Seasons Summary 2001 - 2002

Season Review

Gunners made a very good start to the season winning 7-1 away to Wokingham Cricket Club in the Cup. New striker Iain Peer made an amazing debut scoring 5 goals and collecting the "Man of the Match" Award.

Gunners then faced Good Companions in the league but lost out 5-2 with a poor effort. Richard Taylor did make a goal scoring debut for the team with one of Gunners goals.
Next up was a scrappy 2-1 away win against Shinfield Reserves to give Gunners their first league points.

Gunners played Woodley Saints in the Cup and after a 2-2 draw in formal time, neither team could score in extra time and the match went to penalties and Gunners won the shoot out sending them through to the next round of the John Lusted Cup.

Gunners earned their second league win after beating Saints 2-1 with Fraser McNaughton the pick of Gunners players.

The team progressed further in the John Lusted Cup beating Loxwood 3-0 after a good second half performance led by "Man of the Match" Iain Peer who also scored 2 goals.

Paul Stout made a "Man of the Match" debut in the 3-3 draw against Abbey Rangers Reserves.
Gunners then crashed out of the Berks & Bucks Cup in the first round. Gunners held a 2-1 lead but eventually lost 3-2 to Shottesbrooke in a game Gunners should really have won.

However, Gunners were making good progress in the John Lusted Cup beating Christchurch 1-0 in a close away game. Paul Ali was the pick of Gunners players.

In the league, Gunners lack of consistency saw them lose out 3-1 to Arborfield. Paul Stout was Gunners best performer on the day.

Gunners then earned their biggest win of the season beating lowly GWRSA 9-0. Danny Deeks capped off a fine day with a hat-trick and a "Man of the Match" award.

Gunners then continued their good run of form against Loxwood. Despite being 2-0 down, Gunners fought back in the second half and secured a 7-3 win with Iain Peer notching 4 goals. Gunners "Man of the Match" was Carl Littlechild with another consistent performance at left back.

The next game saw Gunners only manage a 2-2 draw against Saints. Matt Rees was Gunners "Man of the Match". Gunners then slipped further away in the league with a 3-3 draw against Shinfield Res in an ill-tempered clash.

Gunners then beat GWRSA 8-0 in the return fixture with Phil Byrne the pick of Gunners players.

Back in the John Lusted Cup, Gunners faced Hagbourne Oak. Despite drawing 1-1 after normal time, Gunners ran out of steam in extra time and eventually went down 4-1 and out the Cup.
Dave Owen inspired Gunners to a 4-1 win against Arborfield Res with a hat-trick and a "Man of the Match" performance. Next up was Kennet Valley and a 5-2 win for Gunners with Paul Ali the form player for Gunners.

Gunners then faced top of the league Woodley Saints and earned a creditable 2-2 draw and were unlucky not to take all three points with Paul Stout playing well for Gunners.
Stuart Bye was the only scorer as Gunners dropped two points to Good Companions with a 1-1 draw. Stuart was also Gunners "Man of the Match". Gunners then beat lowly Woodley Thatchers 2-0 with Matt Rees Gunners star player on the day.

As the end of the season approached. Woodley Saints, Abbey Res and Whitley Tavern Reserves were all vying for the league title with a Gunners several points adrift.
Gunners had a tough finish to the season as they were due to play 4 out of the last 5 games against the top 3 teams. Gunners lost the next game 5-1 to Whitley Tavern despite a good performance from Paul Ali. Gunners then faced Woodley Saints who ran out 3-1 winners with Iain Peer Gunners "Man of the Match".

Gunners then earned an improbable win against Kennet Valley. Gunners had a squad of 11 men but went into a 2-0 lead before injuries saw them reduced to 9 men with half an hour left to go. Gunners were put under some enormous pressure by Kennet Valley who committed men forward and Gunners responded with some valiant defending and legitimate time wasting by kicking the ball as far up field or out of bounds as possible. The game became a bit scrappy and Kennet Valley were clearly frustrated by Gunners tactics. However, Kennet Valley continued to throw men forward and were rewarded when they scored two goals to level the game. Sensing an impending defeat, Gunners ran the ball from kick off towards the opponents corner flag and then Paul Clark picked up the ball and sent a hopeful cross shot into the box which ran past the keeper into the goal. Gunners had scored a third with a couple of minutes left on the clock and had stolen the win! Gunners then lost the return fixture to Whitley Tavern 2-0 in a closer game with Peter Ali "Man of the Match". The final game of the season against Abbey Res as Gunners had been banned due to an unpaid fine which was soon rectified. Abbey Reserves were awarded the win.

The record for the season saw Gunners play 26 Games, Win 12, Draw 6 (including 2 cup games decided after extra time or penalties) and Lose 8, scoring 73 and conceding 51 goals. Gunners form was inconsistent in the league with Gunners taking points off first and third but losing heavily to bottom but one. However, a fourth place finish in the league after having been promoted was a reasonable finish.

* Note - Shinfield withdrew from the league but players appearances, goals and assists have included these games.

Whitley Tavern vs Earley Gunners 2 - 0

Match Report

Gunners lost out to title contenders Whitley Tavern Res after a closer game than the first encounter.

Bill Maslin made a welcome return to the team for his first appearance of the season.
Whitley started the better of the teams and had a couple of chances to score including a shot which came out from under the bar.

However, they eventually took the lead when they made a break from their right and layed the ball across the goal for someone to finish from close range.

At the other end of the field, Gunners had a few chances the most notable of when Peter Ali flicked the ball onto Bill who had a chance to score which was saved. Paul Stout also had a good chance when he picked up the ball in midfield, dribbled past two players but the keeper came out and made a good save.

Gunners should have been level when a cross was put into the goal but the keeper palmed the ball out. The ball was clearly over the line but the Whitley referee waved play on.
Paul Clark also had a small altercation with a Whitley player in the first half.

In the second half, Gunners started by having a few long range shots at goal but none of these troubled the keeper.

The game became a little flat with both sides losing some interest in the game which became very open.

Gunners had another couple of chances to score when Dave Owen shaved the post from a free kick, Matt Rees had a header cleared off the line and Bill Maslin also went close.

At the other end of the field Whitley had a few chances on the break and Julian was called into action on a few occasions.

Whitley eventually scored a second goal to seal the game and neither side seemed really interested in the last few minutes as the heat seemed to sap the strength out of the players. The final score was a 2-0 defeat.

Peter Ali was Gunners "Man of the Match" for a good effort up front with little reward.

Match Facts:

MOM : Pe Ali

Team

Kennet Valley vs Earley Gunners 2 - 3

Match Report

Gunners earned all three points after a magnificent effort against Kennet Valley.

The team was reduced to a bare 11 due to a couple of last minute drop outs which meant Peter Ali making his first start for the season.

Gunners started well and took the lead when Paul Ali slipped the ball through to Iain Peer who shot from the edge of the box and curled the ball past the keeper.

Gunners were in control of the game and played some neat and tidy football across one of the larger pitches at Burghfield which benefited the teams game.

Gunners then added a second when Paul Clark scored from a near post flick on from Matt Walkers corner.

One of the Kennet players was also booked in the first half for a late tackle on Paul Ali.

Julian Willis kept Gunners in control when he made a good close range save against the opposing forward who broke clear through on goal.

At half time, the team were in control of the game with a 2-0 lead.

However, early into the second half Iain Peer had a chance on goal when he pulled up with a hamstring injury and was forced to go off reducing the team to ten men.

Gunners were put under more pressure and were reduced to defending for most of the half. The team were then dealt with another blow when Matt Walker hobbled of injured leaving the team down to 9 men with 30 minutes of the game to go.

Gunners were under severe pressure for the last twenty minutes and despite some magnificent defending by the entire defence the team conceded a goal.

Kennet Valley then nearly made it level but Phil Byrne managed to head the ball off the line. Gunners then employed a tactic of trying to kick the ball as far up the field or off the pitch in a desperate attempt to waste time which naturally infuriated the opposition (but we make no apology for it as most teams would have done the same)

However, Kennets pressure soon resulted in an equalising goal with about two minutes to go and Kennet quickly retrieved the ball in order to go for the win.

From kick off, Paul Ali ran the ball down the left wing into the corner (to waste time) and Kennet gained a throw, from this the ball was won back and Paul Clark picked up the ball on the edge of the box, he turned a man and then sent a left footed cross-shot which ran past the keeper into the corner of the goal, Gunners had stolen the points in the last minute! The referee then ended the game mere moments later.

It was a magnificent effort from every player on the field that kept the team in the game and credit was due all round.

Match Facts

MOM : P Clark

Goals : P Clark (2), I Peer (1)

Team

Earley Gunners vs Woodley Saints 1 - 3

Match Report

Gunners lost their second game in a row, this time to Woodley Saints who secured automatic promotion with this win.

Gunners started the better of the two teams and looked the better side in the first half. Gunners created several opportunities but failed to really attack the opponents goal.

However, Gunners did take the lead before half time when Iain Peer was hauled down in the box and he converted the penalty to rectify his miss from last week. At half time Gunners held a 1-0 lead and had rarely been troubled in defence.

However, Woodley Saints came out and attacked the second half and immediately hit back when a near post flick on was finished from close range to level the scores. Gunners failed to maintain the momentum of the first half and were constantly on the back foot throughout the second half.
Gunners looked uncertain playing the offside trap and this allowed the opposition to break through with clear opportunities on a couple of occasions and a good save from Julian and some last ditch defending did enough to keep the ball away.

Finally, Woodley Saints broke through when a throw from the left was headed in.

Gunners tried to get back into the game and came close through Iain Peer who headed wide from a good looking cross. However in the last few minutes, Woodley Saints finished Gunners off when they rifled in a shot from close range.

The final score was a 3-1 defeat. Gunners performance in the first half had been good but the second half performance was below par.

Gunners "Man of the Match" was Iain Peer.

Match Facts

MOM : I Peer

Goal : I Peer (1)

Team

Picture

Earley Gunners vs Whitley Tavern 1 - 5

Match Report

Gunners were second best to Whitley Tavern who earned a clear victory which keeps them on course for the league title.

Gunners started the game under pressure and conceded a goal from a corner which was not cleared and then headed in from close range and Whitley soon added a second from another set piece.

The team struggled to play any real passing football and failed to get any sort of grip on the game.

Whitley added a further goal from another set piece to give them a comfortable lead at half time.
In the second half, Gunners started to defend more resolutely but could not create much offensive pressure. The Gunners midfield looked tired compared to their opponents who looked more lively.

Whitley added a further goal when a shot travelled through a mass of bodies into the goal from another set piece.

Paul Marten then made a memorable substitute appearance after turning up late, he came on, fouled an opponent and was booked and then had to go off with an injury from the same incident.. total appearance time less than 5 minutes!

Whitley added a further goal to seal the win, but Gunners did create some late pressure and could have scored when Iain Peer was awarded a penalty but he put this wide of the post.
However, Gunners did get onto the score sheet when Peter Ali finished from a tight angle after making a late appearance.

The final score was an easy 5 - 1 win to Whitley.

Gunners failed to get a grip of the game and the passing and ball control was well below standard on the day, the team also failed to defend any crosses into the box which gave Whitley some easy opportunities to score.

Gunners "Man of the Match" was Paul Stout for being one of the few players to give a 100% effort.

Match Facts

MOM : P Stout

Goal : Pe Ali (1)

Team

Earley Gunners vs Woodley Thatchers 2 - 0

Match Report

Gunners avenged their earlier defeat by beating Woodley Thatchers 2-0. Thatchers started the stronger of the teams and it took Gunners a good 10 to 15 minutes before the team got settled in the game.

Thatchers were unlucky when they hit the cross bar earlier on but Gunners soon started to create chances of their own and both Dave Owen and Iain Peer came close to scoring and Paul Clark also had a shot saved by the keeper.

Iain Peer opened the scoring when he latched onto a poor back pass and slotted the ball home from close range.

Iain also picked up a booking for kicking a ball away after being frustrated by another offside decision from the Woodley linesman. The half time score was 1 - 0 to Gunners.

In the second half Gunners were the stronger side and created more chances although they were nlucky when a lot of off side decisions were given against the team.

Woodley tried to get the equaliser but did not create many meaningful chances against a resolute Gunners defence.

It took Gunners a while before they added to the lead and this came from Iain Peer again after a through ball from Paul Clark.

With a two goal lead, Woodley Thatchers heads appeared to drop and Gunners played out the last part of the game comfortably to earn all three points. Gunners "Man of the Match" was Matt Rees.

Match Facts

MOM : M Rees

Goals : I Peer (2)

Team
Pictures

Earley Gunners vs Good Companions 1 - 1

Match Report

Gunners earned a draw in a disappointing performance against Good Companions.
The windy conditions did not make the game easy to play in and as a result the ball spent most of the time in the air, to be fair Gunners never really settled into the match and failed to play any football for the entire game.

Gunners had a couple of early have chances the closest of which came when Dave Owen headed onto the bar, at the other end Goodies did have some attacks put failed to create many shots on goal.

The defence looked reasonably solid in the first half but the team really failed to get control of the ball and pass it around which hampered any offensive opportunities. The half time score was 0 - 0.

In the second half Goodies were the stronger side and took the lead when a cross came in from their right wing and the Goodies player rose unopposed to head in from close range.

The opposition could have doubled the lead when they had a couple of half chances in the box, but the Gunners defence managed to get the ball clear.

However Stuart Bye levelled the scores after a tactical switch saw him move up front to give Gunners a point. Gunners "Man of the Match" was also Stuart Bye.

Match Facts

MOM : S Bye

Goal : S Bye (1)

Team