Earley Gunners vs Chalfont Park 1 - 1

Match Report

Gunners managed to avoid a third defeat in a row with a 1-1 draw against Chalfont.

Gunners started the game brightly and had two glorious chances to open the scoring through Mike Olivier and Steve Smith who had a clear shot on goal.

Chalfont started to assert themselves and the game was more even. Chalfont took the lead early in the first half when a corner was not cleared and they flicked the ball in from close range.

However, Gunners battled back and Peter Ali (battling a groin strain and forced to stand up front) managed to equalise when the slotted the ball home from close range. He nearly made it two with a close range effort.

Gunners were looking more dominant with Lee Gallagher putting in some great deliveries. Gunners also created some chances when Chalfont gave away possession. However, Gunners lacked that bit of composure to turn good play into goals.

The half time score was 1-1.

Chalfont came out the blocks in the second half an immediately put Gunners under pressure. Chalfont had several corners in a row and Gunners did well to defend the first ball (an improvement over last week) but should have dealt with the loose ball and pushed out more quickly.

It was fair to say that Chalfont dominated possession in the second half and had three really good chances to score but their close range finishing was poor. They also tried to overplay the ball on the edge of Gunners box and a combination of the defence and midfield managed to defend the ball.

Gunners had a few opportunities on the break through Marcus and Steve and the Chalfont keeper had to pull off a good save from one of Steve's shots. Gunners also had a number of corners and amazingly managed to play 4 corners in a row straight out of play.

Gunners should have had a penalty when Steve managed to get goal side of his marker in the box who was all over him but the penalty was not awarded.

The final score was a 1-1 draw and Gunners first point of the season. Gunners "Man of the Match" was Marcus Randles.

Match Facts

MOM : M Randles

Goal : Pe Ali (1)

Team

Pictures

Wokingham & Emmbrook vs Earley Gunners 4 - 1

Match Report

Gunners poor start to the season continued with a 4-1 defeat to Wokingham & Emmbrook.
After an even start to the match Wokingham took an early lead after a cross was delivered into the box and despite the first shot being saved, they followed up with a close range header.
Gunners started slowly but midway through the first half started to pass the ball around the midfield better although could not penetrate the Wokingham defence.

Wokingham then gave themselves some breathing space with another goal from another header.
Gunners managed to create a few chances. Marcus Randles nearly got on to the end of a free kick and Mike had a couple of long range efforts which were saved by the keeper.

Wokingham could have made it 3-0 when they broke through towards the end of the half but the shot hit the side netting.

The half time score was 2-0 to Wokingham.

In the second half, Gunners had slightly the better possession in midfield although the team made a conscious decision to push forward more and were open to the counter-attack.
The defence held firm for the majority of the half and chances were fairly even at both ends with Wokingham having a couple of efforts aswell as Gunners. Gunners best chance came to Lee Gallagher when he was clear on goal when a high cross came to him, his shot was well controlled but went wide of the post.

With about ten minutes to go Wokingham sealed the win with a third goal after a long ball was not headed clear and the opposing attacker had a clear run on goal but squared the ball at the last moment for a tap in.

Wokingham then made it four when the defence allowed the opposing forward a shot on goal and he lobbed the keeper from the edge of the box.

In the dying minutes, Gunners pulled a goal back with their second penalty in two weeks. Peter Ali played a one two with Mike Olivier and received the return ball in the box but was fouled by an opponent. Matt Rees stepped up and smashed the ball home from close range to make it 4-1.
Gunners "Man of the Match" was Mike Olivier for an industrious display in midfield.

Match Facts

MOM : M Oliver

Goal : M Rees (1)

Team
Picture

Earley Gunners vs Shinfield 0 - 1

Match Report

Gunners suffered a narrow defeat in their first game of the season. Gunners were not at full strength today and started slowly with Shinfield looking the better team in the first ten minutes. Gunners found it difficult to string any passes together and looked vulnerable early on.
After a few tactical switches, Gunners began to look more solid at the back although failed to have any real possession going forward relying too much on a high or quick ball to chase. Shinfield took the lead towards the end of the first half when a high ball into the box was challenged by several players although the Gunners keeper was adjudged to have fouled an opponent and a penalty was given which was subsequently converted.

Gunners then started to look a little more assured and played a neat move starting from Carl Littlechild to Beppe although this did not result in an scoring opportunity. Gunners did have a couple of half chances from a corner but did not overly trouble the Shinfield keeper.
At the other end of the field, James had to make a couple of saves including a shot which he hooked off the line with this foot. The kept to score down to 1-0 at half time. In the second half Gunners were reduced to 10 men early on when Gunners only substitute came on and then suffered a hamstring injury after 5 minutes and had to leave the field of play. Gunners were forced to see out the remaining 40 minutes a man down.

Shinfield had more possession but were unable to create many scoring opportunities with the defence holding firm. At the other end of the field Steve Smith had an early chance to level when he had a header on goal which went wide. The game started to follow a pattern of Shinfield having more of the play and possession but failing to create many clear cut opportunities. Despite the Gunners defence starting to tire and looking more and more stretched, they held firm when it mattered.Gunners were limited to counter attacking on the break and Mike Olivier created a couple of breaks after he made a couple of interceptions. Gunners created a good opportunity to score when a long throw from Mike was cleared and fell into Beppe's path but his shot went wide.

With 5 minutes to go, Gunners sensed an opportunity to get a draw (despite being a man down) and pushed an extra man up front and this move was rewarded when Marcus Randles played a high cross into the box and Paul Ali was bundled over in the box when he attempted to shield the ball. Unfortunately, Paul Ali's penalty was saved by the keeper and Gunners missed out on a great opportunity to earn the draw. The last minute or two ran out leaving Gunners losing 1-0. There were a number of good performances from Gary Van Der Mortel and Marcus Randles who worked very hard up front by himself for the majority of the game. However, Gunners "Man of the Match" was Peter Ali for a solid game in defence.

Match Facts

MOM : Pe Ali

Team

Pictures

O2O 10k 2006

http://www.readingo2o10k.com/

Matt Coggins pictured doing the O2O 10k.