April 2011 Match Reports

Sunday 10th April 2011

League, Shelton Sports

Surrey Valley 5 - 2 Banter Central FC
   Wommy, Brownie

Banter: Tyler; Tino, Doc, Dancer (Boma, 20); Baird, Cling, Wilkes, Gill, Ridders (Fintan, 70); Wommy, Brownie

A poor second half performance saw Banter collapse against a Surrey Valley side that literally took every chance they had.

With a 12.30 kick off, the sun was already at its highest and hottest when these teams met for Valley’s last and Banter's penultimate game of the 10/11 season. The weather conditions would make playing hard enough as it was, but the pitch provided at Shelton sports would make the job ten times harder. With the only grass on the pitch running down both wings and the line markings barely visible to the naked eye, Banter knew the conditions would not make their task any easier.

After the previous result against Valley this season, which saw Banter take home an easy 6-1 win and the opponents only having a bare 11, what seemed an over confident Banter took to the pitch. It was Valley who started the better, taking advantage of a sloppy Banter who took time to adjust to the conditions. The unreadable bobbles on the pitch can be forgiven but there were a number of misplaced or under hit passes which allowed Valley to take advantage and break. Valley eventually took one of these chances, with a shot at Tyler being palmed away only to fall back into the strikers path who finished well. This gave Banter the kick start needed and finally the away team started playing the football we see week in, week out. The highlight of the first half saw LD go down injured to be replaced by Boma, it was his first game for Banter in over six weeks, this was easily noticed when he ran onto the pitch wearing the wrong kit!

Wommy and Brownie were linking well up front and a number of chances were created all to be bettered by Valleys keeper who kept his side in the game very well. It was 1-0 Valley at the break, although only just after Tyler saved a one on one following the referees whistle to take a goal kick made Banter all stop in their tracks during the build up.

The second half saw Banter come out fighting and looking for an early goal, the pressure going forward was starting to pay off and it felt like a goal was coming. It took longer than expected but after some neat play down the left the ball eventually fell to Wommy on the edge of the box, after a couple of neat one-two’s with Brownie, Wommy was in on goal and finished excellently into the corner to make it 1-1. After the goal celebrations, both teams were reminded by an onlooking Selsdon FC that they had just won the league so there was no reason to carry on playing. Play resumed anyway and saw Ridders chopped down in his own half and falling on the Shelton pitch he soon realised that the pitch was made of broken glass, barb wire and sand paper - he has the cuts down his legs to prove it. Regardless, Ridders was soon replaced by Fintan.

Banter seemed a different side after the goal had gone in but it was for the worse. Maybe Selsdon’s words of wisdom were listened to by some. Slack defending at the back and a series of errors saw Valley steal three goals in quick succession.

Banter had to start pushing forward again, an excellent run from Baird saw him cut in from the right and all the way across the box, he remained on his feet but much to his annoyance the ref pulled it back for a foul on the edge of the box. The angered winger stepped up himself and took a perfectly weighted free kick which seemed to be heading into the bottom corner of the goal only to be stopped by a worldy save from Valley's keeper again.

With 15 minutes to go, Cling set Baird free down the right wing, he chipped the ball over every Valley player for it to fall perfectly for Brownie to head in at the backpost. 4-2.

It was Baird again causing problems, he raced through only to be fouled in the area... Penalty? NO! For the second week in a row Banter were given a free kick outside the area! Maybe if Valley had a sub there might have been a linesman to tell the ref it was inside the box? Two minutes later a Surrey Valley substitution took place. This is still baffling to me now.

From the resulting freekick, Valley cleared easily and broke and Banter were once again punished to put the final nail in the coffin and wrap up a well deserved victory that would see them move away from the relegation battle and safe in the league.

Man of the match: Andrew 'TIno' Sheridan.

Sunday 3rd April 2011
Leonard Vase Semi Final, Ashburton Playing Fields

Ashburton Wanderers 4 - 1 Banter Central FC
    Baird

Banter: Tyler; Tino, Doc, Dancer (Vidic, 55); Ridders, Cling, Wilkes, Hughes, Baird (Euro, 46); Wommy, Brownie (Gillardino, 65)

Ashburton Wanderers flexed their muscles in the second half and subjected Banter to semi final heartbreak for the second year running.

It was, for the most part, a tight affair and very evenly matched. The home side took the game to their opponents from the off, which required Banter to defend strongly and in numbers; a challenge they were more than up to. The back line were able to head the ball clear quite comfortably throughout the first half and Tyler was given little to deal with in the early goings.

Banter were patient and this slow build up got them the first goal of the game. Turning possession into attack, Hughes slipped the ball behind Ashburton’s right-back for Baird to race onto; he travelled into the penalty area, cut inside and went direct: firing in his shot over the goalkeeper. It was a wonderfully taken goal following a good move and Kid Baird’s fourth of the season.

Ashburton had a few corners and long throw-ins which Banter organised well from, but they found an equaliser when they bundled it in after a couple of half clearances and the ball squeezed its way through at the far post. It was a soft goal, but the home side would take it no matter what.

Quite whether the referee had a final say in the result will always remain to be seen, but he certainly had a say in one of the first half’s big moments. Wilkes scooped a pass into the area towards Cling to set him free, but the ball was cut out by a raised arm and the referee blew his whistle instantly. The Banter support roared and the Ashburton players looked either dejected or defended their team mate’s innocence in vein, as Baird grabbed the ball to strike home from 12 yards. But the referee approached and awarded a free kick on the edge of the penalty area. It was a quite ridiculous decision and one which most would’ve just preferred him to have waved away and said it wasn’t handball at all. The referee exceeded himself by getting in the way of the indirect free kick, which was eventually blocked by an Ashburton player, too.

From the cleared free kick, the ball was sent back over by Jim for Brownie to race beyond the Ashburton backline and up toward the left of the area; but the home side’s goalkeeper cut it out by racing out and handling the ball beyond his 18 yard box, committing a foul. A poorly positioned free kick, carrying half the goal threat that had just been nullified from open play, was cleared to safety following Ridders’ delivery.

Brownie looked to have a good chance to give his side the lead, the ball falling at his feet inside the area, but the goalkeeper closed him down to within a yard and Ashburton got plenty of bodies back behind the ball to clear the shot.

Both sides scrapped hard and Tyler was forced into action following a long throw in, finding its way through he sprung to push the ball wide to safety. It was 1-1 at half time.

Banter were forced into a change at the interval, Kid Baird’s morning coming to an end following groin, hamstring and probably many other problems. Euro came on to replace him down the left. Soon into the half, Legend Dancer was also forced out of action. Having been dazed going into a challenge at the end of the first half, LD couldn’t continue and was replaced by Vidic.

Twenty minutes into the half, Ashburton found a way through from a long throw-in, when a flick at the near post was met at the far and slotted in to take the lead. It meant that Banter needed to be more attack minded and whilst struggling to break down a stingy and organised Ashburton defence, were forced to make their third forced substitution when Brownie’s ankle had given up on him, so he made way for Jonny Gill with 25 minutes remaining.

Set pieces were Banter’s best attempts to get back into the game, but Ashburton seemed equal and determined to clear them all. The ball found its way over the top on few occasions and the best Banter move of the second half came from quick play between Gill, Cling and then Wommy who set Hughes free down the left but his cross was shut out and came to nothing.

Ashburton’s third goal came from a mix-up in communication at the back before a scramble in the area saw the rebound thumped away with ten minutes remaining. Throwing Tino up front and pushing more and more bodies forward, Banter kept plugging away but couldn't find a way through. Ashburton hit a long goal kick, which Ridders headed into Gilly's back, ricocheting to an Ashburton player with tremendous misfortune, breaking forward on the counter attack, the left winger popped the ball into the far corner to well and truly kill the tie off and seal their passage to the Leonard Vase final.

Man of the match: Ben ‘Doc’ Doherty. No questioning the heart and the passion and didn’t really give his opponent much of a sniff all game. Good in the air, stood up to the task well and pretty faultless throughout.

Some additional points: It’s disappointment. No matter if we’d hit the crossbar 12 times and forced their goalkeeper to make worldie’s for 90 minutes, we lost. We’ve played games where we’ve battered the opposition and lost this season already and neither way does it feel good. We could’ve tested their goalkeeper more, ok, but overall you’d have to say that none of their players ran us riot or troubled us in open play too much and in that sense we were up to the task. They took the opportunities they got and they’re a very good side so full credit to them. I felt we matched them and the
  scores were even for a long time. Only in the last 10 minutes did it open out and the scoreline is pretty cruel.The way we were forced to make substitutions was unfortunate. That could’ve been a difference maker. Not one was tactical and at least two were made earlier than would’ve been ideal. Obviously with 14 strong players it shouldn’t make a difference and we definitely had everything we needed at our disposal, but it would’ve been nicer to have had a sub or two when it fell 2-1 or used one because we’d taken the lead. This is no-one’s fault and just very hard luck. I can’t recall this happening every before with 14 players available. Ignoring the non-penalty call for one moment, why wasn’t there a booking for either of the hand balls? I don’t ever expect anyone to run around waving imaginary cards, but they were clearly deserved. If you stop the ball going through on goal with your hand, or as a goalkeeper come out of your area to stop someone collecting the ball before you and handle, how can you not be cautioned? Yellow cards almost certainly had no bearing on the outcome, but they just added to what was dreadful decision making. Speaking of which… The decision to not award a penalty really could’ve changed the game. Had it been converted, you’d fancy Banter would’ve taken a 2-1 lead in at the break. For certain, our shape and mentality would’ve changed and a lead to defend whilst we regrouped could’ve made a big difference. It’s also a pretty difficult decision to understand. Did he point to the spot initially? Beyond the fact that it didn’t even look debatable and the ref was clearly not keeping up with play, did he not see the disappointment in the Ashburton players faces? Could he not sense the joy of the away side was not because they had just won a free kick?! Player reaction can tell you an awful lot irrespective or replays showing it was inside the area. The fact that he didn’t know where to stand and got in the way of the free kick itself summed it all up. On that theme, why were there no official linesman appointed by the league? There were last year. And the year before. And the year before that. Plus, the year before that. Guess what, they even had them in 2006 as well. Five years running, but not in 2011. I would not question the integrity of anyone willing to run the line nor claim it is an easy task, but someone who is qualified and paid to do so might have had a keener eye and opinion on a few more incidents rather than shrugging and saying they didn’t see it. Sour grapes over. Sorry about that. Good luck to Ashburton, who were very difficult opponents, gave us a really good game and deserved to win. We wish them all the best in the final. We shall now turn our attentions to two things: first, our two remaining league games. It would be nice to sign the season off with a couple of wins – doing so would give us our most wins in a single season and this season so far really has been about breaking records – and to enjoy those last couple of matches, scoring goals and er, shall we keep just one clean sheet this season!? Please! Secondly, the end of season bash. I’ve looked at 7th May but need to know all your availability for that and the rest of May. The quicker you tell me, the quicker it’s in the diary, I can start organising nonsense and we can start inviting the FAGs. I’ll also need all your nominations for the various awards soon, so your cooperation is again most needed. I’ll keep you posted on that. McGourty’s wish for an all middle class semi final didn’t quite prosper like he wanted, then. He’ll still bag a hat trick, though.