Match Review

11th February 2001 Gedling AFC 2 v 4 Burton Joyce

Scorers: Sam Smith (2), James Clark, Anthony Kefer

This match was du to be played away at Gedling AFC but their pitch was deemed unplayable and so the fixture was played at the Poplars by mutual agreement. The match kicked off at 11.00am following on from the Under 10's (who, incidentally, recorded their first win of the season - well done to Chris and the lads).

There was a slighly changed format for this game with Tom Parkinson, James Clark and Niels Hart starting the match. Manager Andy Parkinson reminded the boys before the game to keep to their positions and maintain their shape.

There was a strong wind blowing across the pitch but despite this the game started with plenty of end to end play, and in fact the first chance fell to Gedling with only a few minutes gone. Perhaps we were in for an upset despite Gedlings lowly league position. After 10 minutes Sam Smith broke the deadlock, after a good run down the left wing he shot low and hard and the goalkeeper knocked the ball back into Sams path and he scored at the second attempt. Sam nearly made it two minutes later with a shot which hit the foot of the post but bounced the wrong way. Soon after BJ had a throw-in on the right which fell to James Clark, he took the ball on and scored to make it 2-0. Jamie Gibbs was forced to make a brilliant save at the feet of a Gedling striker just moments later. Sam Smith scored his 2nd (and his 26th of the season) with a deft side foot after a good build up from nearly all the BJ players. Teamwork!

Well 3-0 up - all looked good but Gedling fought back - their midfield was particularly strong and a good through ball totally split the BJ defence and they struck it home with a nicely taken shot. 3-1. Before the end of the first half Gedling had a string of corners and with the help of the wind they fired in some brilliant crosses. The last of these unluckily bounced of Jamie into the net although the goal was creditted to one of the Gedling players. Half Time 3-2.

For the second half Daniel Roberts went in goal and Anthony Kefer was put on to try and disrupt the Gedling defence. It has to be said that the second half was a pretty scrappy affair, the strong wind did not do either side any favours. But despite the wind BJ still managed to string together some good passing sequences. BJ had the best of the chances with strikes from Anthony, Sam and Oliver Woodward hitting the side netting. It was just looking like no further goals would be scored when Anthony Kefer got the ball in midfield, passed to Sam Smith who returned the favour and Anthony slotted the ball home - the final whistle went immediately after. Final score 4-2.


Verdict : A difficult game in strong winds.

Manager's Comment : "It was hard for both sides to play good football in the wind today but I think the score was about right. That stretches our unbeaten run to 5 games and we've only lost twice in the last 10 games."

Performance of the Week : Niels Hart - Niels gave 110% today. He was kept busy and battled superbly. He also trained hard on Friday. Well Done Niels!



To see Niels before the game Click here



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