randles (1), L Gallagher (1), J Hall (1), P Stout (1)

Team

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Bulmershe OB vs Earley Gunners 2 - 2

Match Report

Gunners made some amends for last weeks poor display and upset the form book with a 2-2 draw against league leaders Bulmershe Old Boys. Gunners were even unlucky not to claim all 3 points.

Gunners played uphill in the first half and Bulmershe had some early pressure before Gunners began to put a few attacks together. Steve Tranter gave Gunners the lead with a great strike from distance midway through the first half.

Bulmershe had more of the pressure, but the Gunners defence stood firm and the midfield battled well to stop Bulmershe from getting into any sort of rhythm. Bulmershe started to become frustrated and two of their players were booked for dissent.

Unfortunately, Bulmershe did manage to scramble an equaliser mere moments before half time to make the score 1-1.

In the second half Bulmershe started off the better of the teams and forced a number of corners which Gunners managed to defend. However, Gunners started to counter-attack well and Bill Maslin then gave Gunners a 2-1 lead when he was played through by Iain Peer. Both forwards worked well with the limited possession they had with Iain in particular holding the ball up well and earning a couple of free kicks.

Gunners had a couple of great chances to put the game away when Bill had a one on one with the keeper and his shot went wide and Paul Stout screwed his shot wide from inside the box.
Bulmershe's frustation was evident and this led to one of their players being sent off after another yellow card for dissent.

Bulmershe forced a series of corners and Gunners were lucky not to concede when a shot hit the bar and Carl Littlechild cleared the ball off the line.

However, in the final few minutes Bulmershe scored a late equaliser when their cross was not held and fell into their forwards path who tapped the ball home from close range.

Overall, the team were pleased with a point and it was massive improvement from last weeks game. It was great to see every player giving 110% and it shows that on a good day Gunners can match any team in the league.

Despite a number of good performances all round, Richard Alderton was Gunners "Man of the Match".

Match Facts

MOM : R Alderton

Goals : S Tranter (1), B Maslin (1)

Team
Pictures