Match Report

Wealdstone 3 Clevedon Town 3

Clevedon went into tonight’s game with Mike Trought restored to the team following suspension, and Mike Symons given his first start.

On a dry and bumpy pitch Wealdstone had all the early pressure, and duly went ahead in the 20th minute with a break down the right and a cross into the box that was met by John-Jo O’Toole, who smashed his shot past Danny Greaves. However, Clevedon Town equalised just ten minutes later, against the run of play, when a long free kick from Mike Trought was picked up by Mike Symons on the edge of the area, who turned and hit a low bobbling shot just inside the post. Wealdstone continued to pile on the pressure though, and hit the bar with a fierce long-range shot. Five minutes before half-time The Stones confirmed their dominance when Theo Robinson cut inside Lee Vickerman to hit a scorching shot past Danny Greaves to go in 2-1 up at the break.

Phil Bater’s half-time talk obviously worked wonders because Clevedon came out a totally different team and really took the game to their opponents. In the 60th minute a long clearance from Billy Clark found Rob Scott in the middle of the pitch 25 yards out from goal and his quick snap shot beat Paul Smith low to his right and crept inside the post to bring The Seasiders level again. Town continued to flood forward in numbers and their cause was helped when referee Mr Russell dismissed Wealdstone captain and midfielder Chris O’Leary for a second bookable offence. From the resultant free kick Pete Sheppard smashed the ball against the post from 25 yards. The Clevedon fans were ecstatic three minutes later when Jack Pitcher broke at pace down the right and his pinpoint cross from the goal line was met at the far post with a strong header from Mike Symons to put The Seasiders ahead for the first time in the game with fifteen minutes to go. The Stones 10 men responded by pushing Clevedon back, and fresh legs were introduced when Hanin Romdhane replaced Geraint Bater and Daine O’Connor came on for the limping Pete Sheppard. Just as Clevedon looked like recording their first win in six games, Mr Russell inexplicably decided to add on far too much time at the end of the game, and in the 98th minute joy turned to despair for The Seasiders when an unmarked John-Jo O’Toole headed in the equaliser at the near post from the final corner of the game. The referee finally blew his whistle and the points were shared at 3-3.

Match Summary: An entertaining game, and a much better performance from Clevedon, in which the final result was probably fair, but a sad end nonetheless to a game that we looked like winning. Man-of-the-Match: Mike Symons, who was a handful for the Stones defence all night, and took his goals well.

Team Sheet

No:	Name:	Sub:	Goal:
1	Greaves
2	Vickerman
3	Trought
4	Haines
5	Hendy
6	Clark
7	Scott (Capt)		1
8	Bater
9	Pitcher
10	Symons		2
11	Sheppard
12	Rawlins
14	O'Connor	11
15	Romhdane	8
16	-
17	-
Own Goal	-

Match Details

Date:	03/04/07
Competition:	British Gas Business Southern League Premier Division
Opponents:	Wealdstone
Venue:	Northwood Park Chestnut Avenue Northwood Middlesex HA6 1HR
Half Time:	1 - 2
Full Time:	3 - 3
Attendance:	204
Match Report:	Dave Wright
Photographs:	-
Notes:	Wealdstone ground share at the home of Northwood.

Downloads

Appearances & Goal Scorers	Word Document
Team Sheet Matrix	Excel Document