Mae hynny'n fwy tebyg iddo! (Now that's more like it!)
Gloucester welcomed the Welsh outfit Afan Nedd to Longlevens for the first time. Our visit to them in the reverse fixture saw a tightly fought 0-0 draw, where Gloucester offered little in the way of attacking their goal. This time though saw a determination to show them that we were much more than a team that could defend well, but a team that can attack with purpose. No roussels were on offer, no seagulls trying to steal some fries - just a good old-fashioned Gloucester game of football followed by sausage and chips!
Gloucester started the stronger of the two teams and found themselves camped in the opposition half for some time. A few good set pieces saw the home team create concern for the Greens. Mulraney’s free-kick from the edge of the area hit the crossbar and Villiers' header from a corner was cleared close to the line.
The first major chance landed at Jones’ feet when Kennedy had won the ball back, run into the area and looked destined to shoot, only to pass the ball around the goalkeeper for Jones. Off balance and slightly wide of the goal, Jones managed to put the effort into the side netting. However, from the resulting goal kick, Mulraney brought down the keeper’s kick and nutmegged the ball through to Kennedy who took one touch to set himself before slotting into the bottom corner to give us the head-start we deserved.
Kennedy then nearly followed that up with a sublime shot heading for ‘top bins’ when the salmon-like keeper leapt into the air to push over for a corner. That corner led to a controversial decision where the ball was headed into the back of the goal by Fisher only for it to bounce off the bar at the back and outwards again. Goal not given, video evidence suggests otherwise, Fisher not happy!
Afan Nedd then started to see a couple of counter attacks to get Gloucester thinking. After a simple save from Boakes, he was quickly off his line and down at Thomas’ feet to thwart another opportunity just before half time.
Gloucester started the second half just as well as the first and quickly found their reward. A Taylor corner was headed wide by Jones only for Fisher to stop it going out, do a kick-up and overhead lob back into the area for Kennedy to slot home.
Within the blink of an eye, Gloucester were 3 up. A perfectly struck free kick from Mulraney flew into the top corner - giving Gloucester a cushion of safety……or so they thought! Sharpe for Afan Nedd, then went on a great run and managed to put the ball in the back of the Gloucester net - reminding us not to take our foot off the gas.
After a messy 10 minutes of football where neither team looked to really get the ball down and assume control, Jones pounced on a loose ball and ran at the visiting defence. A quick pass round the defender to Fisher allowed him to take one touch inwards and slot home.
Mulraney then crossed from the right from where Taylor gave it to Jones. His pass to Villiers produced a very neat and tidy finish to almost put the game to bed.
Sadly, that wasn’t it as in the final few minutes, an Afan Nedd free-kick flew into the box before taking an unfortunate bounce off Mason’s head - 5-2.
The final moment of the game and rightly so, was summed up when great battling from Jones, Fisher, Kennedy, Taylor & Mulraney put the visiting defence under pressure, the ball landing at the feet of Villiers who again slotted home well to bag his brace and make the score 6-2.
This was a very positive team performance with everyone playing their part - especially on the attacking front, which is something the team is working hard on. The next few weeks are likely to be tough and performances like this should put them in good stead to cope with whatever comes our way. Well done Gents!
Gloucester: Boakes, Mason, Ball, Werner; Taylor, Kennedy, Villiers, Mulraney, Fisher; Jones.
Gloucester started the stronger of the two teams and found themselves camped in the opposition half for some time. A few good set pieces saw the home team create concern for the Greens. Mulraney’s free-kick from the edge of the area hit the crossbar and Villiers' header from a corner was cleared close to the line.
The first major chance landed at Jones’ feet when Kennedy had won the ball back, run into the area and looked destined to shoot, only to pass the ball around the goalkeeper for Jones. Off balance and slightly wide of the goal, Jones managed to put the effort into the side netting. However, from the resulting goal kick, Mulraney brought down the keeper’s kick and nutmegged the ball through to Kennedy who took one touch to set himself before slotting into the bottom corner to give us the head-start we deserved.
Kennedy then nearly followed that up with a sublime shot heading for ‘top bins’ when the salmon-like keeper leapt into the air to push over for a corner. That corner led to a controversial decision where the ball was headed into the back of the goal by Fisher only for it to bounce off the bar at the back and outwards again. Goal not given, video evidence suggests otherwise, Fisher not happy!
Afan Nedd then started to see a couple of counter attacks to get Gloucester thinking. After a simple save from Boakes, he was quickly off his line and down at Thomas’ feet to thwart another opportunity just before half time.
Gloucester started the second half just as well as the first and quickly found their reward. A Taylor corner was headed wide by Jones only for Fisher to stop it going out, do a kick-up and overhead lob back into the area for Kennedy to slot home.
Within the blink of an eye, Gloucester were 3 up. A perfectly struck free kick from Mulraney flew into the top corner - giving Gloucester a cushion of safety……or so they thought! Sharpe for Afan Nedd, then went on a great run and managed to put the ball in the back of the Gloucester net - reminding us not to take our foot off the gas.
After a messy 10 minutes of football where neither team looked to really get the ball down and assume control, Jones pounced on a loose ball and ran at the visiting defence. A quick pass round the defender to Fisher allowed him to take one touch inwards and slot home.
Mulraney then crossed from the right from where Taylor gave it to Jones. His pass to Villiers produced a very neat and tidy finish to almost put the game to bed.
Sadly, that wasn’t it as in the final few minutes, an Afan Nedd free-kick flew into the box before taking an unfortunate bounce off Mason’s head - 5-2.
The final moment of the game and rightly so, was summed up when great battling from Jones, Fisher, Kennedy, Taylor & Mulraney put the visiting defence under pressure, the ball landing at the feet of Villiers who again slotted home well to bag his brace and make the score 6-2.
This was a very positive team performance with everyone playing their part - especially on the attacking front, which is something the team is working hard on. The next few weeks are likely to be tough and performances like this should put them in good stead to cope with whatever comes our way. Well done Gents!
Gloucester: Boakes, Mason, Ball, Werner; Taylor, Kennedy, Villiers, Mulraney, Fisher; Jones.
