Brackley Town 1 Clevedon Town 1
Clevedon Town will be disappointed to have conceded a last minute equaliser that prevented them from taking all three points at Brackley this afternoon, having taken the lead with a belter from Geraint Bater their opponents equalised through Martin Brown’s last gasp header.
The home side’s exposed St James’ Park home did little to prevent the wet and windy elements from detracting from the game as a spectacle, but nevertheless good football was played by both sides throughout the game. Town welcomed back Geraint Bater and Scott Hendy from suspension, with striker Matt Prosser returning to a more familiar striking role having been deployed as centre half a week earlier, and it was he who nearly opened the scoring in the opening exchanges of the game, robbing the ball from the Brackley defence but shooting narrowly wide.
Prosser again went close soon after but as the first half continued the Seasiders found themselves more and more on the back foot as the Saints’ of Brackley pressed. The dangerous Tom Winters on the Brackley left played a brilliant ball in for Scott Hadland, whose shot on the turn beat Danny Greaves but failed to defeat Scott Hendy who headed off the line. Winters himself was next to test Greaves, cutting in from the left but seeing his shot well held on the greasy surface. Next midfielder Guy Hadland broke through the Town defence and rounded Greaves, but his cut back to Scott Richards didn’t result in a goal thanks to a heroic block from both Hendy and Danny Haines in the Town defence. In reply Mitchell Page almost opened the scoring but struck the bar when well placed, an incident that had also been adjudged to be offside so wouldn’t have stood anyway.
Instead it was Greaves who was again the busier of the two keepers, pulling off a superb save off from Dave Savage, the former Bristol Rovers midfielder and Brackley captain, but it was the woodwork that Town had to thank on the stroke of half time, with Josh Green’s header rebounding away to safety off the crossbar.
However while the first half undoubtedly saw the home side dominate, the second half saw Clevedon begin to take the ascendancy. A slow start to the second period saw few chances of note as Clevedon looked to sure things up at the back, yet as the match continued it was they who looked the more likely to score.
Mike Trought had a rare chance to open his Clevedon account when he found himself at the centre of a frantic goalmouth scramble during a succession of Clevedon corners. Yet with Chris Harper wasting two Brackley chances at the other end, it was Clevedon who took the lead. The goal was worked from the right flank with substitute Steve Cook running the ball across the Brackley box before squaring the ball for Geraint Bater, who arrowed the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the box to cue mass celebrations from the visitors.
Bater’s goal came on 73 minutes and for the majority of the rest of the game the Seasiders seemed likely not to surrender this lead. Despite a succession of Brackley corners it was the towering figures of Scott Hendy and Mike Trought who repeatedly cleared the danger. However just when the match appeared to be up for Brackley, with Clevedon attempting to keep the ball in the corner flag areas, the home side were able to break down the left flank, and this caught Town cold, with Martin Brown towering to head the Saints’ level at the far post.
Despite the obvious disappointment in the manner of the draw for Clevedon, they can be rightly proud of a decent performance in tricky conditions. Town attempted to play football throughout and grew in confidence as the match continued. Nevertheless Brackley would’ve been justly disappointed with a defeat and a draw was probably the fair result on the day.
Clevedon will hope to continue their good form when they make the long trip to Lincolnshire to face King’s Lynn on Saturday 8th December, 3:00 kick off. The team coach will be leaving the Hand Stadium at 8:30am and the Hilton Hotel Bristol at 9:00am and it would be great to see some Town fans make the journey.
Gallery
Team Sheet
| No: | Name: | Sub: | Goal: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greaves | ||
| 2 | Brigham | ||
| 3 | Haines | ||
| 4 | Bater | 1 | |
| 5 | Hendy (Capt) | ||
| 6 | Trought | ||
| 7 | Leek | ||
| 8 | Green | ||
| 9 | Prosser | ||
| 10 | Page | ||
| 11 | Sylvester | ||
| 12 | Symons | 9 | |
| 14 | Cook | 7 | |
| 15 | Scott | ||
| 16 | - | ||
| 17 | - | ||
| Own Goal | - |
Match Details
| Date: | 01/12/07 |
|---|---|
| Competition: | British Gas Business Southern League Premier Division |
| Opponents: | Brackley Town |
| Venue: | St James Park Churchill Way Brackley Northamptonshire NN13 7EJ |
| Half Time: | 0 - 0 |
| Full Time: | 1 - 1 |
| Attendance: | 172 |
| Match Report: | Will Wright |
| Photographs: | Tony Merrett |
Away Kit |
On-Site Recruitment Solutions Ltd |
| Notes: |
Downloads
| Appearances & Goal Scorers | Word Document |
|---|---|
| Team Sheet Matrix | Excel Document |