Gloucester B 3-0 Bexley B by Happy Harris
Gloucester B welcomed a competitive Bexley team to Longlevens to fight out the first semi-final of the Geoff Richards KO Trophy.
Preparations began the previous day as a change of formation and way of playing was introduced to the confused boys using magnets, a white board and an eager tone. The training session seemed laborious for both coach and players alike. However, come match day....something clicked.
The game already took an interesting turn before the whistle was even blown as the referee captured a glamorous assistant to run the away line for him.....and no, I'm not talking about Mr Macdonald. Much to the embarrassment of our very own centre-back, Mrs Harding looked in no trouble at all, giving Gloucester its very own Sian Massey.
However, on to the game.
The home team started the stronger and quickly took the lead. After winning a free kick just over the half way mark, in typical Coach Harris style he shouts at Campbell "Smash it at goal". As any good team member does, he obliged. Firing the ball on target, the slightest deflection took it past the flailing keeper to give the Bs the perfect start.
A couple of long range efforts included Fieldhouse's looped effort going just over the bar and Arrowsmith pulling a save from Jones in goal after some quick manoeuvring from Inyinbor created good space for the shot.
The pressure from the Yellows was soon rewarded again after Campbell won the ball in a similar area to his first goal. Taking the ball to the right, he drove down the wing to the by-line and produced one of the crosses of the season to the back post where Lock's superbly cushioned header fizzed just under the bar.
Bexley responded with their first bit of real pressure on the Gloucester area. A brilliant run into the box from Workman resulted in a corner after some good defending from Irvine. The away team subsequently had four successive shots blocked near the goal line after a fine initial stop from Cornwell, followed with some 'body-on-the-line' defending by Arrowsmith, Campbell and Irvine.
Gloucester however pounced back and made it three. Brilliant footwork and close passing between Cooper and Inyinbor led the latter to pass centrally to Campbell. With one touch to his right he rifled the ball from long range into the bottom corner of the net to cap off his first brace of goals and an assist to throw into the mix.
To finish the half, Bexley forward Turpin created an opportunity for himself by twisting in between the Gloucester defence and shooting from long range. The shot however just passed the near post to keep the interval score at 3-0.
The second half saw little in terms of clear goal scoring opportunities. The London team started the stronger and the ball spent more time in Gloucester's half. However, with the Bs staying resolute, Bexley struggled to find ways through.
Taylor, Arrowsmith and [later on] Flatt continued to break up play through the middle. Easterbrook tirelessly ran down the right with the support of Campbell. Harding, who had started the game well at sweeper, was reintroduced to the fray on the left side of the defence and slotted in with great link-up play matching where Cooper and Inyinbor had left off.
Cornwell, who didn't have too much to do thwarted any positive opportunities with his quick closing down and Irvine had one of his strongest halves this season in defence. Finally, Lock and Fieldhouse continued to pester the Bexley defence at every opportunity by running at them.
It was Fieldhouse who created the main chance of the second half. Picking the ball up from about 25 yards out, he ran down the right side of the area and cut across towards goal. His shot under the keeper bounced of the far post to keep the score at 3-0.
To quote a number of spectators, "That was our best performance so far this season, wasn't it?"
Naturally, to try and give the boys all a similar playing time, the team shuffles around quite a bit. Yet, no matter what position they were asked to play, every single one did their bit for their team. A very complete performance left me incredibly proud and hopefully will be something we can build upon.
In other possibly non-related business, Sky Sports News HQ reported this morning that Chairman Steadman has personally paid for Coach Wixey to stay in Austria for a further week.
Gloucester B: Cornwell; Campbell, Harding, Irvine; Easterbrook, Taylor, Arrowsmith, Fieldhouse; Lock. Subs: Irvine, Flatt, Inyinbor.
Preparations began the previous day as a change of formation and way of playing was introduced to the confused boys using magnets, a white board and an eager tone. The training session seemed laborious for both coach and players alike. However, come match day....something clicked.
The game already took an interesting turn before the whistle was even blown as the referee captured a glamorous assistant to run the away line for him.....and no, I'm not talking about Mr Macdonald. Much to the embarrassment of our very own centre-back, Mrs Harding looked in no trouble at all, giving Gloucester its very own Sian Massey.
However, on to the game.
The home team started the stronger and quickly took the lead. After winning a free kick just over the half way mark, in typical Coach Harris style he shouts at Campbell "Smash it at goal". As any good team member does, he obliged. Firing the ball on target, the slightest deflection took it past the flailing keeper to give the Bs the perfect start.
A couple of long range efforts included Fieldhouse's looped effort going just over the bar and Arrowsmith pulling a save from Jones in goal after some quick manoeuvring from Inyinbor created good space for the shot.
The pressure from the Yellows was soon rewarded again after Campbell won the ball in a similar area to his first goal. Taking the ball to the right, he drove down the wing to the by-line and produced one of the crosses of the season to the back post where Lock's superbly cushioned header fizzed just under the bar.
Bexley responded with their first bit of real pressure on the Gloucester area. A brilliant run into the box from Workman resulted in a corner after some good defending from Irvine. The away team subsequently had four successive shots blocked near the goal line after a fine initial stop from Cornwell, followed with some 'body-on-the-line' defending by Arrowsmith, Campbell and Irvine.
Gloucester however pounced back and made it three. Brilliant footwork and close passing between Cooper and Inyinbor led the latter to pass centrally to Campbell. With one touch to his right he rifled the ball from long range into the bottom corner of the net to cap off his first brace of goals and an assist to throw into the mix.
To finish the half, Bexley forward Turpin created an opportunity for himself by twisting in between the Gloucester defence and shooting from long range. The shot however just passed the near post to keep the interval score at 3-0.
The second half saw little in terms of clear goal scoring opportunities. The London team started the stronger and the ball spent more time in Gloucester's half. However, with the Bs staying resolute, Bexley struggled to find ways through.
Taylor, Arrowsmith and [later on] Flatt continued to break up play through the middle. Easterbrook tirelessly ran down the right with the support of Campbell. Harding, who had started the game well at sweeper, was reintroduced to the fray on the left side of the defence and slotted in with great link-up play matching where Cooper and Inyinbor had left off.
Cornwell, who didn't have too much to do thwarted any positive opportunities with his quick closing down and Irvine had one of his strongest halves this season in defence. Finally, Lock and Fieldhouse continued to pester the Bexley defence at every opportunity by running at them.
It was Fieldhouse who created the main chance of the second half. Picking the ball up from about 25 yards out, he ran down the right side of the area and cut across towards goal. His shot under the keeper bounced of the far post to keep the score at 3-0.
To quote a number of spectators, "That was our best performance so far this season, wasn't it?"
Naturally, to try and give the boys all a similar playing time, the team shuffles around quite a bit. Yet, no matter what position they were asked to play, every single one did their bit for their team. A very complete performance left me incredibly proud and hopefully will be something we can build upon.
In other possibly non-related business, Sky Sports News HQ reported this morning that Chairman Steadman has personally paid for Coach Wixey to stay in Austria for a further week.
Gloucester B: Cornwell; Campbell, Harding, Irvine; Easterbrook, Taylor, Arrowsmith, Fieldhouse; Lock. Subs: Irvine, Flatt, Inyinbor.
