Clevedon Town 0 Brackley Town 0
Clevedon closed the curtains on the 2007/08 season with a goalless draw at home to Brackley Town in the April sunshine today, in a match that was never really dull but was never going to excite the 180 spectators who turned up to witness the final match.
Clevedon, who ended up with 10 men after Mitchell Page was sent off for stamping in the first half, were without Kyle Bassett and the suspended Scott Hendy and had veteran Andy Eisentrager on the bench as they struggled to field a fully fit side. However they put in a quite reasonable performance given the circumstances and deserved their point against more experienced opponents who, like their hosts, rarely troubled the keeper. Clevedon started well with Page and Leek having early chances but it was it was Ryan Semple who nearly gave the visitors an early lead when he just failed to connect with Jamie Patterson’s cross, but clear chances were few and far between for both sides in the first half. The only real incident of a half well refereed by Simon Knopp of Bristol, was a 39th minute red card for Mitchell Page after a nasty foul on Jamie Kearns that saw the visitors player limp off to be replaced by Jack Longford. This didn’t reflect the nature of what was a fairly fought game overall but it left Clevedon facing 50 minutes with a man short
The second half almost started sensationally for the Seasiders when Mike Trought’s long free kick was hooked back into the six yard box by Danny Haines for Christian Sylvester to put the ball into the net with a superbly executed overhead kick. Sadly for Clevedon though the assistant referee had flagged for the ball having crossed the goal line before it was hooked back to Sylvester. After that there was plenty of honest endeavour by both sides, Brackley’s Josh Green nearly deflected a cross by Patterson past Danny Greaves, and Richard Knight failed to hold Craig Loxton’s long range shot but the ball was scrambled away by the visitor’s defence. For all their efforts thought, neither side really created any further clear cut chances and a 0-0 score line was looking more and more likely well before the referee blew the whistle on Clevedon for the final time this season.
Well, the season ended with another draw for Clevedon who finally finished in 11th place, having scored fewer league goals than in any season since they joined the Southern League in 1993/94 and also having drawn more matches, both overall and at home and away. Credit must go to the team and management though for doing so well on a limited budget and with a small squad further affected by long term injuries to players like Steve Cook. Who knows what 2008/09 will bring but first let’s enjoy a long summer and the sound of leather on willow. Have good summer.
Gallery
Team Sheet
| No: | Name: | Sub: | Goal: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greaves | ||
| 2 | Brigham | ||
| 3 | Haines | ||
| 4 | Scott (Capt) | ||
| 5 | Trought | ||
| 6 | Bater | ||
| 7 | Leek | ||
| 8 | Loxton | ||
| 9 | Page | ||
| 10 | Prosser | ||
| 11 | Sylvester | ||
| 12 | Cook | 7 | |
| 14 | Eisentrager | ||
| 15 | - | ||
| 16 | - | ||
| 17 | - | ||
| Own Goal | - |
Match Details
| Date: | 26/04/08 |
|---|---|
| Competition: | British Gas Business Southern League Premier Division |
| Opponents: | Brackley Town |
| Venue: | The Hand Stadium Davis Lane Clevedon North Somerset BS21 6TG |
| Half Time: | 0 - 0 |
| Full Time: | 0 - 0 |
| Attendance: | 180 |
| Match Report: | Steve Small |
| Photographs: | Tony Merrett |
| Match Sponsor: | - |
| Match Ball Sponsor: | - |
| Notes: |
Downloads
| Appearances & Goal Scorers | Word Document |
|---|---|
| Team Sheet Matrix | Excel Document |