Clevedon Town 1 Swindon Supermarine 2
One week on, and a complete change of weather and fortunes for the Seasiders. A hot sunny afternoon and a perfect pitch surely meant a game to remember, but below par first half performance disappointed the home supporters. Greatly improved in the second half, Clevedon Town will rue the missed chances that came their way as they slipped to a first home defeat of the season against Swindon Supermarine.
No quick home goal this time around, but a midfield deadlock as two sides played frenetically, pumping hopeful long balls up to forwards who found defences in unyielding form. It took the home side 20 minutes to get their first shot on goal, Tyrone Toppar cutting in from the left wing and shooting just wide of the near post. Soon after, the Seasiders had a penalty area handball claim turned down by referee Paul Brown of Taunton. Swindon had been the more threatening team and a break down the right in the 27th minute was capped by an unstoppable 25 yard shot by Justin McKay across Clevedon custodian Danny Greaves to give the visitors the lead. A couple of minutes later, Swindon were themselves denied a spot kick by the referee, this time when Enoch Boateng was brought down by a combination of Kris Leek and Rob Scott.
The home side continued to bewilder the Hand faithful with a succession of hopeful long balls which failed to find any friendly player, and the occasional through run by Kyle Bassett and Mike Symons which neither could put a finish on. Late on in the half, Mike Green had a shot which hit the side netting.
Town had obviously been read the riot act by Phil Bater at half time, as they came out the livelier of the two sides. Toppar had been replaced by Danny Haines, and midfielder Green and right back Leek swapped places. Bassett continued to chase down long balls, this time with more success, resulting in a couple of dangerous crosses and corners won. It was to be an increasingly frustrating afternoon for striker Symons, a series of missed opportunities resulting in him taking his frustration out verbally on himself, his team mates and the officials, and on one occasion trying to invoke help from the heavens, but eventually he was put out of his misery in the 76th minute with his substitution by Mitchell Page. The sum of missed chances added up to two side nettings, one crossbar, one post and a couple of relatively simple saves by Swindon keeper Tom King.
The visitors were not run out of the game by any means, and made several breakaways to relieve their battered defence. A couple of the more dangerous attempts were met with relief by the home side when the assistant’s flag went up for offside, and a couple of saves by Greaves kept the score down. However, in saving a shot late on in the game, the home keeper carried the ball across the bye line, and from the resulting long corner, the ball was headed back into the centre, where Swindon sub Andy Caton had the simplest of headers into the net from close range, despite the close attentions of Scott. A couple of minutes later, a Clevedon attack was cleared by the Swindon defence but the ball fell to Page, whose crisply hit shot flew past two defenders and the keeper to give the Seasiders the goal their second half performance deserved.
Overall, a disappointing defeat at the hands of newly-promoted Swindon Supermarine. First half was horrible, second half much better, outstanding player in both halves being Kyle Bassett, who never gave up on anything.
Gallery
Team Sheet
| No: | Name: | Sub: | Goal: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greaves | ||
| 2 | Leek | ||
| 3 | Graffagnino | ||
| 4 | Scott (Capt) | ||
| 5 | Hendy | ||
| 6 | Trought | ||
| 7 | Sylvester | ||
| 8 | Green | ||
| 9 | Symons | ||
| 10 | Bassett | ||
| 11 | Toppar | ||
| 12 | Page | 9 | 1 |
| 14 | Haines | 11 | |
| 15 | O'Connor | ||
| 16 | Brigham | ||
| 17 | - | ||
| Own Goal | - |
Match Details
| Date: | 25/08/07 |
|---|---|
| Competition: | British Gas Business Premier League |
| Opponents: | Swindon Supermarine |
| Venue: | The Hand Stadium Davis Lane Clevedon North Somerset BS21 6TG |
| Half Time: | 0 - 1 |
| Full Time: | 1 - 2 |
| Attendance: | 165 |
| Match Report: | Jeff Eastmond |
| Photographs: | Tony Merrett |
| Notes: |
|
Downloads
| Appearances & Goal Scorers | Word Document |
|---|---|
| Team Sheet Matrix | Excel Document |