Banbury United 0 Clevedon Town 0
Clevedon Town travelled to The Spencer Stadium to try for their first Southern League victory against Banbury United, but returned home instead with their fifth successive league draw after a frustrating goalless afternoon.
An injury to Geraint Bater and a one match suspension for Kevin Davies meant that Phil Bater gave a start to Josh Brigham at right back and Steve Cook in midfield, and had just two substitutes on the bench.
On a sunny winter’s afternoon and playing on a firm surface The Seasiders immediately went on the offensive and created a couple of good half-chances for Steve Cook and Mitchell Page, both of which were spurned. On 15 minutes Banbury’s Wayne Blossom fired over from a corner. Then a few minutes later Clevedon thought they had taken the lead when The Puritans’ young keeper, Joe Murrell, dropped a cross after he collided with his own defenders and Matt Prosser hooked the ball into the net. However the, referee Mr Adrian Shilston from Lydney, amazingly saw it as a foul on the goalie and awarded a free kick instead! Still undeterred The Seasiders continued to push forward with a long range shot from Page, and a nice move between Danny Haines, Page and Cook set the latter up for a shot, which was blocked.
On 30 minutes Danny Greaves was alert to block a shot from Stuart Bridges who had been played through, and then Clevedon hit back with another slick move that saw Cookie drag his shot wide. Danny Haines then put in a tantalising goal line cross that was missed by everybody, and Kris Leek blasted a free kick over the bar. On 37 minutes an athletic overhead from Banbury’s Nicky Gordon went just wide. Kris Leek next made a powerful run, but his shot flashed by the wrong side of the post, and a dangerous cross from Blossom was then beaten out by Greavsie, as the half ended goalless.
The second half started as the first had ended, with The Seasiders in the ascendancy as a couple of Kris Leek corners were scrambled away by The Puritans, and the same player had a weak shot saved by Murrell. On 58 minutes Banbury’s captain Andy Baird blasted over when well placed, and on 60 Mike Symons replaced Matt Prosser. The substitution almost brought an immediate reward when Symo’s powerful run into the box and one-two with Cookie resulted in both players having a chance for a clear shot at goal, however the Banbury defence quickly closed down on their hesitation and Symo’s eventual shot went too high. Danny Haines was the next to try his luck, but again shot wide. On 65 minutes a touchline altercation between Scott Hendy and Lewis Travers resulted in both players seeing yellow, and just 5 minutes later the same two players were involved again when Travers’ two-footed lunge at Scott resulted in his dismissal following a second yellow card. Banbury then had a couple of dangerous free kicks around the edge of the box that were blocked or off target, and Haines shot wide again.
Kyle Bassett replaced Steve Cook on 75 minutes and, when Mike Trought played Mitch Page through, Banbury’s man-of-the-match Tommy Kinch was quick to block his effort. On 85 minutes Bassett tried a long-range shot, but it went wide. 2 minutes later Banbury nearly nicked it when a long curling free kick was missed by everybody and allowed to bounce in the box only for Greavsie to stretch out his left arm to turn it round the post at the last second. One final save by Danny and another Haines shot that hit Symo as he tried to get out of the way brought the afternoon’s proceedings to an end.
This was a game that The Seasiders could and should have won, but poor finishing by them, some excellent defending by The Puritans, and a dreadful display by the referee meant that they were frustrated by another goalless draw, which keeps them in 7th place in the table.
Gallery
Team Sheet
| No: | Name: | Sub: | Goal: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greaves | ||
| 2 | Brigham | ||
| 3 | Haines | ||
| 4 | Scott (Capt) | ||
| 5 | Hendy | ||
| 6 | Trought | ||
| 7 | Leek | ||
| 8 | Sylvester | ||
| 9 | Prosser | ||
| 10 | Page | ||
| 11 | Cook | ||
| 12 | Symons | 9 | |
| 14 | Bassett | 11 | |
| 15 | - | ||
| 16 | - | ||
| 17 | - | ||
| Own Goal | - |
Match Details
| Date: | 26/01/08 |
|---|---|
| Competition: | British Gas Business Southern League Premier Division |
| Opponents: | Banbury United |
| Venue: | Spencer Stadium Station Approach Banbury Oxon OX16 5TA |
| Half Time: | 0 - 0 |
| Full Time: | 0 - 0 |
| Attendance: | 266 |
| Match Report: | Dave Wright |
| Photographs: | Tony Merrett |
Away Kit |
On-Site Recruitment Solutions Ltd |
| Notes: |
Downloads
| Appearances & Goal Scorers | Word Document |
|---|---|
| Team Sheet Matrix | Excel Document |